SEO Siloing: Boost Rankings and Enhance User Experience
SEO Siloing is an influential strategy website owners and digital marketers use to improve their search engine optimisation efforts. It involves organising website content into categories or silos based on specific topics or themes. Seo Siloing aims to communicate depth, expertise, and topic relevance to search engines.
SEO siloing allows businesses to establish keyword-based themes, increase page relevancy for targeted search terms, and enhance search engine rankings while increasing traffic.
To better understand the mechanics behind SEO siloing, consider this example: Imagine you run a home maintenance services site that offers plumbing services along with electrical repairs and painting. You can create separate areas/silos/wings for each service category by effectively implementing SEO siloing within your site architecture. Additionally, under each wing/silo/area (such as the Plumbing Silo), you may have further categorisations (subcategories or service types).
This structured approach helps search engines understand what information resides on your website and how it relates to relevant queries via the search box.
For instance – when someone looks up “plumbing services” in a search bar – the plumbing wing/data bank will be seen by Google as highly relevant source material related to that query – thus improving the chances of appearing higher in results pages.
Benefits of Implementing SEO Siloing
Implementing SEO siloing has many advantages for website owners and digital marketers. One of the main ones is that it can increase search engine rankings. Organising content into distinct silos based on themes makes search engines more easily understand a website's structure and topic relevance. This, in turn, positions the site as an expert source in its industry or niche. When search engines see a site as an authority on a particular topic, they are more likely to rank its pages higher in their results – this means increased visibility and organic traffic.
Another positive aspect of implementing SEO siloing is the improved user experience from having content organised into silos. A well-structured website makes navigating things more accessible for visitors, and users can find relevant information quickly within each separate theme-based section (or ‘silo'). The result? Users have a more satisfying browsing experience overall. If people can find what they want quickly, they're more likely to stay on your site longer, look at more pages and potentially convert into customers or subscribers.
There are also benefits for how PageRank flows around your site when you implement SEO siloing. PageRank is an algorithm used by Google (and other search engines) to measure how important/relevant web pages might be; basically, please link me! If you're using internal links to connect related pages within the same silo, link equity (how much value/link juice/authority gets passed between them) and contextual relevance strengthens – which could mean better rankings. Silos focus efforts, too, so there's potential for increased visibility around specific keywords/search terms.
Here's an example: let's say we're working with a website all about outdoor activities; how might it implement SEO siloing? It could create separate activity-based ‘silos' like hiking/camping/fishing – each with even deeper categorisation (perhaps by region/equipment/skill level). It helps search engines, but it's also user-friendly; people can find the relevant info quickly.
Techniques for Creating a Silo Structure
Creating a website content hierarchy is called a silo structure to support one's SEO siloing efforts. There are two different types of silos: physical siloing and virtual siloing.
Physical siloing involves separating individual pages into distinct folders based on the subject. Primarily tied to the website's directory structure, this method has its folder for each silo and related pages within that folder. For instance, if you run a photography website, you might have separate folders for DSLR cameras, mirrorless cameras and point-and-shoot cameras – each folder storing relevant pages about specific camera models or features.
Virtual siloing doesn't change your directory structure but uses internal links to tie together related pages across your site and strengthen key landing pages. Internal linking connects all the pages within an individual silo to create topical relevance and demonstrate depth of expertise to search engines.
For example, if you run a fitness blog or commerce site selling gym equipment online, one of your essential products could be strength training (as opposed to cardio). You'd then create a landing page that gives an overview of strength training before internally linking out to other keys ‘pillars' around particular exercises or aspects such as: “best kettlebell workouts”, “dumbbells versus barbells”, dumbbells versus resistance machines”, etc.
Planning how you'll link between these different pillar pieces of content is essential when creating a cohesive interlinking strategy for improved web architecture/silo-isation.
Importance of Keyword Research in SEO Siloing
Keyword research is an essential part of successful SEO siloing. It helps website owners identify keywords and subject themes, guiding content creation within each silo. Doing thorough keyword research ensures that their silos are optimised for the best keywords and in sync with what their target audience wants.
Keyword research lets you decide on the most critical subject themes to form your silos. This means determining which main topics and subtopics are linked to your industry or niche.
