SEO Website Navigation

Good and bad navigation

The Force may well have worked for Luke Skywalker, but your users are not Jedi... they need to be shown a clear, well defined path that they can follow.

Navigate this, if you can

Keyword prominence and relevance should be your primary concern in terms of creating effective copy for a website, but it all starts with the navigation on the site. You have to be clear and concise in your offering. JavaScript has its place but Google can't see it, which means that in lieu of a site map it can't index your site; the Googlebot will just get stuck on your home page. Graphical representations of buttons look great, but Google can't see the words you added to the graphics making those links redundant. Simple, honest text links work well for human users and robots. Anything else is actually detrimental to your site and its potential to be ranked.

Irrelevant navigation

Most website design aficionados will sing the praises of keeping your navigation consistent throughout a site to promote familiarity and ease of use, but Google doesn't need its hand held so tightly - in fact, it would prefer it if the navigational options altered as it entered different sections or areas of the site. For example, let's say you have a B2C and a B2B offering on your website. You will always rank higher on Google if the navigation alters depending on the section of the site users find themselves in. Your navigation should always be subject specific and dense in relevant and related keywords. If I'm in the personal banking section of a website, there's no need to show me your business banking options - they're irrelevant to me and to Google.

The three click rule

It dates back to the dawn of the Internet, but remains true even today - your user needs to conclude a visit to your site within three clicks of the mouse. If you're selling products then that third click should be adding the item to their basket. If your site is primarily there to provide information and prospecting for new clients, then that third click should be to your contact us page or to an online enquiry form. If it currently takes longer than three clicks for a user to complete their interaction with your site, then you must revisit the process.


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