Laurie-Ève
SEO expert
When we hear about Seach Engine Optimization, one of the first concepts discussed is that of keywords. “How do you choose your keywords?” SEO is all about keywords. However, is this the only area where you should put your effort into : absolutely not!
Beyond the beauty and aesthetics of a website, the user experience represents the ease and pleasure of using a website. No matter what your website is about, the concept of UX design does not reinvent the wheel every time.
SXO now represents that little equation: SEO + UX = SXO. Once your keywords have done their job of attracting people to your site, how can your design get users to take an action that is valuable to you? That’s what SXO is all about, design that facilitates conversions as well as SEO.
So much for the somewhat definition of SXO design. Basically, what we mean is “Is the stuff in the right place?” Is it easy to put the product in a shopping cart? Is the submission form easy to find? Is the menu functional?
SXO: What UX components influence SEO?
When it comes to SXO, let me reassure you, the aesthetics of a website does not influence your organic positioning. As powerful as they are, search engine robots have not yet developed the ability to judge what is beautiful and what is ugly. However, what they do observe and what you can influence with your SEO are the following points:
Hn Tags
H1, H2, H3 – Sound familiar? The Hn tags are used to prioritize the content of a page in order of importance. The H1 tag being the most important, you can use up to the H6 tag to better structure the text. What does this have to do with UX? To make it simple, these tags are a easy element to modify and have a big impact on your organic positioning. On the other hand, the use of these tags facilitates the consultation of the content by users and Google is sensitive about it!
Indeed, search engines also consider some signals on how websites are consulted. The bounce rate or the time spent viewing a page are signals that are analyzed, but also the length of the “scroll” (the percentage of the page viewed) or the CTR (click-through rate).
Download speed
Since the arrival of the Core Web Vitals, Google has raised its attention to the technical components of your website a notch. Download speed is probably the most important element to watch for your SEO, but also for your UX. Indeed, if the path to make a purchase on your site takes 4 page downloads at 6 seconds each, it will most likely create a high-cart abandonment rate compared to your competitors. The slow download and abandonment statistics will doubly hurt your SEO.
To learn more about the Core Web Vitals :
Mobile Navigation
Year after year, it’s no surprise to see that the use of mobile as a device is only increasing. While we do just about everything on our phones, how come there are still websites designed only for computers? I said earlier that Google does not “see” the beauty of a site. However, what it can see in an instant is how a site’s code produces 2 overlapping buttons during mobile navigation. This is just one example, but if there are any components that can’t escape Google’s robots, it’s your site’s technique!
Of course, these different points do not represent an exhaustive list of the different points to explore in the UX of a website. It is possible to improve the tree structure, to optimize the search module, to highlight the important elements at each step of the conversion funnel (Home, Categories, Products, Shopping Cart, Purchase & Forms). The SXO of a site must be seen as a whole; because each element impacts and creates a new reality in the use of the site. This is why Rablab’s SEO experts can be there to help you develop a global SXO strategy.
Think SXO
What are the reflexes to develop if you want to improve your SXO on your site? First, a few questions to guide your thinking:
- What type of website do you have?
- A showcase website
- An e-commerce website
- A lead generation website
- A one-pager
- A blog
- Another type?
The type of website that you operate will necessarily give direction to the changes you make.
- What websites do you like to browse?
Let yourself be inspired by others! Start by observing what your competitors are doing. Then, what are the big players in your industry doing? Don’t hesitate to open your horizons and make comparisons!
- What actions would you like to promote on your website?
Once on your site, what do you want someone to do? In the case of an e-commerce, it’s easy to figure out: you want them to place an order. You could, for example, simplify the buying process. For a lead generation site, it’s about filling out a contact form.
- How well do you know the state of the art of your website?
Is your website slow? No matter how simple the process you would like to implement, if your site architecture is slow or produces errors, your SXO efforts will be in vain.
In our experience, web design is something that always produces arguments in a box (!). We understand, it’s your “baby” and you want to take care of it. If you have the opportunity to do a UX SEO audit, an outside eye can help you determine what improvements could be beneficial to you! Good thing we can help you with that.