6-Step Structure Process
Site structure doesn't come from intuition — it comes from data. Learn the 6-step process for building a SILO architecture that correctly reflects what Google expects from your niche.
What you'll learn
- Understand why site structure must be built from competitor data, not intuition
- Know how to select the right competitors for structure analysis
- Learn to extract SILO structure from Ahrefs Top Pages data
- Understand how to validate subtopics before adding them to the structure
- Build a prioritized implementation roadmap from the structure map
Structure Comes After Research, Never Before
The most common site structure mistake is designing the navigation first and then trying to find content for it. In SEO, the process is reversed: research shows which topics exist in the niche, and structure is built to house them in a way that maximizes topical authority.
You cannot invent the right structure by thinking about your business. You discover it by analyzing what's already working in your niche — which topics competitors rank for, how they organize them, and what Google's search volume data reveals about user needs.
Step 1: Identify the Central Topic
The central topic is what Google should primarily associate with the site. For a site selling car insurance, the central topic is "car insurance UK" — not "insurance" (too broad) and not "comprehensive car insurance comparison for UK drivers under 25" (too narrow to be the center).
Identify it from: the client's primary revenue source, top GSC impression queries, and Ahrefs Organic Keywords sorted by traffic.
Step 2: Select the Right Competitors
Choose competitors by business model match, not just SERP proximity. An informational blog competing for the same queries as your commercial site has completely different structure needs:
| Site Type | Analyze These Competitors |
|---|---|
| Commercial (sells products/services) | Commercial competitors with similar products |
| Informational / blog | Informational and mixed sites in the niche |
| SaaS / B2B | Direct product competitors; check G2 listings |
| Affiliate / aggregator | Other aggregators and review sites in the niche |
Step 3: Extract SILO Structure from Ahrefs
Open Ahrefs → Site Explorer → Top Pages for each competitor. Sort by number of keywords (not traffic). This shows pages that Google validates as relevant for the most queries — they are the highest-value topic clusters in the niche.
Analyze the URL patterns. /car-insurance/, /van-insurance/, /business-insurance/ — these URL segments are SILO candidates. Pages with consistent URL prefixes form natural SILO clusters that have already proven their SEO value.
Step 4: Validate with Keyword Research
For each SILO candidate identified from competitor structure, verify there is sufficient search demand by checking Ahrefs Keywords Explorer for the core keyword. A SILO with fewer than 100 combined monthly searches across all its topics may not be worth building at this stage.
Also check for People Also Ask to identify supporting article topics within each SILO — these become the leaf pages.
Step 5: Map the Full SILO Graph
Once SILOs are validated, draw the three-level map:
- Hub page (pillar) — one per SILO, covers the main topic broadly
- Category pages — 3-8 per SILO, cover major subtopics
- Leaf pages — articles and product pages covering specific queries
Define the linking rules for each level: hub links to all categories, categories link to all their leaves, leaves link back up to their category and across to related leaf siblings.
Step 6: Prioritize Implementation
Not all SILOs are implemented at once. Prioritize by:
- Revenue impact — which SILO drives client conversions?
- Gap size — which SILO has the most competitor pages that the client doesn't have?
- Technical ease — can this SILO be built with existing CMS templates?
- Competition level — which SILOs have the most achievable ranking potential for the current domain authority?
Key Takeaways
- Site structure is discovered from data (competitor pages, search volume, PAA) — never designed from intuition
- Competitors for structure analysis must have the same business model — different models serve different entity sets
- Ahrefs Top Pages sorted by keyword count reveals which SILO clusters Google validates as most relevant in the niche
- Each SILO needs three levels: hub (pillar), category pages, and leaf pages — each level linked to the others
- Prioritize SILO implementation by revenue impact, competitive gap size, and achievable ranking difficulty