For example, if you had a site about digital marketing, then potential subject areas might include search engine optimisation (SEO), social media marketing and content marketing.
Through keyword research, you can understand which specific words or phrases users put into search engines when looking for information about these subjects.
Once you have decided on your central themes, keyword research will help guide content creation within each separate silo – by highlighting some of the target keywords that should be used within the online copy to improve visibility in search results.
Strategic use of these highlighted words throughout any writing will ensure it is optimised for relevant terms – increasing chances of higher rankings in Google et al.
For example, imagine a website focused on healthy recipes. Keyword research may reveal that people often use search terms such as “easy vegetarian recipes” or “quick and healthy dinner ideas”.
By including these types of phrases within online copy – specifically copy contained within the appropriate silo –it's possible to increase visibility among users searching for those specific recipe types.
As well as helping guide content creation, keyword research also has a role in determining appropriate keyword densities across each theme area.
Keyword density refers to how frequently a word appears relative to other words on a page; managing this properly means optimising but not overstuffing one's web pages and potentially hurting rankings.
Best Practices for Optimising Content within Silos
Optimising content within silos is crucial in enhancing search engine rankings and delivering a valuable user experience. Some best practices can help website owners optimise their content within silos:
Creating keyword-rich content: Every content inside a silo should follow the established subject theme and contain pertinent keywords. Creating keyword-rich content can amplify your visibility for specific search terms and increase your chances of ranking.
For example, if a website has a silo devoted to “healthy breakfast recipes,” every recipe inside that silo should focus on offering nutritious breakfast options, incorporating relevant keywords like “healthy breakfast recipes” or “quick and easy breakfast ideas.”
Determining Content Needs & Measurement: Google operators, as well as competitive research, can serve to identify what the content needs/standards are for each given silo. Analysing top-ranking pages for target keywords will provide insights about what type of information performs well and meets user expectations. This feedback informs the creation of high-quality content within each given Silo.
For example, if we have a Silo about ‘digital marketing tools,' analysing top-ranking pages for this keyword will likely reveal insights into common types of tools mentioned, level-of-detail provided, format/structure preferences etc. - all things that could be used to create our page which meets/exceeds these users' expectations.
Maintaining High Relevance / Interlinking: Within any given Silo, there must be strong relevance between pages and interconnected through internal linking. This helps search engines understand how those pieces relate together and reinforces the topic relevance associated with any given Silo.
For instance, we're trying to rank for “home decor ideas.” Each page would provide unique/value-driven info about different aspects of home decor (ex, colour schemes, furniture arrangement or DIY projects). Throughout these pages, we'd want strategic internal linking – guiding users easily from one page to another within this Silo so that they can explore related content.
Implementing the Siloing Process
Implementing the siloing process involves several steps that website owners and digital marketers need to follow to ensure the effectiveness of their silos. The following steps outline the process of implementing siloing:
Determine themes: The first step to siloing implementation is determining the topics or themes representing each silo. This means identifying relevant topic areas within your site's industry or niche and grouping related pages.
For example, a gardening website might have different silos for “vegetable gardening,” “flower gardening,” and “container gardening” – each of which would include pages that provide valuable, relevant content on the specific theme.
Choose a siloing strategy: Once you know your themes, you'll need to choose a plan for creating your silos based on your site's structure and goals. Physical siloing involves organising pages into separate folders by theme; virtual siloing relies on internal linking to tie related pages together within a theme area.
Your strategy depends on factors like the CMS you use, technical capabilities, and how flexible you want to manage them.
Plan the linking structure: Planning out your linking structure is vital to implementing successful silos because it determines how individual pages within each one interconnect and how users (and search engines) will navigate them.
For instance, let's say one of your food site's silos is about “healthy eating.” Your linking structure might involve a main landing page giving an overview of this topic with internal links leading to more specific subtopics such as meal planning, nutritional guidelines and healthy recipes.
Build the silos: With your linking plan, it's time to build those bad boys! That means organising content and implementing whichever style of architecture approach (physical or virtual) best suits your goal.
So, if physical is what floats your boat? You'll be creating separate folders for each category (or subcategory). If virtual sounds more up your street? It's all about strategically placed internal links tying related pieces of content together inside each category area so users and search engines can easily find them.
