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Step 1
Define your target audiences. This will help you develop content and a linking structure that will serve the needs of each of the different types of users your site attracts. Your website may have several different target audiences from those familiar with your services to the casual online researcher. Once you have defined those audiences, list out the various types of content that you anticipate each one will want to view on your website. From these lists, you can start to see where information overlaps and what categories of content emerge.
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Step 2
Organize your content from the visitor's perspective. It may seem logical to outline the flow of your content based on your own sales process or your company's structure. However, this means of organization may not make much sense to your site visitors, especially those who are not familiar with your company or services. Strive to anticipate how a visitor who has never encountered your company will view the information.
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Step 3
Label your links using typical Internet and industry-related terminology. Research other websites similar to yours or others within your industry to see how various links are labeled. Try to remain consistent with your terminology so that visitors know what to expect. Also, seasoned web searchers will look for common terms for general links like FAQs or Contact Us, so remain consistent with Internet standards.
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Step 4
Provide more detailed information as the user clicks deeper into your site. Regardless of your industry, your website will likely have visitors needing various levels of information. Users may include a range from casual researchers who want to digest information quickly and easily to those seeking very specific information who are willing to read and click more to get it. Organize your content so that more general information is located at the entry levels and more detailed content appears as a site visitor continues to click through. Generally, your entry pages can include more images and photographs, while deeper pages can be more text-heavy.
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Step 5
Consider the "3-click rule," but don't be rigid. A general rule of thumb for website usability recommends requiring no more than three clicks to get to any level of information in your site. However, if your content is well-developed and provides adequate information, that rule doesn't necessarily apply. As long as a visitor can continue to find the type of information needed, the visitor will continue to click through pages--regardless of the number of clicks.
