Structure
Why another site ranks above yours.
Compare the search, the page and the route it gives the reader. Visual polish and page count alone do not explain a ranking.
Start with the paths people can follow
Pages often accumulate without a plan. A useful audit starts with the main service, the questions a buyer brings to it and the links that let a reader move between them. Google says crawlable links help it discover pages and understand their context ; that is a reason to make the route clear, not a promise that links alone will raise rankings.
A competitor may outrank you for many reasons. Compare the actual search query, the page Google shows, what that page answers and how it leads to the service. If your own pages overlap or leave the buyer stranded, their structure is one concrete thing to fix.
What a structure actually looks like
One page carries the service
For house cleaning in Manchester, start with a clear service page: what the company does, where it works, what is included and how to inquire. Supporting pages should answer a different useful question.
Every other page has one job
A town served, a pricing question, or a comparison between cleaning options may each deserve its own answer when there is real customer need and enough distinct information. Do not create near-duplicate pages merely to multiply URLs.
Link where the next step is useful
A supporting answer can link to the relevant service page when a reader is ready to compare or inquire. Use descriptive links that make sense in context. Google uses links to discover pages and as one relevance signal; no individual link guarantees a ranking gain.
Make the route to an inquiry visible
A visitor who lands on a town page should be able to reach the relevant service details and contact route without guessing. Check the path on a phone and measure real inquiry actions separately from search impressions.
How I check whether structure is the issue
I compare the queries and landing pages in Search Console with the public navigation, the page content and the contact path. A cleaning company may need a clearer service page, a genuinely useful location page, a corrected business profile, or something else. The evidence decides the order; a new page is not the default answer.
For a law firm, I also check whether practice pages answer different client questions and lead to the right attorney or intake route. I read rankings alongside impressions, clicks and recorded inquiries; a movement in one chart cannot be assigned to internal links alone.
I compare the queries and landing pages in Search Console with the public navigation, the page content and the contact path.
The diagnosis changes with the business.
A law firm and a property firm need different page maps, claims review and inquiry paths. The common step is to test what people can find before deciding what to add.