Remember many moons ago, when you had to check physical books out from the library? There were no options to press a couple of buttons on your iPad or your kindle, it would be an all-day expedition. Now let’s reach even further into the archives. Even before you were could access the computers that the library had to offer, remember the rows and rows of small boxes with index cards? These index cards were the library’s way of organizing the different tomes of literature that you wanted to explore. By knowing title or author information, you could browse these boxes and determine the physical location of your book. Sigh. Well those libraries were more ahead of the curve than you thought. They were leveraging a simplified form of today’s subject- content silos.
Fast forward twenty years and content silos are an important component to many Web and marketing strategies. They drive successful SEO and simplified navigation of many of the Websites that you visit every day.
Content Silos Help Search Engines Navigate
Think about clothing Websites. You can search by gender, type of clothing, trend and sometimes season. Products are grouped into these different categories so that those visiting the site have the best user experience. But the visitors to the site are not the only ones who benefit. When content silos are successful, search engines like google also win. They’re basically like an additional customer—a VIP customer who really needs to know how to navigate your site, in order for your site to make lots of money.
This VIP customer also gets to give out awards. (SEO is just the coolest, isn’t it?) These awards are given out based on how relevant the keywords that the site uses are. Remember, these keywords are the ways that content is parsed out, or the way that library books were described on the index cards that we originally discussed.
Feeling confident about basic content silos? Let’s take this one step further. Because even if you click on “Women” or “Men”, we’re betting that this clothing Website will offer many sub-categories of products within these areas. Think terms like “pants”, “tops”, “dresses” and “ties”. These “sub-terms” fit in lists under the different content silos, much like the layout of your flashcards for an upcoming exam. Bet you never thought that that level of organization would come in handy in the professional world, now did you?
While these index cards are largely at the backend of the Website design and really for the use of search engines, as the consumer- you will see them in one location… the URL of each page. Think: www.clothingwebsite.com/mens-ties. Next time you pick out a tie for your dad or brother, you’ll feel much more educated about the science that went into your search!
Build Content Silos through Keyword Research
So… next steps for the SEO afficianado? First up, some keyword research. Think about the different categories, or content silos, that your business’s content fits into. Next, it’s time to dive into keywords. With these laid out, you’ll be able to dive into top-notch content for your site. Stay tuned for tips and tricks about successful Web content.
Questions? Feel free to reach out to Yarra Web. We’d love to hear from you!