How You Can Create an SEO & User-Friendly Navigation for Local Businesses

The best websites are easy to use and optimised with navigation, call to actions and the customer journey built in. A well organised navigation menu and url structure is a safe bet on ensuring visitors can find what they need with ease. It will improve the user experience and engagement metrics as well as helping search engines to rank your site better in local searches.

Today I am going to share with you steps that I follow to design a website navigation that follows best practices and benefits people and search engines alike. These best practices will assist your website to get better engagement, more traffic and a higher conversion rate.

Does Website Navigation Help Local SEO?

Website navigation will help or hinder visitors user experience. If you want to offer the best experience possible then you need to help people find there way around your site. If you site is well structured it is one of the best ways you can improve your local SEO performance.

How Much Does Navigation Matters for SEO?

When it comes to SEO your navigation and website structure it needs to be clear and logical because if your site is hard to understand and use people will just leave and you will get a high bounce rate. Search engines will look at this metric and it will likely affect your rankings in a bad way. Also if you are using a hierarchy website structure then you’ll have a depth to your website which can be good for SEO at it creates supporting content and depth of concept. However if the depth is too much then search engines probably won’t find the pages or index them if the URL is too long.: A crawl depth of 1 means the page is the most important. It then goes on a sliding scale downwards. Having a hierarchical site structure will also tell you how your content is related to your domain making it easier for the search engine to deliver local results.

SEO Tip: If you add breadcrumb navigation to your website you can help users and search engines by providing a clear path through your site’s hierarchy. Breadcrumbs although simple  can serve to improve usability and visibility in the SERPs.

How To Improve User Experience with Navigation Design

A navigation system that is user friendly will keep your visitors on your site for longer and lead them to more of your content. Here is how I give the best possible experience to my website visitors:

• Create A Menu Layout: I design a navigation menu that is simple and intuitive. The most important pages like Home and Services pages, are placed in top positions that are easy to see. If you want some inspiration here is how to pick the best pages on your website to optimise.. I always make sure the menu layout is arranged to match how my target visitors read (left to right).

• Build Internal Links That Make Sense: The inclusion of internal links within the navigation and content helps guide users to relevant pages and improves the UI. The links also connect website pages together in ways that otherwise wouldn’t be possible and helps search engines make connections between your content. This works for both main service pages and blog pages.

• Make A Responsive Design: With most websites getting over 50% of their traffic from mobile devices you always need to create the nav menu with a mobile first mindset. I make sure the designs I use work smoothly on any device, providing a nice experience for all users.

Pro Tip: If you place a call to action or contact information directly in the navigation menu it will increase the chances of people interacting with it.

Why Your Should To Organise Your Content for Better Navigation

Before you look at any of the technical aspects when designing your navigation system, you should plan your content carefully. Make sure you organise your content in a logical way that will make it easier for people to find what they are looking for and also for search engines to best understand your site.

How To Set Up a Logical Website Structure?

A clear website structure is needed for a workable navigation system. Here’s how I organise content for local businesses I work with:

• Product and Service Pages Get Priority: Products and services pages are the most valuable pages on a website as they drive conversions. I make sure they are easy to access from a navigation perspective and optimised with relevant keywords that match peoples search queries. 

• Review and Testimonial Pages: Social proof helps with trust and does wonders to convert visitors into customers. I create dedicated pages for reviews and testimonials which are displayed in the main menu as well as sprinkle in reviews throughout the main pages. 

• Location or Service Area Pages: If you have a business that operates in different locations or has a wide service area then it is important to create a landing page for each area you work. These individual landing pages should be pretty optimised with local keywords and easy to access from the navigation. or at the very least the footer.

• About & Brand Pages: Every business should have an About Us page in my humble opinion. It tell the customer their story and serves the purpose of building trust. An about us page should definitely be in your navigation.

• Blog: A blog is a great way to draw in visitors to your site that otherwise wouldn’t have found you. Keep the posts neatly organised into categories

• Contact Page: The Contact Us page is one of the most important pages on a website. A person shouldn’t have to scour up and down to find your contact info. On mobile have a floating call us button and on desktop have a contact us link in the header.

