SXO, or how SEO and UX affect your website

Online marketing is evolving – new technologies are emerging and users’ behavior, expectations are changing all the time. This is why it is so important to analyse current trends and Google’s requirements.

One of the leading trends at the moment is Search Experience Optimisation. What is SEO and how can it increase conversions? What web development measures are worth taking? Find out in this article!

SXO – What is Search Experience Optimisation?

SXO (Search Experience Optimisation) is currently one of the most effective strategies when it comes to online marketing activities. But what exactly is SXO? Search Experience Optimisation is a combination of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and UX (User Experience). This means that SXO activities are effective in attracting the user to the website, improving the position in the search results and helping the user to make a conversion.

SXO not just for e-commerce

SXO is relevant for most websites. Where is SXO most commonly used?

E-commerce – SXO activities are most often undertaken for an online shop site. In the e-commerce industry they are primarily aimed at increasing the conversion rate. They also have an impact on reducing abandoned baskets, increasing the number of transactions and saving products to wish lists.

Content sites – SXO is also applicable to content sites. The aim of SXO is to increase the time users spend on the site and to trigger specific user behaviours on the site. This includes, for example, clicks on specific content. SXO also supports content marketing.

Service industries – SXO can be used to increase leads. It also enables the acquisition of converting traffic.

Before looking at SXO in more detail, it is worth looking at SEO and UX first, as this is what Search Experience Optimisation consists of.

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation

SEO, short for Search Engine Optimisation, is the positioning of a website to increase its visibility in Google search results. It is the process of improving website traffic, or conversion rate optimisation. However, it is important to remember that the process of optimising a website is very complex and complicated, as more than 200 different factors influence a website’s position in Google search results. So what does such an optimisation process consist of?

SEO Audit

The first step is to carry out an SEO audit. This involves monitoring the website using appropriate tools. During the audit the following will be analysed among others:

• Current search engine visibility
• Headings and bold
• Meta description
• Use of keywords
• Page titles
• URL
• Clarity and uniqueness of published content
• Page load time and usability

Phrases and keywords

Phrases and keywords, including key industry phrases, are an important element of SEO activities. So-called short tail and long tail are words and phrases that must appear in the content published on the website. They will make it easier and more effective to reach your target audience.

Short tail phrases are great for positioning a page on a specific word. Long tail, on the other hand, allows you to narrow and concretise your audience. The aim is to have the keywords and phrases entered by users in Google lead them to your website.

Link Building

Effective SEO is also influenced by link building, or linking. Links can be either internal or external. Internal links, as the name suggests, take users to different sub-pages within a website. External links, on the other hand, take users to a page on another website.

Links can also be divided into natural and unnatural links. A natural link is when a user shares the link because they find the content interesting. An unnatural link, on the other hand, is spam and should be avoided if the goal is to drive valuable organic traffic to the website.

Technical SEO

SEO activities can also be technical in nature. These focus on eliminating technical difficulties that search engine robots may encounter when crawling the website. Activities at this stage include adding ALT attributes to graphics on the website, completing structural data and optimising the website code.

On-site SEO and off-site SEO

SEO activities can also be divided into on-site SEO and off-site SEO. What is the difference between the two?

• On-site SEO is all the SEO activities that take place within your website. On-site SEO includes the optimisation of the entire website, phrases and keywords, as well as the technical aspects of the website. It activities also include improving the loading time of your website and working on the correct hierarchy of headings.
• Off-site SEO, on the other hand, is activity that takes place outside of your website. Actions in this area are usually not entirely under your control, as some of them are user-driven. Off-site SEO includes, but is not limited to, link building.

UX – User experience matters

UX (User Experience) is the overall of impressions and emotions a user experiences when visiting a website. UX is not only technical, but also includes psychology, cognitive science and other disciplines.

A website should be designed with user experience in mind. For example, the intuitiveness of the website is very important. The website should also be pleasant to use so that it is easy to use. What exactly does UX design involve?

UX optimisation includes:

• The design of the user interface, including the design of the menu, tabs and all the buttons on the website
• The visual aspects of the website, i.e. the colour scheme and design
• The content of the website, including links, text and general content communication
• The functionality of the site, including load times, page location and overall performance
• Usability and readability
• Different types of interaction, such as animations or chat bots

The better a website is optimised in terms of UX, the better the user experience on the website and the lower the bounce rate. This gives you a greater chance of improving the conversion path. It is a very important element in the positioning of your website, which will therefore appear higher in Google search results.

