Importance of UX in SEO
Many believe that Search Engine Optimization and User Experience design are two worlds divided in the universe of Web. But it is not so, SEO and usability actually work together always for a better website experience and the importance of UX in SEO has increased lately.
Google in recent times increasingly considers user behavior signals. Factors like page load time, button size on a mobile screen and ad cluttering above the fold all speak to the weight of user experience signals in the organic search algorithm. So, optimizing websites for the search engines and the design of the user experience lead to the same objectives.
That are:
1) Offer the best experience on the web from desktop and on mobile devices.
2) Respond to the needs of a user.
Which in turn:
1) Leads to an increase in site traffic.
2) Loyal users of the brand/product/service, thus increasing retention.
3) Increase conversions, engaging the user.
SEO is influenced by user experience design
The user experience design and above all a part of it, the usability, focuses purely on the ease of use of a product or service, allowing the user to achieve the goal effectively, efficiently and in a satisfactory context.
UX designers rely on interactions and storytelling to convey an experience catered towards the user. On the other hand, SEO experts rely on search data directly from users to inform that same experience. SEO has the data that UX needs. UX has the web design framework that SEO needs.
Start with IA to improve conversion & SEO
Information Architecture (IA) is the anatomy, of a site that provides a home for each piece of content living on it. IA often references how the site is structured and how the pages are nested, or grouped, together basically your sites link hierarchy. Anchor links that pass link equity for spiders/crawlers also enable our users to navigate our site’s IA.
So, here’s what you need to do:
1) UX decisions backed by real-life user data
SEO experts use keyword data to identify patterns in how people search and what topics they’re searching for. By providing UX designers with this real-life user data information directly from the people whom the web experience will serve. It will help in design decisions that are based on data from a sample size far larger than focus groups, usability studies or previous design experience.
2) Focus on designs that fit the SEO principles
Create content for both visitors and search engines with the clear title tag and maximize header H1 and H2 titles, optimize navigation (menu names) and functionalities, create a clear navigation path and provide focused product names and descriptions.
3) Clear Call-to-action buttons or links
Call-to-action should be designed not just for UX but should link to content and page elements optimized for SEO. Like how the user will be navigated from one element/page to another.
4) Focus on quality
While Google has been rewarded links and keywords for its quality score, UX is now also taken into account when talking about quality websites. A few other things you need to keep in mind are to optimize page speed, make sure there is no duplicate content, have relevant and descriptive content page layout and most importantly, ensure that the site is responsive.
5) Navigational breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are able to improve the usability of your product without taking up much room or space. They are easy to implement into the visual design with almost no cost to the UI. It helps users to quickly navigate in SERP, thus providing better UX.
6) Having a sitemap
A sitemap is directly dependent on the site’s IA. Sitemaps are a good way of letting search engines know that your website is available and can be crawled by them. At the same time, it helps users find what they looking for when they are lost and it acts as a source of truth for any website.
Create a Better UX by Leveraging Your Users’ Experience onsite
Using SEO and UX practices together to create a user-friendly and well-performing website is a practice I continue to follow while working with iSchoolConnect. The end result of combining the knowledge of SEO and UX is a website that is accessible, credible, and most importantly, provides the best user experience.