SEO Tip: By using submenus to group related content under broader categories you will keep the navigation menu clean and help people find what they are looking for more quickly.

How To Balance SEO and User Experience in The Navigation

if you create a navigation system that works for both people and search engines then you must:

Use Clear and Descriptive Labels

A navigation labels should always be descriptive and unambiguous. I try to avoid generic terms at all costs like “Services” and instead use labels with keywords in such as “Plumbing Services” or “Tax Preparation.” This approach helps users understand what to expect from the page that is behind the link and assists search engines in ranking your content accurately.

Include Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumbs provide people with a clear path back to previous sections of the site without having to tinker with the URL bar. This makes it easier to explore your website. Breadcrumbs when implemented will also help a search engine understand the site structure which can lead to better rankings. Note the breadcrumbs don’t always have to match the URL, they are two separate things.

Optimising for Mobile Users

Go with a mobile friendly mobile first approach and make sure that the navigation is responsive and works well on any screen size. If your desktop menu doesn’t collapse to a mobile menu on a particular screen size then fix this issue or your going to irritate IPad and tablet users.

What Advanced Techniques Are There for Improving Website Navigation?

For a business looking to take their website navigation to the next level, there are a few advanced techniques I can recommend:

• Mega Menus

• Search Bar Integration

• Location-Specific Navigation

• Call-to-Action Buttons: Include clear calls-to-action within your navigation, such as “Book Now” or “Get a Quote,” as it tells the user to take action.

• Visual Elements: Icons and other visual elements can enhance the user experience but don’t overdo it, use them sparingly to avoid cluttering the nav menu.

Pro Tip: Review your user paths from time to time and conduct A/B testing to help you refine your nav based on how people are using your site.

How Can You Make Your Navigation Accessible to Everyone?

When designing any part of a website a professional web designer will always be taking into consideration accessibility even with regards to the navigation. Here is how I make sure navigation always ticks the right boxes in terms of navigation.

• Keyboard Accessibility:  The navigation menu needs to be easily used with a keyboard, which is really important for people who rely on assistive technologies.

• Screen Reader Compatibility: The navigation menu should be compatible with screen readers used by visually impaired users.

• Colour Contrast: The text in the navigation menu needs to stand out clearly against the background.

SEO Tip: I use tools like page speed insights to ensure that the site’s navigation meets all accessibility and usability standards. Anything under a 90 score should be looked at and addressed.

How To Keep A Website Navigation Up to Date?

A website’s navigation system is not something you can set and forget, It needs to be looked at regularly and updated to remain effective. Here is how I maintain your navigation:

• Regular Updates: As your website grows and changes over time you will need to revisit your navigation menu to make sure it reflects your current offerings.

• Monitoring User Behaviour: Learn Google analytics and Google Tag Manager to track how people are using your menus. These free Google tools will help you identify ways to improve..

• A/B Testing: By conducting A/B testing you can compare different nav structures to see which one performs best for your audience.

SEO Tip: Keep an eye on your site’s organic rankings using Google Search Console and tools like SEMrush’s rank tracker as they can measure the impact of any changes related to your navigation and your search engine performance.

Frequently Asked Questions: Best Practices for Navigation

1. Should I Use a Hamburger Menu on My Local Business Website?

Hamburger menus are a good option if you want to save space on a mobile website, plus people are used to them these days. For local businesses with simpler websites I would always go with a traditional horizontal navigation bar. If a website has a lot of pages or is mainly for mobile users then a hamburger menu will always be my first choice.

2. How Many Navigation Items Are Too Many?

There is exact rule but I generally recommend keeping your navigation menu as simple as possible. Try to aim for 5-7 top level navigation items and use submenus to organise additional pages underneath.

3. Should I Hide My Contact Information in the Navigation Menu?

Your contact information should always be easy to find. I usually recommend placing it directly in the top level of the navigation or in a clearly marked Contact Us section so visitors can easily reach you.

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