Do you view UX and SEO as separate entities? If so, now is the time to stop. Both of these concepts go hand-in-hand. If your website does not offer a great user experience, your search engine ranking is going to suffer. While keywords and links are still important, the user experience is now just as vital. Google and other search engines have taken the steps to ensure their search results are more user-friendly and user-focused, and you need to make sure that you cater to this by providing an exceptional experience for all of your website users. With that in mind, read on to discover more about the relationship between UX and SEO.
Several years ago, Google introduced RankBrain as a key behavioural metric that would make up an important part of their search engine results. RankBrain looks at five key factors, including organic click-through-rate, dwell time, bounce rate, domain authority, and pogo-sticking. The mere introduction of this into algorithms showed how user experience was now a pivotal factor when developing a website that operates well and ranks highly.
So, when looking at the relationship between SEO and UX, you need to consider the different elements of your website that will not only improve the usability and experience it provides, but also enhance your ranking in the process. One of the most pivotal factors in this regard is mobile friendliness. When you look for a custom web design company today, you need to make sure that the service they provide is a responsive one. There is no excuse for not having a website that is optimised for use on smaller devices today.
In addition to this, page load speed is another critical factor that needs to be carefully considered with regards to UX and SEO. After all, do you really want to wait several seconds for a website to load? The Internet is supposed to be about convenience. The modern-day Internet user does not patience or time, and this results in high bounce rates if your website takes too long, which, in turn, means your search engine ranking will suffer.
Aside from this, other ways that you can boost the experience your website provides and your search engine ranking is through posting content over 500 words in length to ensure it is in-depth. Also, adding image tags and headers can boost readability, not only for your customers but for the search engine bots too.
So there you have it: hopefully, you now have a better understanding regarding the relationship between UX and SEO, and why it is so important. If you want your website to wow your customers while also featuring high on the search engine result pages, you need to master the art of UX. From site relevance and speed to effortless navigation, there is a lot to take into account.