Kev from SEO Optimise listed 5 reasons to do this and I am going to add a 6th.

First, what is meant by folder structure is a URL system that involves several forward slashes more so than equal signs and question marks.

Take the Web Analytics page of the DriveTraffic website. The URL of this page is http://www.drivetraffic.ca/web_analytics/. It could have easily been http://www.drivetraffic.ca/web_analytics.php but I prefer a folder structure so that related pages or pages within the subject category of web analytics can be tucked into this folder structure - for example the Google Analytics page: http://www.drivetraffic.ca/web_analytics/google_analytics.php.

An example of a URL that does not use folder structure is the Toronto Special Events website. Visit the link and look in your address bar to see the difference - the URL was too large to paste here.

Kev’s reasons for using a folder structure include:

1) Full Domain Link Juice
- The full weight of the domain is used when using folders as opposed to sub-domains. This is because the search engines will view the folder as part of the main site rather than a sub-site.

2) More Memorable URL’s
- If your promoting the URL either online or offline it’s far easier to remember if it’s short and simple, making the user add a .html to the end makes it less likely to be remembered.

3) Looks Cleaner/More Professional
- In my opinion filename extensions can look a bit messy, I think something like www.seoptimise.com/services looks far more professional than the previous URL which was www.seoptimise.com/our-services.asp

4) Can Switch Hosting Easily
- Another factor with this change was because it’s possible the site will be moving from a Windows server to Linux in the near future. This means that the ASP file extensions would have to be changed to PHP, using the default page within a folder gets around this problem by removing the need of a file extension in the URL entirely.

5) Easy to Organise
- The root level got very messy using the previous structure, grouping this into foldernames makes the webpages far more manageable. I’ve also found some very similar webpages which are now redirected to one version instead which will help the users and search engines to find exactly what we want them to.

And my number 6 reason is for ease of obtaining data in your web analytics program. Oh and number 7 is potential SEO impact.

But #6 - it is helpful to look at a folder of your website within your web analytics rather than each page sometimes. For example, on an insurance site are the bulk of the people accessing the marine insurance section of the site, car insurance or home insurance? What keywords are used in general to reach the marine section of the site? I don’t want to look at each page within that section to obtain a list of keyword phrases.

Do you need help converting your website to folder format? Feel free to contact us. Should you prefer to do it on your own, remember to use 301 redirects since you will be “renaming” pages!

To make up for a lack of original blog content these days please find a Search Engine Strategies ‘07 New York Session Coverage Roundup for your reading pleasure :-)

To make up for a lack of original blog content these days please find a Search Engine Strategies ‘07 New York Session Coverage Roundup for your reading pleasure :-)

So many people rely on search engine rankings as an indicator of how they are doing and for a while I have been trying to get people to look at their web analytics as a guide rather than using ranking software. My reason in the past has been that rankings change throughout the day and definitely vary depending on where a person lives - how often do you see UK results in the search engine rather than US or Canadian? Google offers personalized results - at the very least based on the address of your ip address.

Yesterday I received proof of why top rankings are not the be all end all. DriveTraffic does not have top rankings for a particular brand of web analytics software (to protect the innocent I am going to keep this post relatively vague) - there are at least two other companies based in the same province that have higher organic rankings and also pay for Sponsored Listings on all of the search engines.

When I received a cold call from a potential client inquiring about service related to this web analytics software, I was wondering why they were calling me when these other sites are always more visible than mine. I figure it had to be that the look and feel of my site appealed to this individual more so than the look and feel of at least one of the other competitors. Turns out I was right! One of the competitors sites was a little busy looking for this particular individual and they chose not to dig around too far in the site to find the information they required.

So…. it is ok not to be #1 in the search engines, especially if you have more content that can help a prospective client make a decision about using your services, if your site conveys a credible image, and is layed out in such a way that the client can easily navigate the site, find your contact information and make an informed decision!

One last part to all of this - your sales technique. Do you answer your phone? Do you return client phone calls promptly? Are you aggressive in trying to close a sale? These things all add up.

If you would like a non-biased view of the credibility of your website, consider hiring DriveTraffic to conduct a focus test on your behalf. You may also want to consider reading some credibility resources.

So many people rely on search engine rankings as an indicator of how they are doing and for a while I have been trying to get people to look at their web analytics as a guide rather than using ranking software. My reason in the past has been that rankings change throughout the day and definitely vary depending on where a person lives - how often do you see UK results in the search engine rather than US or Canadian? Google offers personalized results - at the very least based on the address of your ip address.

Yesterday I received proof of why top rankings are not the be all end all. DriveTraffic does not have top rankings for a particular brand of web analytics software (to protect the innocent I am going to keep this post relatively vague) - there are at least two other companies based in the same province that have higher organic rankings and also pay for Sponsored Listings on all of the search engines.

When I received a cold call from a potential client inquiring about service related to this web analytics software, I was wondering why they were calling me when these other sites are always more visible than mine. I figure it had to be that the look and feel of my site appealed to this individual more so than the look and feel of at least one of the other competitors. Turns out I was right! One of the competitors sites was a little busy looking for this particular individual and they chose not to dig around too far in the site to find the information they required.

So…. it is ok not to be #1 in the search engines, especially if you have more content that can help a prospective client make a decision about using your services, if your site conveys a credible image, and is layed out in such a way that the client can easily navigate the site, find your contact information and make an informed decision!

One last part to all of this - your sales technique. Do you answer your phone? Do you return client phone calls promptly? Are you aggressive in trying to close a sale? These things all add up.

If you would like a non-biased view of the credibility of your website, consider hiring DriveTraffic to conduct a focus test on your behalf. You may also want to consider reading some credibility resources.