Over the past year, I've realized the value of investing a significant amount of time at the beginning of a project to thoroughly understand a client's site and business. An example of this type of investment is that I've started systematically mapping out the information architecture of my client's sites visually (this was recommended to me via an internal Distilled discussion). Although, this process is time-consuming and often times rigorous and intense, it has easily returned its value multiple times over. Below is detailed information on how to map out the information architecture of a site, as well as different tactics on why mapping is useful from an SEO perspective. So many articles explain how to design interfaces, design graphics and deal with clients. But one step in the Web development process is often skipped over or forgotten altogether: **content planning**. Sometimes called information architecture, or IA planning, this step doesn't find a home easily in many. Sitemapping is a critical phase to the structure of a website because it represents a crucial deliverable of information architecture (IA) — the foundation. Before jumping into your site map design, you'll need to prime the pump by addressing three areas. Step #7 — Designate the type of design template. How to Map Out the Information Architecture of a Site Initially, I started mapping out the information architecture of a site using Microsoft Word. Recently, I've started using the free version of (see diagram below). However, any wire framing tool would work for this task. Below is an example of a mapped out version of a site's information architecture. It is particularly important to visualize the differences between internal links going up and down the hierarchy, so it's best to use two distinct colors. In my diagram I chose to use blue for links going down the hierarchy and red for links going up the hierarchy. I would also choose another color for links going across the hierarchy (although it is not demonstrated in this particular diagram). If you plan to share this map with other individuals, it's best to also include a legend/key, so that it is really easy to distinguish the significance of the different colors. Your information architecture map should incorporate the following: • Hierarchical structure • Internal links (both vertical and horizontal) - see image below of the difference between vertical and horizontal internal links • URL examples Image Courtesy of: How to Use Your Information Architecture Map I've utilized my information architecture map in 4 distinct ways: • Correlating the site's information architecture to metrics • Identifying page types • Identifying technical issues • Competitor analysis 1. Correlating Information Architecture to Metrics Often times, my clients will come to me and ask specific questions, such as 'I've built this page to target so-and-so keyword, yet another page on the site is ranking for that keyword. Why is this happening?' Although, the reason could stem from multiple factors, like external links, having a map of the site's internal linking structure provides you with clearer insight on how you can possibly rectify this issue sitewide. Having this format also makes it easier to compare and contrast two internal pages. This makes it easy to address questions like: • Is a page being linked from a page higher up the information architecture? • Is a page being linked from pages with higher PA? • Is a page being linked from more internal pages? Identifying Page Types By mapping out the information architecture of the site, it becomes very easy to discern the different page types that exist on the site. As a result, when you start conducting a technical review of the site and spot technical SEO issues, it's quicker to determine whether this is just a page-level issue or one that involves all pages of a similar type. ![]() ![]() Knowing this information is critically important when communicating with developers because it defines how they will solve the problem and it also relays how well you know their site and how thoroughly you assessed the issue. Having a strong understanding of the different page types that exist on the site also plays a major role in how you build out future recommendations. Instead of identifying strategies that pertain only to specific pages, it makes it a lot easier to visualize larger scale strategies because you have a really clear understanding of how many different page types exist on the site and how they relate to one another. Identifying Technical Issues Mapping out the information architecture of the site forces you to also become very aware of not only the information architecture of the site, but its content and URL structure. As a result, going through this process makes it really easy for you to spot technical issues with the site, such as duplicate URLs, URL issues (trailing slashes, inconsistencies with upper case/lower case, page types that you may have forgotten about, etc.) and identify patterns of where/why they appear. This is a perfect complement for any type of technical crawl you're already performing on the site. Competitor Analysis Once you've mapped out the information architecture of the site, you can also build out a map of your competitor's information architecture. ![]()
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