What is Crawl Depth?
Crawl depth (also called click depth) refers to the number of clicks required to reach a specific page from the homepage. Pages at depth 1 are linked directly from the homepage, depth 2 requires two clicks, and so on. Search engines generally give more importance to pages closer to the homepage.
Why Crawl Depth Matters
- Pages deeper than 3-4 clicks may not get crawled regularly
- Important pages should be within 3 clicks of the homepage
- Shallow depth signals to Google that a page is important
- Deep pages receive less internal PageRank and authority
How to Optimize Crawl Depth
Flatten your site architecture by linking important pages from the homepage or main navigation. Use breadcrumb navigation, create hub pages that link to related content, and ensure your internal linking strategy keeps critical pages within 3 clicks.