1.2 Indexability & statusMediumInferred
Excessive crawl depth
If an important page sits many clicks from the homepage, both crawlers and users struggle to reach it. I want my key pages shallow in the structure.
What it is
Key pages are many clicks from the homepage.
Why it matters
Deep pages are crawled less often and seen as less important.
How to fix it
Flatten architecture; surface key pages within ~3 clicks.
How to find it on your site
- Crawl the site and read the crawl depth or click depth for each URL.
- Identify important pages more than three or four clicks deep.
- Add links from higher-level hub pages to lift them.
- Re-crawl and confirm the depth has reduced.
Cross-reference to ranking and citation factors
Shallower, well-linked pages tend to be crawled more often and treated as more important. Deep pages can be crawled rarely and rank weakly.
Impact
Medium; crawl frequency and perceived importance. Inferred.
Evidence
Shallow, well-linked architecture aids crawl and importance signals. Google Search Central, Large site owner’s guide to managing crawl budget; Google Search Central, SEO Starter Guide
Sources