How SEO friendly (or unfriendly) this site structure is

[paulct]

We have a client who wants a site structure like this http://thethomasoliverband.com/home - try to scroll down on the content and see how the url of the site changes. Would there be any problems on trying to SEO this type of structure?

[Vivamedia]

Hi Paul!

First time I see someone that uses this technique.

It is not a problem for the search engines, they se all the content for that page. The URL-changes in html5 will just help the users to define specific sections on the site, just like #news (html anchors).

My recommendation, do not create a super-huge-one-single-page-with-all-content. Create separete subpages to define a clear hierarchy, good for both users and crawlers.

Hope this will help you!

[RobertFisher]

Paul,

Frankly, for a music site - indy type, I like it a lot. I generally do not like the long pages. Using the HTML5 to change to help users (thanks Tommy) is cool. 
As to the use in a different type site I think you have to be more careful. Sites should be defined by the queries and the users and built from there. We do a bit of WebDev and have a rule with our clients. You must follow our process if we are to build you a site. It won't work otherwise for us or them.

So, we stress function first: What do you want to achieve with the site? Most in business want clients, customers, sales, etc. but many get lost in having a cool site. Most in professional practices want new clients/patients but get lost in wanting to speak about how good they are or what great works they do. This does not create search results that work for them.

You must get the client to understand that if they are not an indy band or a cutting edge resource this will be a bit more of a pain for a user looking to answer a query. We live in a drive through world and we want our latte now dammit!

Best