Siloing for your SEO

Optimize your SEO thanks to siloing, a method of structuring content into thematic categories. Improve your visibility in search engines and boost your ranking. Find out how to set up an effective silo structure.

Siloing is a content structuring method widely used in SEO to improve website visibility and search engine ranking. This approach consists of organizing content into thematic categories to make it easier for indexing robots to understand the site and optimize its online presence. By creating relevant, hierarchical content silos, you can increase the relevance of your pages and improve their ranking in search results. Find out in this article how to set up an effective silo structure to boost your SEO.

What is siloing?

Siloing, also known as silo structure, is a technique used in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to organize and structure the content of a website hierarchically. This approach consists of grouping the site's pages into distinct thematic categories, which makes it easier to organize information and find what you're looking for. navigation for users.

Definition of siloing

Siloing is a method of structuring content by organizing the pages of a website into distinct thematic categories. Each category represents a silo, and the pages within each silo are closely linked by their common subject matter. Internal links between pages in the same silo reinforce thematic coherence and facilitate exploration by search engines.

Siloing objectives

The main aim of siloing is to improve the user experience by making it easier to find relevant information. It also optimizes the website's visibility and natural referencing by reinforcing thematic coherence and facilitating exploration by search engines.

Siloing principles

Siloing is based on two main principles: the segmentation of content into distinct thematic categories, and the creation of internal links between pages within the same silo. This approach enhances content relevance and thematic coherence, making it easier for search engines to crawl and improving site SEO.

Why use siloing for SEO?

Siloing is an effective SEO technique for several reasons. Firstly, it helps to organize and structure content in a logical way, making it easier for users to navigate. In addition, siloing reinforces thematic coherence and facilitates exploration by search engines, which can improve the site's ranking in search results. Finally, siloing helps to better distribute "SEO juice" or authority among the various pages of the site, which can help to improve the ranking of individual pages.

How do you create a silo structure?

There are several key steps to creating a siloed structure for your SEO website.

Step 1: Theme analysis

Before you start creating a silo structure, it's essential to carry out a thorough analysis of your website's thematic focus. Identify the main topics you want to focus on and determine the relevant keywords for each thematic category.

Step 2: Definition of main categories

Once you've identified the main topics, define the main categories that will represent your silos. Each silo should have a clear and distinct subject, and the pages within each silo should be closely linked by their common subject.

Step 3: Sub-category organization

Once you've defined your main categories, organize the sub-categories within each silo. Sub-categories should be thematically linked to the main category and act as chapters or sections within each silo.

Step 4: Creating internal links

The creation of internal links between pages in the same silo is essential to reinforce thematic coherence and facilitate exploration by search engines. Create relevant, contextual links between pages in the same silo to facilitate user navigation and help search engines understand your site's structure and content.

Step 5: Content optimization

Once your silo structure is in place, it's time to optimize the content of each page. Use relevant keywords for each category and sub-category, and make sure the content is high-quality and relevant to users.

Step 6: Follow-up and adjustments

Don't forget to monitor the performance of your siloed structure using web analytics tools. Keep an eye on organic traffic, page rankings bounce rateand conversions. Make the necessary adjustments based on the results obtained to continually optimize your silo structure.

The benefits of siloing for SEO

Siloing offers a number of advantages for a website's SEO.

Improving your site's structure

Siloing allows you to better organize the content of your website by structuring pages into distinct thematic categories. This makes navigation easier for users and improves the overall experience on the site.

Ease of exploration by search engines

Siloing reinforces thematic coherence and facilitates exploration by search engines. Internal links between pages in the same silo help search engines to understand the structure and content of your site, which can improve your ranking in search results.

Optimizing the distribution of SEO juice

Siloing allows you to better distribute "SEO juice" or authority between the different pages of your website. Optimized internal links and thematic consistency reinforce signals of relevance and quality, which can help improve search engine rankings.

Siloing best practices

To get the most out of siloing, it's important to follow certain best practices.

Use a clear hierarchical structure

A siloed structure should be hierarchical and logical, with main categories and sub-categories organized in a coherent way. Make sure that your website's structure is easily understood by users and search engines alike.

Choose relevant keywords for each category

Each category and sub-category in your silo should be focused on relevant keywords. Thoroughly research the keywords related to your topic and make sure you include these keywords in the content and tags of your pages.

Creating quality content in each silo

Each page in your silo should offer high-quality content that is relevant to users. Avoid content that is too short or superficial, and aim to provide added value to your visitors in each silo.

