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I am creating a new site which has a directory component.  Based on what I have ready I am inclined to keep the site architecture as flat as possible.  However, the natural layout that I have come up with in my head has the directory listings 5 or 6 pages deep in the site structure.

I saw in another post that someone in a similar situation was suggesting that going deep like this is fine so long as there are many internal links to the deeper pages to indicate that they are important.

• Should I make a conscious effort to make the site architecture as flat as possible?

• Are there any specific guides/resources that address this particular issue that I should be aware of?

Thanks!

Thanks Roger.  I considered contacting Google, but given that it can take so long for Google to deal with the problem I was wondering if I might be better off trying to resolve the problem myself.

I'm curious to know which route would get my listing back in Google's good graces quicker.  Would you always recommend going through Google for this problem?  Thanks.

Thanks Roger and Dave.  I appreciate the responses.

I am doing work for a local business who has duplicate Google Places listings.  I would like some input from those with experience in this as to how I should go about consolidating these listings.

Listing 1

• created ~3 years ago by someone in the local business.
• They don't have the login/password info for this listing.
• listing has inaccurate info, including the wrong url (it points to their old website which is no longer active, but redirects to the new site)
• 124 reviews associated with this listing
• listing is on 3rd page of Local Business results

Listing 2

• one year old
• All listing info is current and accurate and I have the login info
• 18 reviews associated with this listing
• listing is on 6th page of Local Business results

Up until a week or two ago Listing 2 was ranked between 1-3 in the local business results along side the map.  Listing 1 was ranked around #6.  I assume that the duplicate listings with their conflicting info (different url's associated with each) hit some tripwire in Google and they have now been penalized.  Does this sound correct?

What is the best method for consolidating the two listings and reestablishing the ranking?  Here are my thoughts, please let me know if there is a better way...

1. gain access to Listing 1 by having the business claim/verify the listing
2. update all info in Listing 1 so that it is current and accurate
3. deactivate and/or delete Listing 2

Is this the best course of action?  Thanks!

I a looking through the on-page SEO reports in SEOmoz for one of my sites.  It suggests that I change the url of a particular page to match the desired search term I want to rank for.  In this case it is a site for a local business and the url is example.com/testimonials. when it probabaly should have instead been example.com/city-business-reviews.

I have just a couple links to this page and I'm stuck towards the bottom of page 1 in the SERPs currently.  Questions...

1. Should I change the url to include the exact keyword term I want the page to rank for?

2. If yes, what is the best method to ensure that any existing link juice to the current url is retained?  Would I change the url, then create a new page with the old url and apply a 301 redirect to point it to the new page?

Thanks!