site-architecture

What this skill does

# Site Architecture & Internal Linking

Production-grade website architecture framework covering URL hierarchy design, internal linking strategy, navigation optimization, silo structure, and crawl equity management. Handles architecture audits, new site planning, and restructuring existing sites.

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## Table of Contents

- [Operating Modes](#operating-modes)
- [URL Structure Design](#url-structure-design)
- [Navigation Architecture](#navigation-architecture)
- [Silo Structure and Topic Clusters](#silo-structure-and-topic-clusters)
- [Internal Linking Strategy](#internal-linking-strategy)
- [Crawl Equity Management](#crawl-equity-management)
- [Architecture Audit Framework](#architecture-audit-framework)
- [Restructuring Playbook](#restructuring-playbook)
- [Architecture Patterns by Site Type](#architecture-patterns-by-site-type)
- [Common Mistakes](#common-mistakes)
- [Output Artifacts](#output-artifacts)
- [Related Skills](#related-skills)

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## Operating Modes

### Mode 1: Audit Current Architecture
Existing site needs structural assessment. Analyze depth distribution, orphan pages, link equity flow, and navigation effectiveness.

### Mode 2: Plan New Architecture
Building from scratch or full redesign. Map business goals to site sections, design URL hierarchy, plan navigation, and define content silos.

### Mode 3: Internal Linking Optimization
Structure is fine but link equity flow needs improvement. Identify hub pages, map spoke content, fix orphans, and optimize anchor text.

### Mode 4: URL Restructuring
Changing URLs on an existing site. Plan the new structure, build redirect maps, and manage the migration.

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## URL Structure Design

### Depth Guidelines

| Depth | Example | Use When | SEO Impact |
|-------|---------|----------|------------|
| 1 level (flat) | `/cold-email-tips` | Blog posts, standalone pages | Best crawl equity per page |
| 2 levels | `/email-marketing/cold-email-tips` | Category is a rankable page itself | Good, category page accumulates authority |
| 3 levels | `/solutions/marketing/email-automation` | Product families, nested services | Acceptable if each level has content |
| 4+ levels | `/a/b/c/d/page` | Never | Diluted equity, poor UX, crawl issues |

**Decision rule:** If the intermediate directory URL (`/email-marketing/`) will NOT be a real page with its own content and ranking target, do not create the directory. Flat is better than empty hierarchy.

### URL Construction Rules

| Rule | Good | Bad | Why |
|------|------|-----|-----|
| Use hyphens | `/seo-audit` | `/seo_audit` | Underscores are not word separators for Google |
| Be descriptive | `/pricing` | `/pricing-page` | Redundant suffixes add nothing |
| Keep short | `/guides/technical-seo` | `/guides/technical-seo-audit-checklist-complete-guide` | Readability matters |
| Include keyword | `/guides/seo-audit` | `/guides/article?id=4827` | Descriptive URLs rank better |
| Be consistent with trailing slashes | Pick one: `/about` or `/about/` | Mix of both | Inconsistency creates duplicate content |
| Use lowercase | `/about-us` | `/About-Us` | Case sensitivity varies by server |

### URL Patterns by Site Type

| Site Type | Pattern | Example |
|-----------|---------|---------|
| SaaS | `/features/[feature]`, `/solutions/[use-case]`, `/integrations/[partner]` | `/features/analytics`, `/solutions/marketing`, `/integrations/slack` |
| E-commerce | `/[category]/[subcategory]/[product]` | `/mens/shoes/running-shoes-pro` |
| Blog/Content | `/blog/[slug]` or `/blog/[category]/[slug]` | `/blog/seo-audit-guide` |
| Local business | `/[service]/[location]` | `/plumbing/austin-tx` |
| Documentation | `/docs/[section]/[page]` | `/docs/api/authentication` |
| Marketplace | `/[category]/[listing]` | `/designers/john-smith` |

---

## Navigation Architecture

### Navigation Zones

Every site has 6 navigation zones. Each serves a different purpose and carries different SEO weight.

