Search experience Optimization completes your SEO strategy. The objective of the SXO: to improve you’re positioning in search engines by offering a better user experience.
Why write an article on Search experience Optimization?
The answer in 2000 words:
Search engines are constantly updating the positioning criteria of websites. The SEO strategies of yesterday are therefore not the same as those of today. In other words, search engines like Google, Bing and others are improving.
And of course, they are able to “think “, to navigate, but also to appreciate a website as if it were a “real human Internet user “.
Until now, we were content with net linking, internal linking and writing Meta titles and Meta descriptions to improve the positioning of our website, there are now other SEO techniques that complement these traditional positioning factors. .
This is indeed an evolution that should offer a better browsing experience for Internet users.
To achieve this, the UX or User experience dimension must be integrated into the optimization phase of your website. In terms of natural referencing, we talk about SXO or Search experience Optimization.
What is the SXO and what is its purpose?
In simpler terms, SXO or Search experience Optimization is a set of SEO techniques that focus on optimizing the parameters of a website’s success. In other words, it is a web discipline combining user experience and SEO audit service optimization.
If you hear about Search Experience Optimization, it’s the SXO!
The SXO to generate traffic
The objective here is to generate qualified traffic. But also to convert them to potential buyers. The SXO therefore results in the conversion of users into buyers. And the indicators can be based on the collection of email addresses or the generation of page views. Either way, SEO and SXO will drive traffic through a smooth browsing experience.
In summary, how Google measures results on our website remains quite incomprehensible. At least for some. However, we all have access to different kinds of units of measurement of the quality and health of our website. And some of them are accessible to everyone.
Search experience Optimization to optimize the conversion rate
To gain visibility on search engines, you must opt for an effective SEO strategy. The same is true if you want to gain traffic. But how to increase the conversion rate? Here, SXO optimization comes into play. So to optimize the conversion rate, it is essential to improve the user experience of your website.
To do this, you must “kill the search”, i.e. limit the bounce rate. You must therefore ensure that your readership does not return to Google, or to a competing site. Hence the importance of having a website offering a good user experience.
A fluid and natural navigation will increase the duration of each visit and the number of page views.
And because we don’t know what a visitor’s next click will be, we’ll try to influence them by understanding their search intent.
Let’s take the example of a user who lands on a hotel website. The question you should ask yourself is: does it:
- Is looking for a prize?
- Looking to get a quote for an overnight stay, among other things?
- Is in need of an itinerary?
- Is looking for a good plan for a pleasant stay?
In any case, it will be necessary to understand the requests of the user in order to be able to offer him what he needs. Except that the queries are very vague and don’t reveal the intent of the users. So we’ll use the keyword data as a starting point. To examine them, there are tools such as Search Console Insights.
By continuing your examination with GSC, you can also find the most viewed pages of your website. You will also find the most typed requests on Google to access your site. You will only have to emphasize the relevance of your website in relation to the needs of Internet users who identify themselves from a query on a search engine.
At this point, you can use Google Keyword to find the right keywords to insert into your website content.
Stand out from the competition with Search experience Optimization
For Internet users, only 10 seconds are enough for them to determine whether a website is relevant or not.
For a user, this evaluation time will be enough to check if your website contains the answer to his question.
Deduction: If you offer easily accessible answers, you will earn a point with your target audience. And you will gain traffic faster.
Here is an example illustrating what we have just said previously. If we compare two sites with identical content:
- The one containing a summary, headings or numbered pages will be easy to access. It will also be more ergonomic.
- One that has no summary or headings will mislead the reader. It will therefore be lost quickly.
The second website is more likely to increase its bounce rate than its conversion rate.
So the choice is yours! Do you want an increase in conversion rate or bounce rate? In the first case, you will have to bet on Search experience Optimization. Your readership will benefit from a positive experience. Icing on the cake, you will be able to stand out from your competitors.
The importance of a personalized user experience for your website
It should be remembered that an Internet user’s browsing experience varies depending on the media. So regardless of the terminal chosen (PC, Smartphone, etc.), it is vital to offer your readers a personalized user experience. If you provide your target audience with a website where information is easily accessible, you are providing them with a good user experience.
The disappointment of Internet users is to be avoided. To achieve this, the landing page, in other words the destination page, must meet their expectations. Thus, you will have a relevant and content-rich website. It will not explode the bounce rate.
As for the content, it must conform to user expectations. It must also hold their attention by quickly providing the answers they are looking for. Remember that the goal is for them to continue browsing (at your place :)).
If you manage to create a pleasant universe, it will improve the user experience of your readers, and therefore of your future customers. The improvement at this stage goes from obtaining results in the search engines until the end of the visit (and if possible the conversion).
