Website Architecture:How to Structure Your Site for SEO

Website architecture: the invisible foundation of SEO

When you start building a website, it is easy to focus on the design or the copy you plan to publish. However, for your project to grow on solid foundations, it is also essential to think about how you will organise your content.

In SEO and search engine optimisation, the way you structure your website’s pages directly influences their visibility in search engines. A semantic silo is one of the most widely used strategies for achieving a clear, coherent organisation.

In this module, you will learn step by step how to structure your website using a semantic silo, from organising the main topics to creating more specific content within each section.

What is a semantic silo?

Instead of creating content without a defined organisation, a semantic silo allows you to divide it into different sections according to the subject it covers. Each main topic therefore brings its related pages together within a single structure.

For example, if you have a website about health, you could organise its content into several topical silos, such as nutrition, exercise or meditation. Each silo would group more specific content, such as healthy recipes, workout routines or meditation techniques.

Why is it important for SEO?

Organising content with a semantic silo offers several benefits for search engine optimisation.

• It helps search engines understand the website because each section focuses on a specific topic and maintains a clear organisation.
• It improves the user’s browsing experience by allowing them to discover related content easily without leaving the same topic.
• It reinforces the relevance of the most important pages through an organised structure and connections between content on the same subject.
• It contributes to stronger topical authority, which can help the website rank as it grows and develops.
• It also supports visibility in AI systems because generative engines understand websites with a clear topical structure more easily.

Key concept

From broad to specific

A semantic silo organises content into levels: the main topic at the top and more specific subtopics below it. This clear hierarchy is exactly what Google needs to understand your website.

How to organise your website architecture

Once you understand the concept of a semantic silo, the next step is to organise your website so that this topical structure becomes a clear, logical architecture that is easy to navigate.

In SEO, this organisation is usually represented as a pyramid structure, in which each level performs a specific function within the website.

Level 0

The homepage

This is the entrance to your website. From this page, users access the website’s main topics or silos. Its purpose is to provide an overview of the content and guide navigation towards the most important sections.

Level 1

Pillar page (main topic)

This is the main page for a topic or semantic silo. It introduces the subject broadly and links to more specific content that develops its different aspects.

Level 2

Branch (optional subtopic)

Each branch represents a subtopic within a pillar page. It is used when a main topic is broad enough to be divided into several more specific areas and serves as an intermediate level before the content pages.

Level 3

Child page (content)

Each page addresses a specific search intent or topic and belongs directly to a pillar page or a branch, depending on the complexity of the website’s architecture.

Before you start creating your website’s pages, it is advisable to plan its structure. Instead of creating content in isolation, first define the main topics that will form your website’s silos.

The number of levels will depend on the project’s complexity and its business model. For example, a blog usually has a simpler structure, while an ecommerce website may need several levels of categories, subcategories and product pages.

What matters is not the number of levels, but building a clear architecture that is easy to navigate and suited to your project.

Once you have defined this structure, it will be much easier to develop the content and build a coherent SEO strategy.

Create your website architecture and silos with Exaldia

Turn your website structure into a connected SEO strategy.

Exaldia brings together website architecture, keyword research, content planning and SEO automation to help you turn ideas into a clear plan of action.

• Silo architecture
• Keyword research
• Content planning
• Automation

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Designed to organise, create and optimise content from a single workspace.

How to avoid orphan content in SEO

In SEO, any page that receives no internal links from the rest of the website is considered orphan content. It is like a disconnected island: search engines have more difficulty discovering and indexing it, and users rarely reach it.

These pages not only go unnoticed, but also weaken the website’s overall structure.

To avoid this, every page should be connected within its topical silo, either from a pillar page or from other related content.

Example website structure for an ecommerce site

On an online store, the architecture follows the same principle as on a content website. The difference is that silos are organised around product categories rather than articles.

For example:

• Home
• Category: Smartphones
• Subcategory: Android smartphones
• Product: Samsung Galaxy S25

Each category groups related products, making navigation easier for users and helping search engines understand the website’s structure more clearly.

SEO internal linking: how to connect your pages

SEO internal linking consists of connecting your website’s pages with links that help search engines and users navigate between related content.

When a visitor can move easily from one article to another on the same topic, the time they spend on the website increases and their browsing experience improves.

At the same time, search engines gain a better understanding of how the content is organised and which pages are most important within each topic.

How authority flows between your pages

Within a semantic silo structure, internal links also help distribute authority between the website’s pages.

This flow of authority, also known as link juice, works in both directions:

Pillar page

Passes its topical relevance to child pages

+

Child pages

Link back to the pillar page and reinforce its importance

Link juice

Authority flows between connected pages

When pages within the same silo link to one another coherently, the whole silo becomes stronger and sends search engines a clearer topical signal.

Internal linking best practices

For internal linking to be effective, it is advisable to follow a few simple rules:

• Use contextual links within the content, not only in menus or footers.
• Connect pages that belong to the same topic or silo.
• Maintain a structure that allows relevance to flow between pillar pages and child pages.

How to choose good anchor text

Anchor text is the word or phrase you click to access another page. It is important for it to be descriptive and related to the content it leads to.

Instead of using generic expressions such as “click here”, it is better to use phrases that clearly indicate the content’s topic. It is also advisable to vary anchor text by using synonyms or related expressions.

How many internal links should you use per page?

There is no magic number, but two or three internal links per page are a good starting point. Make sure every link is relevant and provides value.

Summary: how to create your website architecture

Before creating content or researching keywords, identify the broad topics that will form the basis of your website. Then define the main page ideas that will make up each topic. Each idea should correspond to a single page, allowing you to visualise the website’s future structure. These topics will become the silos in your architecture.

Group related content within the same section. This will create a clear structure for both users and search engines.

Each silo should have a pillar page that introduces the topic broadly and provides an access point to the other related content.

Create pages that answer specific searches or address subtopics related to the pillar page. This organises the content from broad to specific.

Link pillar pages to child pages and add links between related content whenever they provide value to the user.

Make sure no page remains isolated. All content should form part of the website architecture through relevant internal links.

SEO checklist for reviewing your website architecture

Use this list to check that your website architecture is properly organised.

Task	What to check
1. Check the website hierarchy	Confirm that the website follows a logical structure: home → pillar pages → subtopics, when applicable → child pages.
2. Check the internal links	Confirm that pages are connected with relevant, contextual internal links. Prioritise links within the same silo and connect two silos only when there is a clear topical relationship.
3. Look for orphan pages	Make sure no page remains isolated and that each one receives at least one relevant internal link.
4. Analyse the anchor text	Use descriptive text that indicates the destination page’s content and avoid generic links such as “click here”.
5. Check for broken links	Check regularly that no link leads to a 404 error page.

The next step in your Scale & Own journey

Now that you understand how to structure your website and organise your content into topical silos, the next step is to identify the right keywords for each page and article.

These keywords will allow you to complete and optimise your website structure by aligning each piece of content with what users actually search for in search engines. Your website will therefore not only be well organised, but will also have a strong foundation for improving its search visibility.

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