Ongoing maintenance: Siloing is not a set-and-forget process. You need to come back and look at it regularly to ensure it's still doing its job effectively. That means analysing performance, user behaviour, search engine rankings, etc., and making necessary adjustments.
For example, if your “digital marketing strategies” silo not getting much organic traffic? You could analyse the content within that silo for relevant keywords, optimise it accordingly and make improvements designed to boost its visibility so more people are likely to click on it.
Improving User Experience through Silo Structure
The positive effect on user experience is one of the main benefits of SEO siloing. By bringing together pages that cover similar topics, a silo structure makes it easier for users to find what they're looking for and improves their navigation. This better UX can lead to more extended site visits, engagement, and higher conversion rates.
A website's content can be organised into a pyramid-like structure with broad topics at the top and increasingly specific subtopics within each silo, known as parent-child relationships. A hierarchical organisation makes it simple for users to navigate the site for information. For example, imagine an online travel guide offering guides to different destinations worldwide: by implementing a siloing strategy, this site could create silos for Europe, Asia or North America – different continents where travellers might want to go. Within each continent, silos could be other parent-child relationships representing countries or cities within those continents.
By arranging its content in this way, a website makes it easy for users to drill down from high-level categories (such as continent) to specific ones (such as city), making it effortless to find relevant travel advice.
Moreover, creating ‘content hubs‘ within each silo can further improve navigation and user experience. Hubs are sections inside a silo that round up related content on your site so that visitors get all available resources on a topic in one place, like everything about social media marketing if you were building out your homepage section dedicated to digital marketing.
To make things easier still – not just between thematically linked pages but also within them – ensure a strong contextual hierarchy between pages and consider interlinking them.
This helps guide users through your site while avoiding friction points where people are left wondering where they should go next.
For example: say you have a page about exercise routines under your ‘healthy lifestyle' silo? Ensure that the page is linked to pages about healthy recipes and stress management techniques – other topics people might be interested in if they've found that exercise routine page. This will help people find content related to what they're reading, even if it isn't immediately visible on the page they land on.
Different Silo Configurations
If you're considering siloing, it's essential to understand the different types of configurations available to web admins. The structure you choose will depend on your goals and technical expertise.
Here are some examples:
Soft Silos: Often created using internal linking only, soft silos don't require physical changes to URLs or directory structure. This makes them perfect if you want the benefits of siloing without overhauling your site's system.
Hard Silos: These are built into a website's URL and directory structure. Each one has its folder, with related pages stored within it. They offer an organised way to keep content but often require more complex web development work.
Reverse Silo: Reverse silos are simple enough for beginners and easy to maintain once they're up and running. In this setup, the most important page(s) (the homepage or landing pages) sit at the top of your silo hierarchy, while less central ones sit deeper within each structure.
By putting crucial pages front and centre – in terms of their prominence within links from elsewhere on your site and how many clicks users need to access them – those pages accrue ‘link equity' faster than if placed further down in a hierarchy.
Priority Silo: A priority setup is typically reserved for advanced users because it demands careful planning upfront and ongoing analysis/tweaks.
This approach ensures that critical areas of your site receive maximum internal link equity/visibility by prioritising certain pages within each silo.
Using personal finance as an example again, all other factors being equal, a priority-based path might see homepages/main landing pages around “budgeting”/”investing” allocated greater prominence/internal links/more surrounding SEO copy/etc. Versus other main categories (e.g. “pensions”, “property”, etc).
As mentioned earlier, there isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer regarding which silo configuration you should opt for. Factors such as what your site is about, its existing content, level of technical capability and how much time you can afford to spend on this are also essential to consider before deciding.
SEO folk often use “siloing” instead of “the process of configuring a website into multiple themed groups/pages”. Silos usually involve physically grouping pages within a section of the site or intelligent internal linking (or both). The idea is that related pages become more manageable for search engines to understand (and therefore rank) because they're defined by their context within the site hierarchy and links from other relevant sections.
So, purely link-based silos – where URLs don't change but links between relevant sections are strengthened using targeted anchor text – also exist. These are known as soft silos.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in SEO Siloing
As you implement SEO siloing, be aware of the common mistakes that could sabotage their effectiveness. By sidestepping these blunders, you'll ensure your silos are search engine optimised and provide a seamless user experience. Let's look at some mistakes to watch for.
