| Course | MKT 446 Search Engine Optimization (MKT/446) |
|---|---|
| Week | 3 |
| Paper type | SEO website architecture plan |
| Length | about 1,075 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Business |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MKT 446 Week 3
Three Clicks to the Right Clinic: Designing a Search-Friendly Website Architecture for a Veterinary Practice in the Treasure Valley
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
MKT/446: Search Engine Optimization
Week 3 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Treasure Valley Animal Hospitals and its website are composites written for a model paper.
Last week, Treasure Valley Animal Hospitals chose 24 target keywords and assigned each to a page. Most of those pages do not yet exist. The current site, built in 2016, has 14 pages: a home page, an about page, a single services page listing 22 services, three clinic pages, a page of forms and several pages of old news. Before new content is written, the practice needs a structure that holds it. This paper audits the current site and proposes a search-friendly architecture.
Auditing the Current Structure
The current site is flat and thin. Every service shares one page, so a search engine cannot tell whether the practice offers dental care in depth or mentions it in a list. Clinic pages contain an address, hours and a photo, but nothing that distinguishes them, so they compete with one another. URLs include strings of numbers, such as a page ID, that say nothing about the content. The site has no XML sitemap, several broken links and no breadcrumb trail. On phones, the menu hides behind an icon and opens a list of 11 items in no clear order.
How Link Structure Signals Importance
Kleinberg (1999) proposed that the web contains two kinds of valuable pages: authorities, which contain strong information on a topic, and hubs, which link to many good authorities. The two reinforce each other: good hubs point to good authorities, and good authorities are pointed to by good hubs. Search systems have since developed far beyond this model, but the idea translates into site design. A services hub that links to detailed service pages, and that those pages link back to, helps search engines understand which pages are central to each topic.
Labels and Information Scent
Pirolli and Card (1999) developed information foraging theory, which compares people looking for information to animals foraging for food. People follow cues, which the authors called information scent, that suggest a path will lead to what they want, and they abandon paths when the scent weakens. A menu label such as companion animal services gives a worried dog owner weak scent; a label such as dental care gives strong scent. Labels should use the words from the keyword research.
Usability and Site Success
Palmer (2002) tested measures of website usability and design across several studies and found that how long pages took to load, how easily people could find their way, content, interactivity and responsiveness were linked to user satisfaction, intention to return and frequency of use. A fast site that is easy to move through is therefore part of marketing performance, not only a technical matter.
The Proposed Hierarchy
The new site has three levels. Level one is the home page, which links to three hubs and to each clinic. Level two contains three hubs: Locations, Services and Pet Health. Level three contains the detailed pages. Under Locations are the Boise, Meridian and Nampa clinic pages, each with its own veterinarians, photos, directions, hours, reviews and local service details. Under Services are pages for wellness and vaccinations, dental care, senior pet care, surgery, skin and allergy care, urgent care and diagnostics. Under Pet Health is a library of articles answering common questions, grouped by dogs and cats. Every page is within three clicks of the home page.
If a pet owner in Nampa cannot reach the Nampa clinic in three taps on a phone, the structure has failed regardless of how it ranks.
URL Structure
URLs will be short, readable and consistent: the domain followed by the section and page name, such as /services/dental-care/ and /locations/meridian/. Articles will sit under /pet-health/ with descriptive names. Numbers and dates will be left out, so addresses remain stable as content is updated.
Navigation and Breadcrumbs
The main menu will contain five items: Locations, Services, Pet Health, Book an Appointment and About. On phones, the booking button and the phone number of the nearest clinic will stay visible at the bottom of the screen. Breadcrumb trails, such as Home, Services, Dental Care, will appear at the top of each page, showing visitors where they are and giving search engines another view of the hierarchy.
Internal Linking Pattern
Links will follow a planned pattern. Each article will link to the related service page, for example an article on bad breath in dogs linking to dental care. Each service page will link to the three clinic pages and to its two or three most relevant articles. Each clinic page will link to the services offered there and to its own booking page. Anchor text will describe the destination, such as senior cat checkups, rather than generic words like click here.
Pages for People Who Already Know the Practice
Not every visitor is new. Existing clients come to the site to refill a prescription, fill out a form before surgery or check holiday hours. These tasks will live under a small Current Clients section linked from the footer and from each clinic page, rather than in the main menu, so that the menu stays focused on the searches that bring new clients. Forms that are currently scanned documents will become simple web forms, which load faster on phones that clients can finish on a phone while they wait.
Technical Elements
An XML sitemap listing all pages will be submitted through search engines' webmaster tools. The site will use a responsive design that adapts to phones, compressed images and a faster hosting plan, with a target of under three seconds for a page to become usable on a phone. Every page will use a secure connection. Old news pages with no current value will be removed and redirected to the Pet Health hub.
