There is often a battle that goes on in the mind of business owners when they need a website built for their local business. On one side, there is the pragmatic thoughts looking for a website that ranks highly and converts visitors to buyers in high numbers. On the flip side, there are often thoughts of grand designs and a website that is so stunningly beautiful that it becomes the talk of the town. If you approach a professional agency and ask them to build you a website, they are likely to advise the former than the latter, especially if they are experts in SEO too. They know that a website that is a work of art might be good to look at, but if it languishes on page 10 because its structure and SEO are poor, nobody will find it anyway. As a business owner, it is not necessary for you to become an expert in website design. However, there are huge advantages to knowing some key factors that can make a huge difference in a website’s performance. Armed with this knowledge, you can more easily discuss your objectives and ascertain whether the agency can create the website you require. Let’s start with one factor that hardly any business owners know regarding how it affects their website and its ranking. That factor is site speed, the term used for how quickly a website loads when someone clicks on it and thereafter, as they use it. We mention this first because site speed is especially important because it influences other factors affecting website rankings. A site that loads slowly will mean some visitors leave almost immediately, and that ‘bounce,’ as it is called, is noted by Google. High bounce rates mean a downgrading of rankings. A slow site will discourage visitors from hanging around, and the overall length of time anyone spends on your site during a visit is also a ranking factor.

If you have ever seen or heard any advice on SEO, backlinks will undoubtedly be mentioned. While it is true that having backlinks to your website from other sites can play a significant role in boosting your rankings, it is also the case that the linking structure you have within your website is important too. Creating links within your website has several SEO advantages, and if it is done correctly, the benefits can mount because it helps those visiting your website navigate it more easily. The advantage of this is that they have a positive experience and are likely visit your site again. More than that, they may recommend your website to others, a premium free traffic source. Navigating your website with ease will also make visitors more likely to take action while they are there, such as subscribing to your email list or, better still, purchasing something. You should know by now that Google rewards websites whose visitors stay for longer. Visitors being able to navigate easily through your website is certainly going to help achieve that objective. These reasons are primarily why you should consider how the linking structure you are putting in place improves your site’s navigation ahead of the specific SEO elements, such as improving page ranking. Google’s algorithm will adjust your ranking up or down to a greater degree based on the visitor data it receives, more than whether one of your pages has a link to it or not. The best way to start improving your website’s link structure is to plan it properly; doing this visually is preferable. You do not need to be good at drawing, as all you need is to be able to represent the pages of your website with circles or squares and then use lines to represent each link. An even better way is to download free mind map software and use that, as you can edit and save your link structure when changes occur.