Definition
Crawl depth measures a page's distance from the homepage in number of clicks or navigation levels. Google generally gives more importance to pages close to the homepage (depth 1-2) than to deep pages (depth 4+). The deeper a page is in the site architecture, the less internal PageRank it receives, the less frequently it is crawled, and the less likely it is to rank well. Optimizing crawl depth involves a flat architecture, strong internal linking, and navigation shortcuts (breadcrumbs, contextual links, footer) to bring important pages closer to the surface.
Key Points
- Pages close to the homepage receive more internal PageRank and rank better
- Ideal depth is 3 clicks maximum for strategic pages
- Breadcrumbs and internal linking reduce effective depth
Practical Examples
Flat vs. deep architecture
A site where all important pages are 2-3 clicks from the homepage performs better than a site where some pages require 6+ clicks to reach.
Crawl impact
Server logs show Googlebot visits depth 1-2 pages daily, depth 3-4 pages weekly, and depth 5+ pages monthly or never.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ideally, strategic pages (product pages, landing pages) should be 3 clicks maximum from the homepage. Beyond 4 clicks, pages receive significantly less crawl and internal PageRank.
Use Screaming Frog or Sitebulb, which automatically measure the depth of each page during crawling. Google Search Console also shows the number of clicks to reach a page.
Go Further with LemmiLink
Discover how LemmiLink can help you put these SEO concepts into practice.
Last updated: 2026-02-07