How SEO and UX Can Work Together to Improve Website Development
With all its different aspects and segments, digital marketing is an incredibly complex industry. As a marketer, you are required to master different skills and use all of them to achieve your goals. However, most people make a mistake of viewing those segments as separate entities, when they are inextricably connected.
For instance, although it appears that SEO and UX (user experience) are two vastly different categories, they are closely related. Even Google seems to think so, since their guidelines strongly suggest putting the user at the center of it all, instead of search engines.
This also means SEO should be an integral part of the website development process, instead of an afterthought. Easier said than done, which is why we have decided to put together a list of all the different ways you SEO and UX can be fused together in order to make the most out of your every web development project.
Keep on reading to find out more.
1. Content and Design Should Suit the User
Since Google now prioritizes the user instead of SEO, this means that high-quality content should be your top priority, because that’s what the users are after these days. Your design should also reflect this trends because it’s, along with your content, a vital component of your UX.
But, your SEO and web design should also blend together seamlessly in order to draw in more audience and keep it engaged. Simply focusing on one or the other is not enough, because it’s not going to give optimal results.
2. Your Website Should Be More Searchable
Focusing on your content and UX is great, but your audience is not going to get a chance to enjoy either if they are not able to find the website in the first place. This means that a well thought-out SEO strategy is imperative because that’s how you make sure the users are able to find the website in their search.
As much as 93% of online UX starts with a search, according to ForresterAccer study, especially if we are talking about niches which are very specific. UX begins even before readers have checked out your website.
3. Website Usability is Equally Important
One of the cornerstones of great UX is website usability. There are many aspects to it, but the ones which influence UX the most are on-page SEO and design. For example, you can compress the images on your website without making them smaller in order to improve loading time.
Also, you can break up your text into smaller paragraphs and make use of subheadings in order to make your content more scannable, include meta information such as alt and title tags, as well as a sitemap which is crucial for indexing. SEO and design enable users to find what they are looking for on your website in an instant.
4. UX which Is Built Around Actual User Data
This is where SEO and UX experts should work together. The former have the real information when it comes to user search queries and the most relevant keywords, which lets them know what the users are actually looking for. All this data should be used by UX designers to come up with better web experience.
Instead of guessing what would be best for the users, they can rely on data that was gathered first-hand. A lot of money is saved that way, as well, because there is no need for post-launch fixes or testing.
5. Avoiding Mistakes and Solving Problems
While SEO errors such as broken links may not seem essential to your website’s UX, they don’t just affect the website’s visibility inside the search engines, but they also make it harder for the users to find what they are looking for, which means they will be tempted to go somewhere else and find what they need.
Collaboration between UX designer and SEO experts can result in creative solutions to problems, in terms of design and functionality, which not only benefits the user but also your business. The result is more traffic, better conversion rate, and greater ROI.
6. Content is not Created in a Vacuum
Content should not be created without consulting with the designers, nor should the designers’ craft UX without having content in mind. This has become especially true in the last few years with the emergence of the mobile device. Both the design and the content need to be optimized for viewing on smartphones and tablet.
Such a thing can only be achieved by a combined effort. Also, the way you design content and UX is not only important for your audience, but also for Google, whose bots and crawlers are getting smarter at detecting useful content.
Conclusion
SEO and UX are two essential components of every content marketing strategy, but when used together, they become something that a simple sum of their parts, and a powerful tool you can use to grow your website. Start using these tips today.
About the Author
Brenda Savoie is a content marketer at Essayontime, private English tutor, and desperate dreamer. Writing her first romantic novel. Seeking contentment through mindfulness. Find her on Twitter and Facebook