Avoiding duplicate content

Make sure you avoid duplicate content within your silo structure. Each page should offer unique and distinct content, to avoid cannibalization and confusion for users and search engines.

Ensure consistency of internal links

Internal links between pages in the same silo must be consistent and relevant. Choose link anchors wisely and make sure they link to the relevant pages within each silo.

Optimizing meta tags and URLs

Don't forget to optimize meta tags, such as title and description tags, for each page in your silo. Also make sure that page URLs are clear, concise and optimized for relevant keywords.

Internal networking between silos

In addition to internal links within each silo, it's also important to establish links between silos to reinforce the overall coherence and relevance of your website. Create relevant links between silos to facilitate navigation and exploration by users and search engines.

Mistakes to avoid when setting up a silo structure

When setting up a silo structure, it's important to avoid certain common mistakes.

Overloading a category with too much content

It's essential not to overload a category with too much content. The aim of siloing is to organize content in a coherent way and make navigation easier for users. Overloading a category with too much content can make navigation confusing and dilute page relevance.

Ignore meta tags and URL optimization

Optimizing meta tags and URLs is essential for your website's SEO. Neglecting to optimize these elements can have a negative impact on your search engine rankings.

No links between silos

It's important to provide links between the different silos in your silo structure. Links between silos reinforce overall relevance and enable users and search engines to navigate easily between different content categories.

Failure to monitor and adjust on a regular basis

Tracking the performance of your silo structure is essential to continually optimize your website. Don't forget to make adjustments based on the results obtained, and to optimize your siloing strategy on a regular basis.

Not using relevant keywords

The use of relevant keywords is essential to the success of your silo structure. Make sure you conduct thorough research on keywords related to your topic and optimize your content accordingly.

Measuring the success of siloing

To measure the success of your silo structure, it's important to track certain key metrics.

Organic traffic analysis

Monitor your website's organic traffic data to assess the impact of your silo structure. Observe traffic trends, traffic sources and keywords that drive organic traffic to your site.

Increase page ranking

Regularly check the search engine rankings of your pages. If your silo structure is effective, you should see an increase in the ranking of the pages associated with each silo.

Improved bounce rate

A low bounce rate indicates that users find your website content relevant and interesting. Monitor the bounce rate of your pages to assess the impact of your silo structure on user experience.

Increased time spent on the site

An effective silo structure should encourage users to stay longer on your website. Monitor time spent on site to assess the impact of your silo structure on user engagement.

Increased conversions

By structuring your website effectively, you should see an increase in conversions. Track conversion data to assess the impact of your siloed structure on your website's ultimate goal.

Siloing alternatives

Although siloing is an effective way of organizing website content, there are other approaches too.

Tree structure

A tree structure is the organization of a website's content into a hierarchical tree structure, with main categories and more specific sub-categories. This approach also organizes content logically, making it easier for users to navigate.

Inverted pyramid structure

The inverted pyramid structure is an approach that places the most important and general pages at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the more specific and specialized pages. This approach aims to maximize the visibility of the most important pages right from the start.

Mesh structure

The mesh structure consists in creating links between all the pages of a website, without any specific hierarchy. This approach aims to maximize the visibility of all pages, and makes it easy to navigate between different sections of the site.

Examples of sites using siloing

Siloing is widely used by many websites to improve their SEO and user experience. Here are a few examples of sites that successfully use the silo structure:

Example 1: Online clothing retailer

An online clothing retailer could use siloing to organize its products into categories such as "Women", "Men", "Children" and "Accessories". Each category would then have more specific sub-categories, such as "Dresses", "T-shirts", "Trousers", etc.

Example 2: Cooking blog

A cooking blog could use siloing to organize its recipes into categories such as "Starters", "Main courses" and "Desserts". Each category would then have more specific sub-categories, such as "Soups", "Pastas", "Cakes", etc.

Example 3: News site

A news site could use siloing to organize its articles into categories such as "Politics", "Sport", "Culture" and "Technology". Each category would then have more specific sub-categories, such as "Elections", "Football", "Movies", etc.

Conclusion

Siloing is an effective technique for organizing and structuring website content hierarchically. By grouping pages into distinct thematic categories and creating relevant internal links, siloing improves the user experience, facilitates crawling by search engines and optimizes the site's SEO. By following good siloing practices and avoiding common mistakes, you can maximize the benefits of this approach for your SEO website.