Breaking the Sectional Topical Model
Not every website needs a single “Services” landing page or traditional section-level grouping for its offerings. In some cases, each major service stands on its own as a primary navigation link, with no top-level cluster page tying them together. This approach is effective when each service is distinct enough to warrant its own standalone path, or when the site’s purpose and user intent make segmentation more useful for clarity, engagement, and authority.
Below, we outline the best practices for this model, including when to use single-page versus multi-page service layouts, how to support humans, search engines, and AI systems, and what to watch out for in execution.
1. Standalone Service Navigation
| Audience | Value |
|---|---|
| Human | Quick access to core offerings, simple navigation, and clear expectations. |
| Search Engine | Distinct main navigation links reinforce the significance of each service. |
| AI | Each service receives unique context and signal strength for grounding and topic mapping. |
2. Standalone Service Hubs
| Audience | Value |
|---|---|
| Human | Easily identifies which services are simple/straightforward and which are more robust. |
| Search Engine | Page depth matches actual topic complexity, reducing thin content penalties. |
| AI | More accurate representation of service relationships and content granularity. |
3. Content Layout Best Practices
| Audience | Value |
|---|---|
| Human | Consistent headings, structure, and navigation help readers easily digest and compare services. |
| Search Engine | Headings and uniform structure signal key topics and clarify site hierarchy for relevance. |
| AI | Clear layouts and repeated content patterns improve entity extraction and knowledge graphing. |
4. Cross-Linking and Contextual Navigation
| Audience | Value |
|---|---|
| Human | Allows visitors to move directly from one related service to another for deeper learning. |
| Search Engine | Reinforces semantic relationships and distributes authority across related services. |
| AI | Cross-links help LLMs connect related concepts, building richer context and intent pathways. |
Pro Tip:
Internal linking between service pages should be used thoughtfully. Cross-linking from one service to another should only be done when it helps visitors explore related offerings or access deeper information relevant to their needs. Don’t force every service to cross-link for SEO; instead, do it judiciously, always with human clarity in mind.
5. Applying the Single Page Topical Vectoring Model
| Audience | Value |
|---|---|
| Human | Familiar, trustworthy layout reduces confusion and builds user confidence across disparate services. |
| Search Engine | Standardized structure signals quality, reinforces topic relevance, and helps establish authority. |
| AI | Pattern recognition is improved, enhancing how LLMs and answer engines connect, ground, and summarize site-wide content. |
Summary:
Breaking out of the traditional section-based model allows sites with distinct services to play to their strengths and serve their audiences more directly. When you make each service its own “hub”, with as much or as little depth as truly needed, using standardized layouts and strategic cross-linking, you optimize for users, search engines, and AI systems alike.
About The Author
Veteran SEO consultant since 2000, author of the QUART SEO+AI Framework, specializing in forensic site audits since 2006.
Industry speaker at conferences across the US.
Notable Clients include NBC/Universal, Disney, FTD.com, ProFlowers.com, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Union Bank, ACLU, Wired.com