The Key to Mastering User Experience SEO (SMX Recap)
Ready or not, user experience is here to stay.
Not only is user experience our new reality it is also the difference between medicore and next-level search marketing, as argued by Carolyn Lyden in her keynote session at SMX Advanced 2021.
“Website visitors that feel cared for and connected are visitors that convert time and time again.”
-Carolyn Lyden
This was a particularly interesting discussion as it caused me to slow down and think about the human to human interaction. As business owners and marketers we can get too focused on numbers and our own goals that we forget we are dealing with people with real feelings and experiences.
Empathy – the ability to understand and share the feelings of another – is often forgotten or left behind in the pursuit of top rankings, more website sales and ultimately better ROI. Lyden’s keynote session argued empathy is the key to mastering user experience.
So let’s dive in and take a look at how we can be more empathetic to understand our visitor’s feelings in order to provide the best possible SEO and user experience.
1. User Experience Matters in 2021 – More Than Ever.
First, let’s remember where we’ve come from. In the past, Google did not even look at the functionality (ie. user experience) of the page. It only checked if the content on your website page matched the query and didn’t care on usability of the page.
“Focus on the user and all else will follow.”
Everything has changed and is expected to change even more with the latest Google Page Experience update. This means that Google is looking at page load time, page interactivity, visual stability, mobile friendliness, safe browsing, HTTPS security, and intrusive interstitials (ie pop up ads).
Key Action(s) to Take:
If you aren’t yet convinced, do additional reading on the importance of user experience. Once you’re on board make user experience a top priority throughout your marketing processes and strategies.
2. User experience is about helping a consumer accomplish a goal.
Don’t get caught up in your own goals as a marketer.
Your most important priority is helping consumers accomplish their goal. Think about how frustrated you get when you can’t make a simple purchase, register for a class, or even find office hours listed on a website.
Now think about how good it feels to accomplish a task the first time, with less effort and/or time than you anticipated. It feels great, right? Don’t your website visitors deserve the same experience?
Key Action(s) to Take:
Stop and think about the real primary goals or motives your website visitors have for coming to your website. Don’t just assume here – ask your visitors and customers! Dig into the data to check out the most popular pages. What products or services are most viewed? Is the contact page (perhaps your hours or phone number) are most important? Do most visitors need to book an appointment? Now how can you make it faster and easier for them to complete their goal?
3. User experience requires us to be transparent and human.
In our first SMX recap we talked about how brands will need to be vulnerable and develop their own voice in light of shifts in consumer behavior. In a nutshell, your website visitors want you to commit to a purpose and display your human side. This really establishes the personal connection with consumers out of which flows trust, connection and loyalty.
Integrating the human side of your brand into your website design and messaging can really up your user experience and the desired response you want to elicit.
Key Action(s) to Take:
You may need to work outside of your web design or marketing department on this one. Gather with your Executive, Sales, and HR teams to get a good grasp on your brand’s voice and how to translate your voice, values, and purpose throughout all touchpoints – including your website.
4. Try reducing distractions for a better user experience.
Have you ever been bombarded with too many options that you don’t make a decision at all?
It’s a real thing and it’s called “too many choices syndrome”. When presented with too many choices (choice overload) we face cognitive impairment and have a difficult time making any decision at all.
For an improved user experience, determine the most important reasons visitors have for coming to your website and make it as distraction free as possible to complete the goal.
Key Action(s) to Take:
A really good place to start in reducing distractions is examining your navigation and menus. Do you include links to the most important pages on your website? Does your organization of pages help direct your visitor to the right section?
5. Don’t forget the basics – test all performance metrics.
If we are empathetic marketers we will understand how basic issues like site speed and popups will bother our visitors. This is why it’s important to make our website as fast and reliable as possible, as well as monitor these metrics on an ongoing basis.
Key Action(s) to Take:
Log into you Google Search Console account regularly and check out the Experience section to understand your website’s Page experience, Core web vitals, and Mobile Usability ratings.
6. Follow web standards and best practices – don’t reinvent the wheel.
We are creatures of habit and don’t like it when things don’t work as they should.
Creating a great user experience isn’t always about going above and beyond. It’s about sticking to what people know. For example, we know that our eyes need plenty of white space around text. We know that a red box around a field means it was filled out incorrectly. We know that a blue font indicates a hyperlink. Don’t stray from standards like these.
By keeping your website within visitor’s expectations we can influence their feelings for the good. You’ll reduce confusion and frustration and increase the ease at which they can complete their task on your website.
Key Action(s) to Take:
Make sure your website is designed and works the way that it should. Check out HubSpot’s Guidelines & Best Practices for Exceptional Web Design and Usability, paying particular attention to the conventionality section.
7. Stay curious, ambitious, and imaginative.
An empathetic person will ask questions. So will an empathetic marketer.
Get curious when it comes to user experience. It’s a good thing to ask questions about your website visitors. What are they doing on your website? Where do they get stuck? Why don’t they stick around?
Key Action(s) to Take:
Install a click tracking or heatmap tool to your website to eliminate the guesswork on what your visitors are actually doing on your website. You can also ask people to browse your website or try to perform a specific task, and ask for their feedback.
Closing Thoughts on User Experience
It all comes down to helping consumers accomplish a goal. Never forget that this is your most important job when it comes to user experience.
If you haven’t already, consider adding user experience into your Search Marketing strategy. If you have specific questions regarding the user experience on your website we’d love to chat. Contact our SEO Web Design experts by completing a contact form inquiry.
SMX Advanced is an experts-only search marketing training event full of expert-led sessions, keynote speakers, community networking plus intensive workshops. Hot topics at SMX Advanced June 2021 included Google’s Page experience update, quality score, automation, and more. Search marketing is the largest effective digital marketing channel and evolving faster than ever – two of the most important reasons our team attends these sessions.