Silo Structure Explained

Silo Structure and LSI (latent semantic indexing) are two terms generally said within one breath. They are two peas in a pod and it is logically impossible to separate them in practice. Without LSI you could not have Silo Structure. Let me back up a bit, though, and start with some definitions.

Silo Structure: A site design structure using categories to optimize content for Search Engine bots and humans.

The best way to think of it is that your main site is a hub. It is based on a broad topic that is then split into categories. Each category will have its own page: a Silo. Each of these pages should be designed as a stand-alone niche site, linking back to the main hub.

Latent Semantic Indexing: A tool used to find relevant keywords based on their appearance in “natural” human conversations relating to the main topic

To use LSI, you’d ask yourself one important question: When I’m having a conversation with someone about my main topic what other words are often used. For example, if my main topic was music, I would have SIilos for different genres of music, musical instruments, etc. The main topic you choose will help determine how many Silos you will have.

The silo structure is an intuitive structure; it’s natural. Humans naturally organize things heirarchically as a means of understanding complex information. We can see this type of structure in everything from the Dewey Decimal system to the food chain. As search engines become more and more attuned to how the human brain works, their appreciation for the silo structure grows.

What this means is that silo-structured sites are indexed faster and stick around in the search engines longer. You will also get many more pages in your site indexed if you correctly apply silo and LSI. As search engines think more and more like humans, silo structure will only increase a site’s attractiveness to the bots.

I read a great report by Jean-Philippe Schoeffel the other day entitled Secrets to Niche Mastery: Beyond Silo Structure and LSI. In this report, Jean-Philippe discussed his use of a “silo of silos.” By increasing the silo structure from two levels to three, you can increase your traffic exponentially. You created several silo hubs connected to related niche sites, but also all related under one large topic. For example, my broadest topic might be travel. Then, I will have three small sites: European Travel, Asian Travel and South American Travel. Each of these topics will be hubs for silos with laser-targeted niches.

Search engines eat up Silo sites like candy. With a standard silo structure, you can hold a search bot captive while it crawls your entire site. With the silo of silos method, you’ve made the search bot your own personal traffic slave.