What impact will new folder structure have?

[Ties.com]

I'm evaluating a request to restructure our existing folder structure for Ties.com and I would like some input.  I typically recommend proper folder structure for ecommerce sites either when doing a new build or when doing an information architecture overhaul because of duplicate content or canonicalization issues.  Ties.com doesn't have duplicate content or canonicalization issues so I'm really trying to get feedback about the SEO impact of a folder structure change versus the amount of time required on our side to do the work.  Please share your experiences.

Current URL structure example:

http://www.ties.com/v/a/the-american-necktie-co-navy-and-gold-stripe-navy-blue-skinny-tie

Potential New Structure:

http://www.ties.com**/skinny-ties**/the-american-necktie-co-navy-and-gold-stripe-navy-blue-skinny-tie

OR

http://www.ties.com/skinny-ties/brand/product-title

I'm well aware that as a BEST PRACTICE we should be using the category/subcategory folder structure, but since we aren't really suffering from any technical SEO issues then I don't know if this will be worth our time to remap all of these URL's via 301 and canonicalize everything.  I anticipate it will be a lot of work and if the Return on Effort is low I can't prioritize this project.

I need 2nd and 3rd opinions from experienced ecommerce retail SEO's.

Thank you

[EGOL]

I agree with you!

[Ties.com]

Thanks for the response.  Our internal linking structure is fine and I'm of the belief that we shouldn't mess with the URL's because there is more potential risk regarding the 301 than potential gain from a better folder structure.

Thanks for the response!

[EGOL]

Most people believe that doing 301 redirects causes a small decrease in the value of incoming links.

Do you think that you will gain more from changing the URL than you will lose through the redirect?

If you have a new site that is poorly established then I would not worry too much about the redirect because you don't have much power.

However, if you have a strong established site there could be a lot to lose by doing the redirect.

So, the gain from the nice URL could be     YourPower + X

... but the loss from the redirect could be     YourPower /  X

If I didn't know the value of X I wouldn't monkey with the URLs.

I think that the link structure is far more important than the folder structure.

[Ties.com]

Do you think this will actually improve rankings for our product pages?

[irvingw]

http://www.ties.com**/brand/ties/navy-and-gold-skinny-tie**

or

http://www.ties.com/brand/skinny-ties/navy-and-gold