Too many subdirectories

The pages in this report have more than 5 sub-directories in their URL.

Why you should minimize the number of sub-directories in URLs:

Having sub-directories in the URL of a page can be useful for getting an overview of the structure of the website.

However, you should use a maximum of 5 directory levels so that your URLs don't become too long and confusing. From an SEO point of view, you also want to avoid a site structure with too many hierarchy levels.

The "deeper" a page is located, the less likely it is that it will be found and indexed by search engines. Also, pages on a deep hierarchy level tend to be considered less important by search engines than pages closer to the "root" level.

How to fix these problems:

Consider reducing the number of sub-directories for the pages listed here, for example by combining several directory levels.

Here are some basic things to keep in mind:

• Use a maximum of 5 sub-directories per URL, ideally only 1 or 2.
• Nest from general main directories to specific sub-directories (e.g. Clothes > Shoes > Sneakers).
• It should also be possible to access each sub-directory on its own. For example, if you have a URL like www.example.com/shoes/sneakers.html, then the directory /shoes/ should also be accessible independently. This page should then include an overview of the subpages in this directory. This will help create a good user experience.
• Important pages should always be located as close as possible to the root level of the site.

More information on this:

• SEO-friendly URLs - Seobility Wiki
• Video by Matt Cutts: "Does the number of subdirectories in a URL affect its ranking?"