There is a standard misconception that SEO involves link building and including relevant keywords in the content. No doubt these are important factors, but there are some other important factors too that search engines consider while ranking any website.
Elements of user experience are also crucial in the SEO of any website. Is your site fast, secure, and mobile-friendly? Does it have quality content that engages users and encourages them to remain on your website? Does your site load quickly, and is site navigation easy for users?
These are all elements considered by Google and other search engines when ranking any website on the SERP. To keep this in mind, let’s read how UX fits in SEO.
Why UX is Important
Google has changed considerably over the years. Google constantly updates its algorithms to make sure users can get the best results they are looking for. Each update is related to providing the best results to users. We’ve seen changes to SERPs, like knowledge panels and rich snippets and algorithm updates, showing just how critical UX has become to Google.
UX and SEO Share Common Goals
UX is one of the critical points that fit into SEO because they both share common goals that’s why all SEO Consulting firms keep UX in their priority list. If you’ve been following SEO over the past few years, you’ll know that it’s moved from solely ranking for search terms. Now it works to provide the information the user is searching for.
This is often where UX and SEO start to interact. Both share the goal of helping users to complete their tasks by providing them with relevant information. SEO will lead an individual to the content they have, and therefore the UX answers their queries once a user lands up on the webpage.
Essential SEO Practices that Influence UX
It is essential to know the standard SEO and content practices that influence UX:
Both image tags and headings are critical. Image tags provide details when an image cannot load, ensuring the user receives an identical UX no matter whether there’s an image or not. Headers help to know the user about the content and improve the readability of the user.
Creating a page copy of over 600 words is very important to cover the complete topic and provide users with in-depth knowledge of the subject.
Mobile-friendliness is critical as most of the users are using mobile to find any product or service. Mobile takes over desktop searches.
Page speed also plays a significant role. Nobody wants to wait for long, so if any website has more page load time, users typically bounce and increase the bounce rate of that website. Ideally, any page should load in 3 sec or less.
How to Get the UX right
Hopefully, now you have an understanding of why UX is important in SEO. The question is, how can we improve the UX of the website, so it helps in rankings?
Align your UX and SEO strategies – The primary thing you need to keep in mind is that both methods are integrated instead of working in separate lanes. After all, the objective of both is the exact conversions and leads. Both UX and SEO play a critical part in achieving this goal, but they have to figure together if you possess success.
Focus on designs that fit SEO principles – We should focus on the website design. This includes providing concise names and descriptions, creating user-friendly navigation, optimizing the menu correctly, adding clear H1 and H2 tags, and creating content that resonates with visitors and search engines.
Invest in responsive web design – There’s no excuse for having a website that’s not optimized to be used across all platforms. The website must provide the same user experience on all the devices, whether desktop, mobile, or tablet. If someone enters your website via mobile and it’s difficult to read, a number of the buttons don’t work, and it’s slow to load, you’ll never be able to reach one in all the highest spots on Google.
Simplify navigation – Website navigation could be a critical factor in UX and, consequently, your program ranking. Your homepage should indicate straightforward navigation. Users can use the website without facing any navigation issues. One effective method for helping Google to know and index your pages includes a sitemap on your website.
Focus on quality – Navigation is not the only factor determining a website of high-quality standards. Some other factors play an essential role: content relevance, page speed, internal linking, and images.
Wrapping Up
There is no doubt that UX is one of the critical points to consider when ranking any website. We all know that Google is all about providing the highest level of user experience. To improve the leads and conversions, one should align UX and SEO strategies.
