when optimizing web sites does directory structure matter?

Question

let's say you want a particular page to be relevant but it's directory structure is quite deep i.e www.anysite.com/info/animals/dogs/poodles/toypoodle.html as an example only but it would have a direct link from hte home page at anysite.com would this in anyway hurt the relevancy of the page or is how many clicks away from the home page hte only factor i need to worry about?

naula · Accepted Answer

I've heard people suggest that this harms your listing but I've had many clients pages that were deep get good search engine rankings. My feeling is that it may hurt a little (esp if it's a very long url that spiders may have trouble with) but that it can be made up for with good SEO like links from your home page, inbound links, sitemaps, brief descriptive title tag and of course good content. If your naming structure is as logical as the one you have above it should not do any significant harm.

Anonymous · Answer

I think as long as you have a direct link from your homepage then the deep directory structure shouldn't be a problem.  I think these days having a sitemap for the spiders to find is essential. As for your clicks away from the homepage, I think the old rule of 3 clicks as a max still stands, people get bored easy and expect instant gratification from the internet.

when optimizing web sites does directory structure matter?

2 Answers