Keyword Audit Impact on UX and Information Architecture

A keyword audit isn’t limited to analyzing ranking opportunities. It also offers valuable insights for improving user experience (UX), your interface design, and internal linking between your pages…

Keyword categorization: the first step toward effective siloing

Keyword categorization is much more than a simple sorting exercise. It’s the cornerstone of coherent website architecture and intuitive user experience.

By grouping your keywords by themes and categories, you create clear information silos, facilitating navigation for your visitors and improving search engines’ understanding of your site.

This structured approach strengthens each page’s relevance and optimizes internal linking, thus guiding users toward the most relevant content for their needs.

And of course, you record all this in a sitemap that becomes a guide for your integrator or developer! Use a tool like Boardmix or Figma to create it.

Grouping by keyword families: defining your site’s themes

The grouping by keyword families performed during the audit allows you to clearly establish keyword families to integrate into content, but also to distinguish themes you need to develop.

For example, by adding a thematic blog with content targeting long-tail expressions. By structuring your site around these themes, you improve not only UX but also signal to search engines your site’s relevance for these specific subjects.

This then allows you to pass juice to high-level pages and increase your pages’ EAT (Expertise, Authority, Trust).

Right into the sitemap!

Hierarchizing reading levels

The hierarchization of reading levels resulting from this new structure thus adapts your content to different user types.

Some visitors seek quick, concise information, while others want to deepen the subject.

By adapting your content with the appropriate depth level, which stems from the “tail length” of your keywords, you allow everyone to quickly find what they’re looking for with the degree of precision matching their expectations.

This approach also facilitates mobile reading and improves your site’s accessibility. By offering different reading levels, you meet all your users’ needs and optimize engagement on your site.

Toward an optimized semantic cocoon

A semantic cocoon is an internal linking structure that connects your website’s pages thematically (we’ll discuss this more later). The objective is to create a coherent and relevant content network where each page reinforces other pages’ credibility and authority on the same subject.

If you want to learn more about semantic cocoons, I invite you to follow Laurent Bourrelly’s training, the father of semantic cocoons, by clicking here.

Target pages, mixed pages, complementary pages

In a semantic cocoon, it’s important to distinguish different page types:

• Target pages: These are your site’s main pages, those you want to position on specific keywords. They must be optimized with rich and relevant content, carefully crafted title and meta description tags, and solid internal linking.
• Mixed pages: These pages address related topics and serve as gateways between your site’s different themes. They can contain blog articles, case studies, practical guides, etc.
• Complementary pages: These pages provide additional information or deeper exploration of specific points addressed in target or mixed pages. They can contain term definitions, FAQs, testimonials, etc.

This approach promotes better understanding of your site by search engines, improves your positioning on targeted keywords, and offers a richer and more intuitive user experience: and that’s perfect because a well-executed keyword audit allows you to define a cocoon or page clusters adapted to your audience’s expectations.

Your keyword audit thus becomes a first step to transform your website into a true reference information source for your audience. Again: EAT, Expertise, Authority, Trust!

Working on your page-rank sculpting

The logical continuation of all this is being able to work on your pages’ “page-rank sculpting” to control link equity distribution throughout your website.

The objective is clearly strengthening your most important pages’ authority by limiting outgoing links to less relevant pages or external sites: we do this through different reading levels (and pages) in your architecture.

This technique can be implemented using JavaScript on links you don’t want to value, or more simply by positioning your links appropriately on pages (a link at the bottom of a page sends less juice than a link high in the source code).

A boost for improving UX

Keyword audits don’t just optimize your search engine positioning, they also offer valuable information for improving user experience (UX) on your website. By understanding your audience’s needs and expectations, you can adapt your content, navigation, and design to offer a more pleasant and intuitive experience.

A website optimized for UX is a website that retains its visitors, increases its conversion rate, and strengthens its brand image.

Defining landing pages

Defining landing pages is a fundamental step for optimizing your site’s UX.

Each keyword or keyword group must be associated with a specific page that meets users’ needs and expectations. This page must be optimized with relevant content, attractive visuals, and a clear call to action.

Around it, you can have one or more pages “orbit” to push it and strengthen its authority on search engines. You’ll naturally target keywords that can generate the most traffic and have higher difficulty indices.