How to detect the signs of failure of the optimization of your website?
To detect signs of failure in your SEO, an SEO audit is necessary. To benefit from a complete SEO audit for your website, you can call on an agency specializing in SEO.
Just by the way, the AntheDesign agency can offer you an effective strategy by supporting you in improving you’re positioning in search engine results (it’s placed!).
In short, it should be remembered that certain easily auditable points reveal that your website is not optimized. In this case, you need an effective SEO strategy to improve your positioning.
Here are three identifiable points in 5 minutes!
1. You have a low click-through rate on the SERP
A low click-through rate means that users click little compared to the visibility of your pages. This is due to a lack of attractiveness of the “title” tag and the “meta description”of your pages.
2. You have a high bounce rate
A user can decide if your website is useful or not in just 10 seconds. So if you have a high bounce rate, or it keeps increasing. This means that you offer users a website that is irrelevant or too far from their requests. So remember to reorganize the content of pages that have too high a bounce rate.
3. You have a low conversion rate
Remember, if you have high traffic, but low conversion rate, you have an SEO problem. So it could be that you haven’t integrated “calls-to-action” or that you haven’t highlighted the advantages of your offer. This can result in poor quality content on your website. Or even worse, poor writing of your texts.
Our 5 tips to optimize the Search experience Optimization of your website
As an SEO agency specializing in SEO, from experience, designing a site that meets the needs of Internet users is no longer enough. It is also necessary to create a website designed for search engine algorithms.
Your site must therefore provide your visitors with:
- editorial added value,
- A good browsing experience with excellent ergonomics.
Here are some tips for the Search experience Optimization of a website.
1. Reduce the loading time of your pages
The average page load time is 3.7 seconds. According to the figures, 1 in 4 users leave a page after 4 seconds, and 1 in 2 readers leave 7 seconds later if the page does not open. This means that a long loading time compromises users’ search experience. This also leads to an increase in the bounce rate, therefore a drop in the conversion rate.
To avoid long loading times, opt for a high-performance hosting solution, but not only. Be sure to optimize your media files and lighten the code of your pages.
2. Offer relevant, rich and easily accessible content
Since users tend to leave a page quickly, you have to retain them by creating relevant, rich and interesting (and if possible, informative) content. It is therefore essential to fully understand their expectations and needs.
To provide answers to their requests, you can for example:
- Regularly update your website to avoid the obsolescence of your content;
- Create a blog to disseminate news related to the theme of your website;
- Achieve good internal networking (place links to the strategic pages of your website);
- Insert visual content such as illustrations, photos, videos, etc. ;
- Adapt the content for good readability on all devices (Mobile Friendly content).
3. Add appropriate calls-to-action
A “call-to-action” placed in the right place improves the navigation and search experience on your website. You can indeed direct traffic, naturally, to the pages that generate conversions. That is to say to the pages: contact, download, and purchase, quote request, etc. And this through a good hook.
Please note that the objective here is to redirect the most qualified traffic (the one most likely to lead to conversion), and not all of the traffic.
4. Adapt your website for a mobile device
With the evolution of technology, more than 50% of requests come from mobile devices. It is therefore essential, if you want to improve the user experience of your website, to adapt it for a mobile device.
This mobile adaptation will have a beneficial effect on the SXO of your website. It is therefore imperative to create a “mobile-friendly” site and opt for RWD or Responsive Web Design.
Here are some tips for adapting your website for mobile:
- Don’t forget search or voice assistance ;
- Put links to Google Maps, a link to send an email or a phone call link;
- Remove anything that makes navigation more difficult, for example superfluous elements;
- For internal linking, avoid putting one link near another. On a mobile, finger touch is less precise;
- The texts must be visible so that the reader does not get tired;
- On a smartphone, limit the need to write. Particularly in the case of form filling;
- Don’t forget to have your website tested by mobile users.
5. Structure your data
The integration of structured data will facilitate the understanding of information by search engines. This will also facilitate the display of the most relevant results according to Google’s algorithms in particular. Speaking of Google, it offers countless structured data.
Including reviews, company contacts, breadcrumbs, job postings, videos, and more. This information will enrich the content of your website while providing additional information to Internet users. The addition of structured information means more visibility with the consequent increase in traffic. This is a strong point for the Search experience Optimization of your website.
To drive the SXO nail:
SEO is an essential lever to generate traffic on your website. The SXO is a new dimension of SEO to absolutely take into account. Writing for search engines without worrying about the user no longer works. It is now necessary to write for your readers while taking into account the criteria of Google.
And to go through with the process, your site must offer a good user experience!
The SXO is therefore the SEO component to integrate into your natural referencing strategy!
