The number of clicks from the homepage to reach a given URL.
Crawl depth reflects how far into a site’s structure a page sits, measured by clicks from the homepage or primary entry points. Shallow depth generally improves crawl frequency, discovery, and authority flow. Excessive depth can hinder indexation and reduce organic performance, especially for newly published or commercially important pages.
| Criteria | Recommended | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Intent Alignment | Map $crawl depth to user journeys and topics | Validate with SERP and on-site behavior |
| Consistency | Encode in components and content standards | Use CMS validations and preview QA |
| Measurement | Track internal CTR, sync signals, conversions | Set guardrails to catch regressions |
Key product pages accessible within two clicks
Deep blog archives at click depth 5+ that see poor crawling
Improves discovery and indexation
Strengthens internal authority flow
Enhances user navigation speed
Keep important pages within 2–3 clicks of the homepage
Use hubs and cross-linking to reduce depth
Surface priority URLs in navigation and sitemaps
Monitor depth distribution after launches
Links that connect one page of a website to another page on the same domain.
The number of pages search engine bots will crawl on your site within a given timeframe.
The structure and organization of pages, content, and navigation on a website.
The rate at which a site gains or loses backlinks over time.
The HTML title of a page, a key relevance and CTR element in SERPs.
URL patterns that create infinite or near-infinite crawl paths that waste resources.
Substantially similar content available at multiple URLs, diluting relevance and signals.
RankVectors uses AI-powered semantic analysis to help you implement intelligent internal linking strategies automatically.
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The most important, comprehensive pages that anchor a topic on your site.
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