Ask anyone what contributes to increasing a website’s SEO rankings, and they would probably say things like quality content, keywords, page load times, server response times, security and certificates. Well, they wouldn’t be wrong.
But, one attribute that is often overlooked or is considered to be not too important is user experience or “UX.”
What is it?
A UX can be defined as the experience a visitor has in terms of the perception and response that comes from using or anticipating the use of a your website and its content. It is also the way the visitor feels as they navigate the site and interact with it.
Factors that can affect UX include the site’s design, its usability, its accessibility, the system’s overall performance and its marketing.
Ok, now that we have defined it let us delve into how it will affect your site’s rankings:
- Engagement: search engines always aim to provide the best content to the people that are using them. Therefore, when a visitor’s query returns a SERP (Search Engine Results Page), they (Google, et al.) can measure the success of the ranking by gauging how they engage with the results.
If the visitor clicks on the first link and then quickly backs out to go and check out the second link, it can indicate that they were not satisfied with the first result. Over time, this pattern will be registered and help to rank the page.
If your users come into your website and find nothing they want or aren’t happy with the quality of what they see, they will quickly back out and take your ranking with them.
- Speed Times: people have become ever more impatient over time. Everyone is in a hurry to be somewhere and even as they query for your website they are already waiting for the result with their foot out the door.
Therefore, the first few seconds will determine whether they will stay and use your site or simply walk out and try another link. It is therefore critical that you make sure you have what they want ready and waiting for them where they can see it as soon as your page loads. Use fonts, colors, graphics and images to grab their attention – and then make sure you keep it.
- Clear Leads: once you have grabbed their attention the next step is to let them know exactly what they need to do. Do you want them to go to another page to find out more? Put clear links and buttons. Do you want them to make a purchase? Put clear links and buttons. Do you need them to use an app? Put… you get the point.
- Organize: we have agreed that your visitors should have a clear path to follow once they arrive on your site, right? Well, what is one way of ensuring that they get what they expect when it comes to your links and buttons?
The first place we normally look to when we are looking for the search box is the top of the page. That, therefore, is where you should place it.
When you’re looking for the menu bar you don’t move your eyes to the sides of the page – you go up, to somewhere above the content. That is where it should be.
Payment and submission buttons, on the other hand, are usually located at the bottom of the page.
If you dare go out of the normal ways of displaying your links and menus – make sure they are worth it and very boldly displayed.
- Think Mobile: the world has gone mobile-crazy, at least that is what the statistics show. Today, there are more people accessing the internet using their mobile devices than there are those doing so using their PCs or laptops.
If you haven’t created a website that caters to these visitors then you are not only losing out on a majority of your customers, but are also not looking too good with the popular search engines. Case in hand is the fact that last year Google made specific algorithm updates that gives a better ranking to sites that are more mobile-responsive and -friendly.
- CRMs: do you want your visitors to stay longer on your website? Then speak and write – in short – interact with them. A good place to start would be to have a Customer Relations Management (CRM) system in place.
Listen to their complaints and queries and respond to them in a timely and informative manner. Knowing that there is a person behind the digital page will help a lot with creating customer loyalty.
- Plan for Improvement: enhancing a UX is not a one-time, fix-and-forget gig. For one, you should always be on the lookout for something you may have overlooked while on the other hand you should keep up with advances in both technology and methodologies which you should then adopt and implement on your site.
And there you have it: making your customers happy with using your website will ultimately make you happy.
