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One of the most important considerations with the organic search performance of a website is to feature website content in a logical and organized structure. Search engines use the URL pathing, or perceived folder structure, to help them understand how each page of content they crawl fits into the overall hierarchy of the website. This is a best practice that has been confirmed by several Google representatives including Gary Illyes, an Analyst on the Google Search team, and John Mueller, Search Advocate, and long-time SEO industry analyst and Danny Sullivan, current Google Public Liaison.
For example, consider the URL path clothingcompany.com/womens/pants/casual/skinny-ankle, When Googlebot enters the website on the skinny-ankle webpage they use the pathing, as well as other SEO information, to understand how this page fits within the overall structure of the website. When they encounter a vague or general category it becomes more difficult for them to establish the relative value to the site. The more logical the structure the better the performance will be across the entire website.