Search engine optimization (SEO) and user experience (UX) optimization can and should go hand in hand. Especially when businesses are trying to achieve the highest possible level of UX optimization.
Why is UX optimization so important?
The term “user experience” can mean different things in different contexts. So, I want to be clear about what UX means in the context of a website. It means what users think and feel about your website when they use it.
And trust me, you don’t want people to feel bad about the experience they have on your site.
Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some supporting statistics. One telling stat is that 75% of people judge the credibility of a business’s website based on the website’s design. Another is that nearly 90% of people will head over to a business’s competitors after having a poor website experience.
Fortunately, optimizing your website’s UX can help establish credibility with your potential clients and keep them from heading over to your competitors, and there are specific SEO tips that can help boost your site’s UX optimization.
- Write for human readers, not search engines.
Stuffing keywords into content just for the sake of fitting them in has a negative impact on user experience.
Yes, SEO requires that you incorporate keywords into your content to help search engines understand what the content is about. But too often, I come across content that has keywords awkwardly stuffed into it, clearly in an attempt to rank for that keyword.
For example, let’s say your keyword is “digital marketing agency in Tucson, AZ.” Too often, I’ll come across articles titled something like “5 Benefits to Working With a Digital Marketing Agency in Tucson, AZ.” Don’t do that. People don’t talk like that or write like that if they’re trying to communicate with humans. Not to mention, the benefits described in that article most likely apply to working with a digital marketing agency in any city.
Instead, you’d be better off optimizing your whole site for the term “digital marketing agency in Tucson, AZ” and writing an article about the benefits of working with a digital marketing agency in general. Google will understand that you’re a digital marketing agency in Tucson and your article will be more reader-friendly (and therefore more likely to get shared).
- Optimize your site speed.
Google’s own data shows that the chance of someone bouncing from a page increases by 32% if it takes three seconds to load and 90% if it takes five seconds to load. If you have a lot of people bouncing from your page, Google will assume that this reflects the page’s quality and it will likely drop in rankings.
- Include plenty of white space.
Another way to bounce people from your page is to present them with a 700-word wall of text as soon as they arrive. Give your readers’ eyes a break (they’re probably reading on their phones) by incorporating a line break, bulleted list, or some other formatting element every two to three lines.
- Recommend related resources.
Linking to other pages on your site is a way to keep readers engaged and give them more resources to enjoy. If they’re on a page about headache remedies, they might also enjoy your article about the causes of headaches. Link to that article and others in the body of your text or a box in the sidebar to give your reader more to browse.
Want to refine your website’s user experience? BURG+CO. can help
Increasing traffic to your website plays a role in increasing conversions and landing new clients. However, it’s difficult to do either when your site’s UX isn’t as good as it could be. Fortunately, helping clients refine and improve their website’s UX is one of our specialties at BURG+CO.
Our team has years of experience in helping businesses improve their digital presence to attract new leads and retain existing ones. If you’re looking to perform better in search engine results, attract more visitors to your site and turn more of those visitors into clients, we’re ready to talk to you to see how we can help.
Contact our team today for more information about all the services we offer that can boost your website’s UX or to schedule a complimentary consultation.