SXO activities – what is the combination of SEO and UX?

For web developers, SXO, or SEO and UX, is an advanced approach to website optimisation. The combination of the two optimisation approaches helps to improve a website’s visibility in Google search and has a positive impact on conversion rates. It is therefore a good idea to choose a professional SXO service to support your website. What does this service include?

SXO Audit

The first stage of Search Experience Optimisation is, of course, the SXO audit. This is designed for both new sites and existing sites that want to maximise their results.

The SXO audit includes an analysis of both SEO and UX effectiveness. This means that it checks both the SEO positioning and the most important elements of the user experience. With an SXO audit, it is possible to effectively draw conclusions about the performance of the website and therefore better optimise the website.

SXO audits are usually performed by professional agencies that offer a full SXO service to their clients.

What’s next?

Once you know which areas of the site need improvement, you can move on to optimisation. What should you pay particular attention to when working on SXO?

The key element is, of course, the content that is published on the site. Remember that it should be prepared for users from your target audience. Whether you are running an e-commerce site or a content-only site, it should be tailored to the needs of your audience, which is conducive to organic results.

A site that is well prepared for SXO needs to be intuitive and easy to use. It is important that this applies to viewing the site on a laptop or computer as well as a mobile device. The website should be designed so that all key information is easily accessible on different devices. Sub-pages that are involved in the conversion path – for example, those that support users at different stages of the purchase decision – are particularly important.

In order to effectively optimise the entire website, it is also worth looking at heat maps. This study helps to identify which areas of the site users navigate most easily, how much time they spend on individual sub-pages, and what elements catch their attention. It also examines where they click on the site and, in the case of an e-commerce site, how their purchase process proceeds.

How do I choose an SXO agency?

The optimisation of your website for SXO is handled by professional marketing agencies. But how do you choose an agency that meets all your expectations?

Choosing an agency to optimise your company’s online shop or website for SXO is not an easy task. Remember, this is a strategic decision that can have a direct impact on the success of your website.

To choose a good SXO agency, you should first clearly define your goals. These could be, for example:

• Increase e-commerce sales,
• Increase conversions,
• Attract relevant traffic
• Building a positive brand/company image

Choose an agency that aligns with your goals. It is important to consider the feedback and opinions of clients as well. Above all, the agency should inspire confidence in you. Ask a few questions. Find out if the agency reports results on an ongoing basis, offers training and knowledge sharing, and presents a concrete action plan. Additionally, determine if the agency effectively communicates changes to the website.

SXO – the most effective internet marketing strategy

In summary, SXO is one of the most efficient and effective strategies when it comes to online marketing and content marketing. This unique combination of UX and SEO allows you to significantly increase conversion rates and improve the user experience on your website.

SEO is responsible for getting your website ranked in Google search results and attracting users from your target audience to your website. User Experience, on the other hand, makes it more likely that users will stay on the site and convert through a positive user experience.

So if you are wondering whether it is worth it to choose a professional SXO service for your online shop or other website, the answer is: it is definitely worth it!

Frequently Asked Questions about SXO

What is SXO? SXO stands for Search Experience Optimization, integrating SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and UX (User Experience) to not only draw users to a website but also facilitate their journey towards conversion by improving both the site’s usability and its search engine ranking.

Why is SXO important? SXO is crucial because it focuses on the end-to-end experience of users, from how they find the website via search engines to how easily they can navigate and perform desired actions on the site, ultimately impacting site performance and conversion rates.

How does UX influence SEO? User experience (UX) impacts SEO by affecting user engagement metrics like bounce rate, time on site, and click-through rate, which search engines use as signals to rank websites. A positive UX can lead to better search rankings.

Can you give examples of how to improve SXO? Improvements can include making the website mobile-friendly, speeding up page load times, creating high-quality and relevant content, and ensuring the site is easy to navigate.

How do I measure the success of SXO efforts? Success can be measured through analytics tracking user behavior, such as increased organic traffic, lower bounce rates, higher engagement rates, and improved conversion rates.