Dumb SEO Questions

(Entry was posted by Carl Harvey on this post in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 08/20/2013).

Is it better for seo to have a top menu on my e-commerce site or a side one?

Dumb question time...is it better for seo to have a top menu on my e-commerce site or a side one - Does it matter?
This question begins at 01:47:48 into the clip. Did this video clip play correctly? Watch this question on YouTube commencing at 01:47:48
Video would not load
I see YouTube error message
I see static
Video clip did not start at this question

YOUR ANSWERS

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

  • Michael Chapman: Doesn't (really) matter, from a user experience point of view we prefer top menus.

    Google will read from top to bottom, so that could make a slight difference, as long as they have the right mark-up anywhere will be fine from an SEO perspective. ;
  • Carl Harvey: Thanks Michael, I just changed mine from a top menu to a side...Just to tidy my site up a bit, then thought i may have cocked-up!
    I too prefer top ones but i cant get it to look right on my site :(
  • Michael Chapman: What platform are you using?
  • Carl Harvey: I'm with create.net using one of their templates....just adapted it a little
  • Michael Chapman: Oh right, I was going to suggest trying out MegaMenu if you were on Magento, Afraid I'm not too familiar with create.net
  • Carl Harvey: I'll get there in the end...Just want to be different then my competitors but worried i might cock something up lol
  • Michael Chapman: That's what we are here for!
  • Carl Harvey: Thanks Michael
  • Arseniy Bolotsko: +Carl Harvey ;I don't think it has much to do with SEO. Its more of an user experience issue. You can do some A/B testing and find out which one works best. Also, try to set up a heat map and see what works best for people. I posted this in this group a few months ago.

    https://plus.google.com/108840380323677433130/posts/CFTvD8MDqBt
  • W.E. Jonk: Basically what you are asking is if boilerplate matters. In short, boilerplate content is the content that surround the main content, like navigation or other content. ;

    Google does have specific algorithms to determine boilerplate. Many googlers (google employees) have stated that Google is pretty good at it. Here is a video from Matt Cutts which is still valid (imo):

    Is there a way to indicate boilerplate content on a page?

    In general, to me boilerplate has much more to do with UX (user experience) and how they convert. It does depend but sometimes mega menus work other times it doesn't. However a clear internal link architecture does help to crawl every corner of your site. Here is a great article from +Maile Ohye ;: ;http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.nl/2008/10/importance-of-link-architecture.html

    P.S. I am not familiar with your CMS but I think these resources will help you (or I hope ;-)).
  • Carl Harvey: Great! Many thanks
  • Carl Harvey: +Arseniy Bolotsko ;I will check it out now...many thanks
  • Real Social Shop: It does not matter from a SEO standpoint, but... be careful because, from an user experience it will... and this has the potential to reduce you engagement. ;
  • Dave Keys: Title, description, h1, H2, meta tags, content. Links, social mentions. Menus? Virtually no impact at all.
  • Arseniy Bolotsko: +Dave Keys ;Menu's are important in SEO just not that much in terms of placement. Link structure is a VERY important aspect of SEO just to name one. ;
  • Carl Harvey: Decisions, decisions...i keep moving the menu from the top to the side and back again lol - Thank you all so much for your answers
  • Sam Barnes: It's not an easy question to answer.

    Personally I like seeing the menu at the top. In terms of SEO though it's going to make very little difference IMO.

    Maybe have your primary navigation at the top and some extra options, maybe related to the category the user has selected, in the sidebar!
  • Carl Harvey: I've got a small primary menu at the top and a shed-load secondary ones down the side now lol
  • Sam Barnes: Best of luck +Carl Harvey ;, hope it works out!
  • Carl Harvey: Thanks Sam

View original question in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 08/20/2013).

All Questions in this Hangout