SEOs, You can’t Afford to Ignore UX!

Sometimes, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) professionals get so involved in their jobs of getting the page ranked on SERP (Search Engine Result Page), that they miss out on showcasing the main purpose of? your website.?

Having said that, users sometimes get confused while interacting with websites which lack a user-friendly perspective. And that comes down to creating quality experience, which is why user experience and SEO go hand-in-hand. Let’s dive to understand how SEO professionals can leverage UX for their page ranking process.

What are the Objectives of SEO?

Before we understand the codependency of SEO and UX, let’s recall the role of SEO. Search Engine Optimization is the process of ranking a web page higher in Search Engine Result Page(SERP) for relevant queries.

The sole aim of this process is to provide users with the best piece of information for the query they’ve entered on Google search bar, considering the following aspects:

• The search engines are always on a search for smarter, more accurate information which will understand the user’s context, intent and other signals to improve search results.
• Google operates machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence for facilitating pages which provide the best result for the user’s search.

What UX Factors does Google Care About the Most in SEO??

1. Accessibility?

A website should be accessible to all your users including the users with disabilities. For positive user experience, enhancing the user interface, page loading speed, interaction and visual appeal is very important.?

2. Navigation?

Users are more likely to engage in websites when its navigation is seamless. UX can contribute to improving the website structure to enhance your SEO performance.

3. Mobile Responsiveness

Ensure that your site adapts and displays properly on user’s different devices and is responsive to different screen resolutions.??

4. Site Security

The importance of cybersecurity can't be stressed enough! Search engines prioritize sites that adhere to users' security thus impact their SEO rankings.

UX Best Practices?

After getting an understanding of what matters to Google, let’s deep dive into knowing some of the UX practices that can be implemented to help with your page’s search ranking.?

• Keep it Simple, Search Engine Optimizer (KISSEO)

UX design should be intuitive and easy to navigate, so that the users find what they’re looking for in as few clicks as possible.

• Take a Mobile-First Approach?

Most of the users prefer mobile over laptop/desktop to search the web so the digital product should be designed for mobile usage without ignoring desktop usage.

• Speed Matters?

Test your page speed regularly to ensure that your page is not lagging and fix the pages that take forever to load.?

• Keep a Clear Structure

Header hierarchies make your content more scannable to the user by making the page layout user-friendly, prioritizing relevant information.

• Use Language Your Audience Respond to?

As people are moving towards voice search, including conversational language in digital product interaction has now become more important than ever!?

UX And SEO are meant to Complement Each Other

UX and SEO work in sync to create a positive experience for users as well as the search engine. Remember, your website exists for humans and not just an algorithm of Google. Start by optimizing for your target audience, and then optimize for search engines. UX can create a direct impact on your SEO rankings through various metrics such as accessibility, navigation, mobile responsiveness and site security; so that the search engines can track the user engagement.?

Therefore, SEO professionals should prioritize UX, for reaching the expectations of the users, while securing higher rank in SERP.