Incorrect anchor text usage: When linking to internal pages within a silo, it's essential to use relevant, descriptive anchor text. Anchor text offers search engines context about what the linked page covers. Using generic or unrelated anchor text confuses search engines — and impairs your siloing efforts. For example, if you've got a digital marketing strategies-based silo on your site and link to an internal page with “click here” or “read more,” those aren't as effective as using “effective SEO techniques” or “social media marketing tips.”
Burying important content too deep: Make sure critical content within a given silo is accessible and doesn't get buried too deep in the structure of your site. Suppose valuable content is four levels down in the hierarchy. In that case, it may not receive enough internal link equity or visibility, limiting its impact on rankings from search engines and user experience (UX). Ensuring essential pages are accessible within the hierarchy of any given silo will maximise their visibility and authority.
Lack of relevance/coherence inside each silo: To maintain top-notch effectiveness for your website's various SEO-focused silos, make sure all pages within any given one highly relate to each other thematically — through internal links.
Pages that don't relate much at all dilute how well these work together; they also confuse search engines.
Maintain high relevance/coherence inside each one, strengthening overall themes and improving the performance of said ones.
For example? If you have an entire web design dedicated silo going on? Avoid including anything about online marketing or healthy recipes inside that one. Each page inside should focus on a web design-related topic like responsive design, user experience or typography.
The Future of SEO Siloing
The future of SEO siloing is bound to change due to the evolution of search engine algorithms and user behaviours. It is crucial for website owners and digital marketers who want their silos to continue being effective to stay up-to-date on these changes. Here are some possible developments in SEO siloing that may be seen shortly:
- Advanced AI algorithms: As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to improve, so will advanced AI algorithms used by search engines. These more powerful algorithms may better interpret and understand the structure of a silo. For example, they could be better at determining how relevant given topics are or how deep one's content goes – items Google refers to as “expertise,” a core component of E-E-A-T.
- Voice search optimisation: Should voice technology expand further into society than it already has, optimising your site's silos for voice queries may become more critical sooner rather than later.
- Mobile-first indexing: With more people accessing the internet via mobile devices than desktop computers these days, many in SEO have talked about this becoming a factor sooner rather than later, something all brands must optimise for if they still need to do so.
- Enhanced user experience factors: A great deal of what makes any site appeal optimised adequately from an SEO point-of-view also helps its users enjoy themselves there, too; everything from faster load times through cleaner navigation likely helps boost sales/enquiries/leads/etc.
In short—anything you can do to make your sites appear active and engaging should help increase conversion rates by making them look like popular places worth reading/buying from.
Conclusion
SEO siloing is an effective technique that enables website owners and digital marketers to boost their SEO efforts. It entails organising content into distinct silos, linking them internally, and utilising topic relevance to signal the depth of information offered on a subject — all to inform search engines and drive more traffic through enhanced rankings.
To implement SEO siloing:
- Determine your themes.
- Select a siloing strategy.
- Plan your linking structure.
- Construct your silos.
- Maintain them over time.
In each silo, conduct keyword research to guide content creation and ensure proper usage. Optimisation within these areas involves:
- Creating keyword-rich content.
- Determining what should be included/avoided in that content.
- Assigning measurement metrics for each page's success/failure based on different goals (e.g., organic traffic).
- Maintaining high relevance and interlinking between pages.
You can use various configurations for effective silos: soft vs hard, reverse or inbound links from higher-ranking pages pointing down into lower ones, or priority-based setups where specific areas possibly have more sub-silos within them.
Some common mistakes include poor anchor text usage, burying important stuff too deep in a site's information architecture (IA), or lack of topical relevance/coherence when connecting URLs in an IA.
The future? AI algorithms are likely to get better at understanding this concept without needing such direct signals from site owners; voice search may make IA even more critical as we seek precise answers (not full SERPs) via devices like Alexa; mobile-first indexing means being mindful about how Google sees your site inside mobile contexts; improved user experiences will help drive brand loyalty/the likelihood people continue returning to you post-conversion.
Ultimately? Follow best practices so each qualifying URL has its unique offering while reinforcing key thematic elements throughout related ones; avoid mistakes/strategic missteps during setup/maintenance; and pay attention to future developments that could affect how well your silos work.
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