| Zone | Items | SEO Weight | Design Rule |
|------|-------|------------|-------------|
| Primary nav | 5-8 items max | High (sitewide equity) | Only pages you want to rank for. Never "Resources" without a landing page. |
| Secondary nav | 3-7 per section | Medium | Sub-navigation within a section/silo |
| Breadcrumbs | Dynamic | High (upward equity) | Every non-homepage page. Each segment must be a real link. |
| Footer nav | 8-15 items max | Low-Medium | Key pages only. Not a dumping ground for every page. |
| Contextual (in-content) | 3-5 per page | Highest | Most powerful signal. Natural editorial links within body content. |
| Sidebar | 5-10 items | Low-Medium | Related content, category listing |

### Primary Navigation Design

**Rules:**
- 5-8 items maximum. Cognitive overload starts at 9+ items.
- Every nav item links to a page you actively want to rank.
- Dropdown menus are fine, but the parent item must be a clickable, crawlable link (not just a hover trigger).
- Do not put utility pages (Contact, Privacy, Terms) in primary nav -- they belong in the footer.
- Mobile nav must expose the same structure as desktop nav (no hidden critical pages).

### Breadcrumb Implementation

Add breadcrumbs to every non-homepage page. They serve three functions:

1. **UX**: Show users their location in the hierarchy
2. **SEO**: Create sitewide upward internal links to hub/category pages
3. **Rich results**: Enable BreadcrumbList schema for SERP breadcrumbs

**Format:** `Home > Category > Subcategory > Current Page`

**Rules:**
- Every breadcrumb segment must be a real, crawlable link
- Never use breadcrumbs as styled text without links
- Add BreadcrumbList schema markup alongside visible breadcrumbs
- Breadcrumb hierarchy should match URL hierarchy

---

## Silo Structure and Topic Clusters

### Hub-and-Spoke Model

A silo is a self-contained cluster of content about one topic, where all pages link to each other and to a central hub page.

```
                    ┌──────────────────┐
                    │     HUB PAGE     │
                    │   /seo/          │
                    │   (Pillar content)│
                    └────────┬─────────┘
            ┌────────────────┼────────────────┐
       ┌────┴────┐      ┌───┴────┐      ┌────┴────┐
       │ SPOKE 1 │      │ SPOKE 2│      │ SPOKE 3 │
       │technical│      │on-page │      │  link   │
       │  seo    │      │  seo   │      │building │
       └────┬────┘      └───┬────┘      └────┬────┘
            │                │                │
       Cross-links     Cross-links      Cross-links
       between         between          between
       related         related          related
       spokes          spokes           spokes
```

### Building Topic Clusters

**Step 1:** Identify 3-7 core topics for your site (these become your silos)

**Step 2:** For each topic, create one pillar page (the hub) that covers the topic broadly

**Step 3:** Create spoke content for each major sub-question or sub-topic

**Step 4:** Implement linking:
- Hub links DOWN to every spoke
- Every spoke links UP to the hub (with keyword-rich anchor text)
- Spokes link ACROSS to related spokes within the same silo
- Cross-silo links are fine when contextually genuine

**Step 5:** Build the content before building the links. Links to non-existent content are useless.

### Silo Depth Guidelines

| Silo Size | Recommended Depth | Structure |
|-----------|------------------|-----------|
| 3-5 spokes | Flat | Hub + spokes, all at same level |
| 6-15 spokes | Shallow nested | Hub > Sub-hubs > Spokes |
| 16-50 spokes | Two-level | Hub > Category sub-hubs > Individual spokes |
| 50+ spokes | Paginated | Hub > Category sub-hubs > Paginated spoke listings |

---

## Internal Linking Strategy

### Link Equity Power Stack

Not all internal links carry equal weight. From most to least powerful:

| Rank | Link Type | Weight | When to Use |
|------|-----------|--------|-------------|
| 1 | In-content contextual link | Highest | Natural editorial links within body copy |
| 2 | Hub