3 SEO Myths About Information Architecture

PageRank sculpting, siloing, link-juice flowage, SEO architecture - these are keyword phrases that often make my skin crawl. The reason? I commonly hear these words come from search engine optimization (SEO) professionals in reference to a website's information architecture (IA). Yet, when I am among my information architecture colleagues? I rarely hear these words, if at all.
What happens when I explain to my information architecture colleagues how PageRank sculpting is supposed to work? They look at me as if I have lost my mind, because no professional information architect, that I know of, determines a website's information architecture and corresponding navigation schemes based on a math equation from Google.
Where is the disconnect? Is the problem that information architects do not understand search engine optimization ... or is the problem that SEO professionals do not understand information architecture? Or are both parties equally ignorant? Should there be bridges?
To help SEOs understand an information architect's point of view, here are some of the common myths and misconceptions that search engine optimizers have about information architecture.
Myth # 1: SEO is SEO & IA is IA
and high-end site builders, whereas SEO is a down and dirty marketing tactic carried out by hip guerrilla marketers, a house, getting your architecture wrong at the start can cost you a lot further down the line.
I have been saying for years that SEO is optimizing a website for people who use search engines. There are two parts to that equation: searchers and search engines. I often feel that many SEO professionals ignore or discount the of search engine optimization. Likewise,mbt footwear sale, I often feel that SEOs and web developers alike forget the
A Site Architecture (SA) for SEO is a combination of just two things: Information Architecture (IA) and Technical Architecture (TA), .
Amen to that, Alan.
Myth # 2: The SEO Architecture ...
Whenever I hear the phrase Based on data from keyword research tools, and
Based on the mental models of SEOs, not users / searchers
This type of architecture commonly results in a website that ranks well-temporarily (if at all) but has a high abandonment rate and poor conversions.
is about the whole user experience, not just findability.
Two goals of an effective information architecture are to make desired content: (1) easy to use and (2) easy to find via both searching and browsing. Searcher goals and business goals are not mutually exclusive.
that information architects recommend are subtle; other times, the changes are unmistakable, requiring wholesale changes to directory structures, URL paths and over-arching navigation structures.
In cases where information architects find a wide mis-alignment between ideal and existing structures, consider the real-world architectural metaphor that information architecture derives from, decide between adapting an existing structure or tearing everything down and starting from scratch, so too with matters of information architecture.
Many website owners are afraid to modify ranked pages, even though the sites' existing information architectures are confusing to searchers.
Website owners are afraid to lose qualified search engine traffic. But consider this-you are already losing users / searchers by not having a website that makes sense to your target audience. Adapting an existing structure to be crawler friendly isn't always the best solution.
Which leads me to the next myth ....
Myth # 3: Web Searchers Are Not Site Users
: Conversations with your Customers (available in May 2011 from Rosenfeld Media).
searchers may seek information about that organization's services and offerings.
In the table below, former Michigan State University technologist Rich Wiggins compared the top keywords that brought users to the MSU site with what they searched once they reached the site (on the site's search engine):

search queries often deal with activities local to the campus (eg, 'football'), systems that students and staff use (eg, 'spartantrak'), and particular departments like chemistry.
I think that it is really important for SEO professionals to perform a combination navigational: informational and navigational: transactional advanced queries to verify that they are communicating aboutness to both site visitors and search engines. Here are some examples (using the National Cancer Institute site):
lung cancer site: www.cancer.gov
allintitle: lung cancer site: www.cancer.gov
contact NCI site: www.cancer.gov
This web SEO will also help site SEO.

lot of money. Key Takeaways It might be difficult for technical teams to take direction and guidance from non-technical information architects. Don't let anyone from your tech team intimidate you into believing something cannot be changed.
Site Architecture = Technical Architecture + Information Architecture. Both TA and IA are critical for a long-term success.
Adapting an existing information architecture to be crawler friendly isn't always the best solution. If the site's information architecture is the problem? Then fix the problem. Don't put a band-aid on it and expect miracles.
Web searchers are site users.
Site search analytics can save SEO / SEM professionals time and money. References Ambient Findability - informal bibliography
Information Architecture Research from Semantic Studios
Morville, P. (2005). Ambient Findability. Sebastpol, CA: O'Reilly Media.
Morville, P. and Rosenfeld, L. (2007). Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 3rd edition. Sebastpol, CA: O'Reilly Media.
Search Patterns library