Let me state up front that I am NOT a techie, nor am I web developer/designer in any way, shape or form. Therefore, when I talk about site structure – I am talking about it from a keyword research and content development standpoint.
In many cases, I prefer a simple three-tier site structure. A three-tier site structure starts with the home page on top (or Tier 1). Nothing too earth shattering or unusual there. The content of this page should be optimized for up to three keywords or phrases (although I personally prefer no more than two). A well-crafted home page is THE most important page because it serves as the front door to the rest of the site. This is where you have an opportunity to shake your visitor’s hand and welcome them into your world. This is also where you start to show your prospects exactly what you can do for them. The copy needs to be compelling enough to grab their attention and focused enough to effortlessly lead to the next step you want them to take. This is why it is important to have very clearly defined goal(s) for your site before you begin creating content for it. (If you don’t know where you are heading, you won’t get there!)
Ideally, the second tier is made up of pages that branch naturally from the home page. For example, let’s say you own an insurance agency and you represent ten distinct types of insurance (i.e., health, auto, life, home, flood, disability, business, renter’s insurance, etc…). Each of those product types could then serve as its own Tier 2 page. In addition, you could add a resource section and an article directory (always a good idea) to provide additional and ongoing value to your visitors. The idea with Tier 2 pages is that they flow naturally from the home page , but are more focused on a particular topic (making them easier to optimize for targeted keywords).
Another trick with Tier 2 pages is to make sure that they are broad enough to support a number of even more focused pages (Tier 3). For example, a Tier 2 page for life insurance could serve as the “parent page” of a number of Tier 3 pages including whole life, term, universal life, and variable life. Other possible Tier 3 pages might include a FAQ page and a page which compares and contrasts all four types of life insurance to help readers make the best selection for their own circumstances. The goal is to optimize all of these pages for the appropriate keywords (to drive targeted traffic to your site) AND lead your visitors to the next step – request a quote, get more information, or whatever the goal(s) you defined at the outset might be.