Knowing how to present information

Information presentation is a key UX element. And very often, when we talk about internal linking and optimizing juice circulation, indirectly, we’re talking about information presentation.

Should you use bullet lists for links? Put content in columns? With images? Or place a unique Call to Action under a video?

You naturally answer these questions through the sitemap you defined following the keyword audit.

Optimizing navigation to cross-sectional pages

The last point, which again stems from the sitemap and information presentation, the volume of cross-sectional pages will determine the placement, distribution, and form of cross-sectional links, those pointing to “sister” pages of the current page.

Links in text, lists, sliders, as many formats as we’ll easily determine through the sitemap and information presentation. This is very important because often, these cross-sectional links allow relaunching the user’s browsing toward related readings: this improves session and conversion metrics.

Guide conclusion: a keyword audit is an essential investment for your SEO

After exploring in detail the steps, tools, and mistakes to avoid during a keyword audit, it’s clear this approach isn’t simply a box to check but a fundamental investment for your SEO strategy’s success.

A well-conducted keyword audit offers crucial clarity. It allows you to understand:

• Your current positioning: Identify keywords generating traffic, those you’re well-positioned for, and those deserving abandonment.
• Missed opportunities: Discover new relevant keywords, often long-tail, that your audience uses and you’re not yet targeting.
• Your competitors’ performance: Analyze keywords your competitors perform on and adapt your strategy accordingly.

In summary, keyword audits aren’t an end in themselves but the starting point of a more effective and targeted SEO strategy. By investing time and resources in this exercise, you maximize your chances of attracting qualified traffic, improving your search engine positioning, and ultimately achieving your business goals. It’s a continuous process to integrate into your SEO routine to stay relevant and competitive in the constantly evolving digital landscape. It’s the foundation upon which you’ll build a sustainable and high-performing online presence.

Summary of key points

Before concluding, let’s recap the essential elements to remember for conducting an impactful keyword audit:

• Define clear objectives: What’s your audit’s goal? Increase traffic, improve conversion rate, target a new market? The answer to this question will guide your analysis.

• Use a variety of tools: Don’t settle for one data source. Combine information from Google Search Console, Google Analytics, keyword analysis tools (SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc.), and other platforms to get a complete overview.

• Prioritize competitive analysis: Understanding your competitors’ keyword strategies is crucial. Identify their strengths and weaknesses to adapt your own approach.

• Emphasize relevance and search intent: Don’t just target popular keywords. Focus on those relevant to your audience and matching their search intent.

• Don’t neglect long-tail keywords: These specific expressions can generate more qualified traffic and have a higher conversion rate.

• Integrate UX into your keyword strategy: Ensure your content meets your users’ needs and offers them a smooth navigation experience. A keyword audit should influence your website’s architecture and page design.

• Adopt an iterative approach: A keyword audit isn’t a one-time event. It’s a continuous process requiring regular updating and adaptation.

By keeping these key points in mind, you’ll be able to conduct effective keyword audits that will help improve your SEO strategy and achieve your business goals.

Start your keyword audit today!

The time has come to transform acquired knowledge into concrete actions. Don’t let this article become mere reading. Implement the strategies and techniques discussed to propel your website to new visibility heights.

Concrete First Steps:

• Plan your audit: Block time in your calendar. A thorough audit requires concentration and a structured approach. Set a start date and end date to ensure you meet your commitment.

• Gather your tools: Ensure you have access to mentioned tools: Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and at least one third-party keyword analysis tool. Familiarize yourself with their interface and features.

• Define your objectives SMART way: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. For example: “Increase organic traffic by 20% over the next 6 months by targeting long-tail keywords related to [your niche]”.

Useful Resources:

• Audit checklist: Create a checklist based on key steps described in this guide. This will help you track your progress and forget nothing.
• Report templates: Use report templates to organize your data and present your conclusions clearly and concisely.

Remember that keyword audits are a continuous process. Integrate them into your SEO routine and regularly reassess your strategy based on obtained results and market developments. The digital landscape is dynamic, your SEO approach must be too. So, get started and begin reaping the fruits of an optimized keyword strategy!