From small business to big brands rely heavily on the SEO and User Experience (UX) to make their brand and content stand out from the competitors.
“Usability and user experience provide an indirect but measurable benefit to a site’s external popularity, which the engines can then interpret as a signal of higher quality. This is called the “no one likes to link to a crummy site” phenomenon. – Moz
Providing a good user experience is not only essential for customer satisfaction, but it is also one of the criteria for better Google ranking.
Today the role that UX plays in the SEO during the development of a site can sometimes be forgotten. Ignorance or lack of knowledge of the UX can affect the visibility of a website on SERP (Search Engine Result Pages).
“Just two years ago Google introduced an algorithm that began to penalize websites that were not responsive.”
As search engine algorithms become increasingly sophisticated, it is believed that user experience (UX) will play an essential role in the search ranking.
The truth is that Google does not stop reinventing itself, and proof of this is that Google updates its algorithm around 500 times throughout the year.
Part of Google’s philosophy has always been focused on offering the best user experience. However, for many experts and SEO agencies, the user experience has not always been a part of the SEO toolkit.
If SEO cannot influence (or be a central part of) the UX approach of brands, then the levers of SEO performance will be beyond our control. Therefore, if it is not already, the user experience should have a high priority in its learning and development program.
UX must evolve beyond a linear approach
As the use of the learning machine increases, the signals from the user experience will be a more prominent factor in the search engines. Therefore, UX issues could prevent brands from reaching their potential in organic search results and thinking in more general terms, could curb conversion performance.
A lack of consideration for the user experience may cause consumers to leave the site and look elsewhere.
By definition, the user experience is about providing the best possible experience for the consumer and should not be limited to a specific tour that starts on the main page. Instead, it should be driven by data, taking into account the wide range of entry points on a web page.
Role of SEO in UX
SEO is undoubtedly one of the most important things to take into account in any type of website; it does not matter if it is an online store or a catalog of products since this depends on the visibility of the company.
To understand it better, we must bear in mind that SEO (web positioning) ensures that websites appear in the most relevant search results according to their market niche; for this to happen, organic techniques must be implemented in different parts of the website.
For many years, SEO has been the field that did not require a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to achieve the desired results. In reality, organic traffic was gained through two elements: the right selection of keywords and the aggressive link building. That is a thing of the past.
The development of search engine algorithms made SEO now an interdisciplinary field, which combines different elements of digital marketing in a single strategy. Nowadays, one of the most critical aspects of an SEO strategy is UX.
The importance of UX in SEO grows every year. To achieve good results, it is essential to create content that interest and satisfy the needs and intentions of the users who visit a website.
This is confirmed by the study carried out by SEMRush that sought to find a correlation between individual metrics and the position of pages in search engines:
UX and SEO are concepts that are closely connected. Low-Quality user experience will lead to bad web optimization, and vice versa.
If users are not having a good experience with a website, then it is very likely that it does not comply with the intention of the search engine. For this reason, it is essential that UX go hand in hand with SEO.
Here are some UX tips for achieving better SEO results:
- Understand the trend: As a UX designer, one must keep up with the trends to stay ahead of the competitors. The UX trends for 2019, as described by Careerfoundary are storytelling, UX writing, voice technology, motion design, and device-agnostic experience.
- Connect with people: The main purpose of a website is to connect with its users and customers, not with robots or search engines. The priority must be that the website is built to be visited by users. It must be an attractive and orderly website.
- Offer optimized content: By optimizing the contents for the positioning, we are also building them for the user. A correct categorization and labeling will be positive for the usability of the user and for SEO.
- Provide easy navigation for your users: Help users navigate the website smoothly by designing a comprehensive and relevant categorization system. Make sure your website has clear navigation labels and items such as breadcrumbs.
- Clean design for the site: The road to a great user experience begins with good website design. Improving your website to be more attractive and clear can show a big boost to your conversion rate. Simplify the design and avoid the use of excessive images, as well as a confusing font or a bad combination of colors.
- Improve the speed of your site: You have to understand that Google is mainly concerned with the speed of the site, due to the impact it has on the user experience. The speed of the site influences the permanence since online users tend to be impatient and do not usually have consideration with slow websites.Check speed of website: Google Website speed test
- Creating a clear user path: The user has to be aware of what they can achieve as a goal when visiting a website. You can help them by having a user path approach and action elements that are clear and understandable. In terms of design, it is vital to think about each and every call button, and you have to ask yourself if it is too complicated, flashy or small.
- Mobile optimization: Google announced a year ago that a successful mobile experience would be rewarded. Yoshikiyo Kato, Software Engineer at Google, points out the following:
“To improve the search experience for smartphone users and address their pain points, we plan to roll out several ranking changes soon that address sites that are misconfigured for smartphone users.”
It is crucial to develop an SEO strategy that focuses on the user’s mobile experience.
Final Words
In conclusion, focusing on the users and taking into account their online experience, the positioning will also be improved. By taking necessary measures to improve your UX by using SEO principles, you will have a greater chance of increasing your ranking.