Four Compelling Reasons User Experience (UX) is The Key to Unlocking Search Engine Rankings
Over 3/4 of consumers say that they make assumptions and judgments about a business, as well as the quality of the products and services they carry based on the look of their website.
Over 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive.
You’ve likely heard the old adage; “It takes about 7 seconds to make a first impression on someone”.
When you’re dealing in the digital world, that “first impression” is actually formed in less than a single second.
What kind of impression is your website — and its overall user experience — making in its current form?
If you’re not sure, or if you don’t quite understand how user experience and SEO go hand in hand, then get ready for an informational rollercoaster.
1. Your Site's User Experience Represents You
We’ve already spoken about how your website’s user experience design can help make the right impression on your target audience.
But, let’s dive a bit deeper here.
If users can access your website just as easily on a mobile device as on a desktop computer, you’re showing them your adaptability to the times.
If you can create and organize different types of content, you’re showing off your innovation and creativity — not to mention your authority.
Your website also needs to illustrate the value of your products/services. It should help customers to identify with your brand’s message and vision.
In other words?
The right user experience, on all devices, makes it easy for users to “see themselves” in your business, and to recognize your company’s logo, products, and more when they see them in the real world. As well as recommend your business to their coworkers, friends, and family.
2. Intuitive User Experience Increases Your Rankings
Here’s how user experience and SEO go together.
The longer people spend on your website, the higher you’ll rise in the search engine rankings.
It’s not just about how much traffic your website gets; it’s also about how much time they want to spend browsing through your site, reading your blog posts, and looking at your products.
If you continue to rank highly in the search engine results, then other companies will also start to see you as an expert in your industry. This means they’ll include links to your content in their own posts — which will only compound your ranking power.
The user experience shouldn’t just command a user’s attention at first glance. It also needs to be able to keep it.
3. Strong UX = Strong Profits
If users feel like your website isn’t properly optimized to improve the user experience and help them to find what they need as soon as possible, about 80% of them will leave your website and move to a competitor’s to get their task accomplished.
Small details can make a huge difference here.
For example, even a one-second delay in loading time can cost you about 7% of your possible conversions. The same goes for the kind of content you create, your website’s layout, and how well you’re able to explain the finer points of your products/services.
The goal of your website should be to convey the most important information, up front, in as few words as possible.
Consumers today don’t just have shorter attention spans than in the past; they also value instant gratification. This means that your website needs to be optimized to encourage impulse buys.
Most consumers say they’ll switch brands if a company doesn’t actively anticipate their needs. So much for customer loyalty being a thing anymore.
Make it easy for shoppers to add items to their cart, save payment information for future purchases, and allow shoppers to track their shipments through your website.
These simple and straightforward steps will help you to blow through your profit goals for the coming quarters.
Although non-profit organizations are not driven by a profit motive, having a professionally-built website for your nonprofit can amplify your efforts, assisting in accomplishing your mission and goals. Non-profit organization websites are equally important and should be treated on an equal footing.
4. It Shows You Know and Value Your Market
Another reason why it’s important to eliminate user experience problems as soon as you identify them is because it shows that you value your market and are in touch with their needs.
If a customer is kind enough to offer you feedback about why your site design is confusing to them, attempting to make things better and showing that you’re open to suggestions is key towards creating trust between consumers and your brand.
A strong UX also proves to your target market that you fully understand their needs and want to accommodate them as much as possible.
For example, if you know that most people access your site on mobile devices, use larger fonts, remove banner ads and pop-ups, and compress images for faster loading times.
If you know a large portion of your consumer base is active on social media, include follow buttons at the top or in the sidebar of every webpage.
If people often come to your website with the intention of buying a specific bestselling product or, let’s say, making a reservation at your restaurant, create a button at the top of the page that allows them to do just that without having to search through your site themselves.
Small adjustments like this go a long way towards building a sense of consumer loyalty. Plus, a focus on enhancing the user experience also helps you to increase your customer retention rate.
On-site optimization and user interface (UI) is also critical to user experience (UX) and conversions.
So, if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, or doesn’t load quickly, you will be hurting in conversions – if you aren’t already.
- “96% of Americans shop online, and the majority of those shoppers prefer shopping online for reasons like saving time and avoiding crowds.” -CPCStrategy.com
- Today, over half of all sales are online
- It is your user’s first impression of your business. Not you, not your employees, and not your storefront. It’s your website, and first impressions are everything.
By providing your users the experience they’re looking for – mostly by making it easy for them to find what they’re looking for and buying it, you are heading in the right direction for a successful online business.
If you have a local business and are providing a service – make it as simple as humanly possible for users to get ahold of you. Use features such as click-to-call, click-to-text, online chat, contact capture forms, exit popups, etc.
Now, there are those people that shop around and take their sweet time trying to find deals and doing their research.
And that is also why you should have unique content written about every product or service you are offering. Along with a blog.
Be the authority, and people will come to you.
Without showing people that you are the authority in what you do, why would they entrust their money to you?
Remember, talk is cheap.
Great sales copy only goes so far. Unless, of course, you’ve already established your brand, kind of like Apple. Check out the incredible copy on their website.
It’s most likely that you’re busy running your business. So you may be thinking “Where in the world would I find the time to learn all of this, AND implement it?!”
The answer is simple: don’t. Hire someone to take care of it for you.
Now, more than ever, it is critical to ensure your website is at its peak performance.
Why?
Need Help Enhancing Your Site's User Experience?
So, now that you fully grasp the importance of your overall user experience, we know you’re anxious to start improving yours.
- Website design
- SEO
- Content creation
- Digital advertising
- And so much more
UX is a combination of many different factors:
Especially in today’s hyper-competitive market, tackling user experience on your own likely won’t give you the kinds of results you’re looking for.
You need experienced professional input if you want to take your UX to the next level and stay ahead of web design trends.
We can help you with that. We’re here for you and your business. We offer hourly consulting if you have a web team, or we can provide a full-scale digital marketing presence that is sure to blow your competition away and take your business to new heights.
Reach out to us today to learn how we can help your business to grow.
