Your mega-menu links to 200 pages from every page. That's not navigation.

Your mega-menu links to 200 pages from every page. That's not navigation.
Client's mega-menu exposed all 200 categories on every single page. Felt thorough. Actually flattened the whole site into mush — every page looked equally important, so none stood out.
The move:
— Cut the menu to top-level categories plus a few key subs. Maybe 30 links.
— Let deeper categories live on their parent's page, reached by a click — that's what tells Google the hierarchy.
— Sitewide links spread thin. 30 focused nav links pass more signal each than 200 scattershot ones.
— Used the menu to define hierarchy, not to dump the entire catalog.
Result: top categories climbed because the structure finally signaled which pages matter.
Watch accessibility. Don't hide deeper nav behind hover-only JS the crawler can't follow. Keep real <a href> links to the next level.