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BACK TO BASICS: Building a Web Site Theme with Silos, Part Six: Site Mapsby Bradley Leese, January 31, 2008 This series has sought to clarify the Bruce Clay methodology as it relates to "Content Siloing," which is in line with Google's own blueprint of the Google search engine. Let's go back in time to Google 1.0, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin wrote a paper while at Stanford University called The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine. A core tenant in this paper harkens back to the simple illustration of a book, or in their case, a PhD dissertation paper. In order for a book to effectively communicate to the reader it needs to organize information into clear chapters, paragraphs and sentences so it can transfer knowledge as easily as possible. Site maps serve such an organization function, clarifying, for both user and search engine a clear delineation of the major focus of information on your site. Traditional Site MapsTraditional site maps are static files that outline the first and second level structure on a Web site. The original purpose of a site map was to offer the search engine spiders a clear path to index your site. Times have changed and this is no longer the case. Traditional site maps have lost their original purpose. However, as you will see, they can still play a role in Web design. When it comes right down to it, the purpose of a site map is to spell out the central content themes and to offer a cohesive representation of where to find information on your site. At its best, a site map is your table of contents; at its worst, it's the index. Below you will find an example of poor site map design: Example: http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.3512629/apps/sitemap/sitemap.asp Well, it is certainly detailed - you have to give the webmasters at Heifer International that.. However, as you can see, this site is about a lot of topics that don't clarify the related themes or keyword relevance. Below is an example of how Heifer International might organize the Web site around themes and keywords: Charity Giving / Individual Giving Keywords: Celebrity, Advocacy, Philanthropy, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Benefactor, Altruistic Estate Planning Governmental Giving World Charities, Africa Charities, Asia Charities Religious Giving / Charity Corporate Giving Fundraising There is more than meets the eye in the execution of "content siloing" down to the site map level. True, a site map cannot be indexed and probably won't increase rankings. Or will it? A well-planned site map can help improve the organization of a site and focus its theme, which may in turn influence rankings. The reality is that so few sites make any real effort when creating an outline of the content on their site. They add content arbitrarily, either as brochure marketing or sales tool or because they are told they need it to qualify for keyword ranking. Instead, the site map should be the first document created in a Web site construction project, laying out all the structure and content to follow. I can already hear dissenting minds arguing that you can engineer a site to qualify for high keyword relevance without tailoring the entire site by subject relevance. The reality, though, is that most organizations forget what their focus is, and the site often devolves into a mish-mash of competing subjects or is forced to remain stagnant, without any clear plan on how to expand content. Adding a well-designed site outline in the form of a traditional site map encourages organization without restricting creativity. A good site outline shows where the site is trying to go by offering a clear purpose. Since when is offering clarity a bad marketing or sales tool? Get everyone in your company on the same page with a well-conceived and well-rendered site map. The previously exampled site map would be better organized in this way:
XML SitemapsNow we come to a new generation of site maps intended purely for use by search engines, rather than by users. XML Sitemaps define for the spider the importance and priority of the site, better enabling the search engine to index the entire site and to quickly reindex site changes and site expansion or reduction. This new XML format offers unprecedented site indexing and spider access. Additionally, there are many site mapping tools that can diagnose your XML Sitemap, informing you of duplicate content, broken links and areas that the spider cannot access. As explained above, content siloing can be strengthened by consistent by implementing traditional site maps and XML Sitemaps. There is a lot of evidence that supports the adoption of complete site transparency in search engine optimization. That is to say that all elements of a site should consistently offer subject relevancy. It is always possible to go about any project from multiple methodologies, and some may offer alternative methods of leading the spiders down an intended path. However, a clear and consistent avenue, as provided by traditional site maps and XML Sitemaps, ensures that everyone will be on the same page. Not only will the IT and marketing departments agree, but even the site users will be able to tell what your site is trying to say and where the site will grow in the years ahead. For permission to reprint or reuse any materials, please contact us. To learn more about our authors, please visit the Bruce Clay Authors page. Copyright 2008 Bruce Clay, Inc. |
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