Migration Plan
Before launch, a redirect map will list every old URL and its new destination, and each will receive a permanent redirect so that links from shelters, the county fair and directories continue to work and pass their value. After launch, crawl errors and rankings will be checked weekly for two months.
Conclusion
The current site gives search engines and pet owners little to work with. Research on link structure, information scent and usability supports a shallow hierarchy with three hubs, clear labels, readable URLs, breadcrumbs and a deliberate linking pattern. The new architecture gives each Week 2 keyword a home and prepares the site for the page-level work in Week 4.
References
Kleinberg, J. M. (1999). Authoritative sources in a hyperlinked environment. Journal of the ACM, 46(5), 604-632. https://doi.org/10.1145/324133.324140
Palmer, J. W. (2002). Web site usability, design, and performance metrics. Information Systems Research, 13(2), 151-167. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.13.2.151.88
Pirolli, P., & Card, S. (1999). Information foraging. Psychological Review, 106(4), 643-675. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.106.4.643
What the MKT 446 Week 3 instructions ask
In the third week, MKT 446 students are often asked to design or evaluate the architecture of a website for search engine optimization. That usually includes a site map or hierarchy diagram, navigation menus, URL structure, internal linking, handling of duplicate or thin pages and technical elements such as XML sitemaps, mobile design and page speed. Many prompts ask students to show how the keyword strategy from the previous week shapes the structure. The best responses explain why each design choice helps users and crawlers, keep the hierarchy shallow enough that important pages are a few clicks from the home page and support their reasoning with research on usability and linking. Use APA format for sources and describe the hierarchy clearly in words.
How this MKT 446 Week 3 example is built
The current site has 14 pages, one long services list and clinic pages that hold little more than an address, so most keywords from Week 2 have nowhere to land. The paper audits that structure, then lays out a new one in three levels: the home page, hubs for locations, services and pet health, and individual pages beneath each hub. Research on hubs and authorities explains why hub pages that link to strong content help a site, research on information foraging explains why menu labels must use pet owners' words, and a usability study connects ease of movement and page speed to site success. Clean URLs, breadcrumbs, an XML sitemap and an internal linking pattern between articles and services finish the design, with a migration plan that redirects every old address.
MKT 446 Week 3 grading rubric: where the points go
Architecture papers are graded on whether the structure solves the site's real problems and whether the student can explain how it helps search engines and users. The higher levels require a clear hierarchy tied to the keyword strategy, sensible navigation labels, a consistent URL pattern and an intentional internal linking plan. Technical elements, including sitemaps, redirects, mobile design and speed, should be addressed accurately. Graders also value an audit of the current site that justifies the changes and research that supports the design principles. A described or diagrammed hierarchy, organized headings, correct APA citations and professional writing are expected, and a migration plan shows awareness of risk.
MKT 446 Week 3 help: mistakes to avoid
A common shortcoming in this assignment is a site map that looks tidy but ignores the keyword strategy, leaving important terms without a page. Start from the keyword map. Another frequent problem is a hierarchy that is too deep, burying key pages five or six clicks down. Keep important pages within three clicks of the home page. Students also forget that changing URLs breaks existing links and rankings unless old addresses are redirected. Include a redirect plan. Menu labels written in the business's jargon are another issue; use the words visitors use. Some papers mention internal linking without describing a pattern, so explain which pages link to which and why. Finally, address mobile visitors, since most local searches happen on phones.
Related MKT 446 sample papers
Other MKT 446 week samples
- MKT 446 Week 1: SEO Basics and Competitive Analysis
- MKT 446 Week 2: Keyword Strategy
- MKT 446 Week 4: Page-Level SEO Strategy
- MKT 446 Week 5: Content and Social Strategy for SEO
More BS in Business sample papers
- MKT 438 Week 3: Building Stakeholder Relationships
- MKT 440 Week 3: Digital Marketing Terms and Metrics
- MKT 443 Week 3: Social Media Tactics by Segment
- MKT 449 Week 3: Measuring Brand Recognition
MKT 446 Week 3 questions, answered
What does MKT 446 Week 3 usually cover?
It usually covers website architecture for SEO: page hierarchy, navigation, URL structure, internal linking, sitemaps, redirects and mobile and speed considerations, built from the keyword strategy.
Where can I find a free MKT 446 Week 3 sample paper?
The site architecture plan for a composite veterinary practice in the Treasure Valley, with its three-level hierarchy and redirect plan, can be read free above.
What is a good website architecture for SEO?
A shallow, logical hierarchy where important pages are a few clicks from the home page, grouped under hub pages, with clear labels, clean URLs and internal links that connect related content.
Why do internal links matter for SEO?
Internal links help search engines discover pages and understand how they relate, and they pass authority from strong pages to newer ones while guiding visitors to related information.
What happens to SEO when you change URLs?
Changing URLs can lose rankings and break links unless each old address is permanently redirected to its new page, so a redirect map should be prepared before launch.
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