Content structure needs to be part of your content strategy

When organizations think about content strategy, a major focus is on plain language, editorial tone, messaging consistency, or channel planning. These are critical elements to make the content strategy work. We can’t miss out on the other critical element that is frequently underdeveloped or overlooked entirely: content structure.

Structure isn’t just a matter of organizing pages. It’s the scaffolding that allows content to be findable, meaningful, reusable, and future-ready. Without it, your content might be well-written but ultimately ineffective.

What is content structure? 

Content structure refers to the site map or page structure, content components, metadata, taxonomy, content types, and content models.

Why structure matters

You’ll need a solid content structure whether you’re building a content-rich website, scaling a resource library, or preparing for personalization and AI. Here’s why:

  • Improved findability: A well-structured site map and consistent taxonomy help both users and search engines find the right content, faster.

  • Enhanced user experience: Clear structure simplifies wayfinding, supports scannability, and helps users achieve their goals with minimal friction.

  • Reduced duplication and rework: Structured content encourages reuse by enabling modular design, reducing redundant content across channels.

  • Future-proofed content: Metadata and taxonomy make content machine-readable and AI-friendly, allowing for personalization and intelligent surfacing of related information.

To set a great content structure to realize your content strategy, you’ll need to focus on a few areas.

Content audit and mapping

Start by understanding what you have. A structural audit looks at:

  • What content exists

  • Where it lives

  • How it performs

  • How it uses metadata and taxonomy

We also look at the personas, user journeys, and business goals to find content gaps, redundancies, and opportunities.

Content strategy and recommendations

Based on the findings in the discovery phase, we create the content strategy statement, content strategy vision, and recommendations and tasks needed to build out the content strategy. We include any recommendations for site structure or site map, metadata, taxonomy, content types, and content models. 

Read more: You can learn more about the content structure elements in our articles:

Site map design

A site map details how pages are related on your site. When we make a site map, we ensure that it:

  • Aligns with user tasks 

  • Provides predictable patterns and relationships between content

  • Supports different entry points for different audiences

  • Is flexible enough to grow without becoming chaotic

Content types and content models

Content types are somewhat like templates for your content.  Content types outline the: 

  • Content purpose

  • Required fields and metadata

  • On-page layout components

  • Associated taxonomy and relationships

Content types enable consistency, improve production efficiency, and support dynamic displays of related content. 

Metadata and Taxonomy

Your content can’t be structured without the invisible layer beneath it:

  • Metadata makes content findable and sortable—title, description, topic, date, audience.

  • Taxonomy applies controlled vocabularies that help group, relate, and filter content across the ecosystem.

Together, they support not just human navigation, but analytics, personalization, and AI applications.

Structure Fuels Innovation

Want to enable personalized content experiences? Use content structure. Want to build AI tools that surface relevant content? Use content structure. Want to empower internal teams with better reporting and insights? Use content structure.

Once you have built this foundational content strategy and content structure, you can build on top of it.

Final Thought

If your content strategy isn’t tackling structure—site maps, content types, metadata, and taxonomy—then it’s missing the part that makes everything else work.

Make structure your strategy’s superpower. Your users and your future projects will be amazed!

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