User Experience And SEO: How Site Speed and Usability Impact Rankings

Intro

Struggling to improve your website's search rankings and wondering what might be going wrong? Improving UX will decrease bounce rates and increase the time visitors spend on your site, both important signals to improve your search result rank.

We will offer actionable strategies and practical advice to implement right away. By the end, you'll understand how to boost your website's ranking and user engagement. Let’s get started.

What Is UX & SEO? An Overview

User Experience (UX) focuses on making the website user-friendly. It covers everything, from how the site looks to how easy it is to find information. SEO, on the other hand, is about getting the site to show up higher in search engine results. It involves using the right keywords, creating valuable content, and making sure the site works well on mobile devices.

User experience affects SEO and vice versa. Both UX and SEO help each other improve the site's ranking. While SEO brings more people to the site, a good UX can turn them into regular customers.

7 Ways User Experience Boosts Your Search Rankings

As you apply these 7 strategies, ask yourself: What changes can I implement first to make my site easy to navigate and more engaging for users?

1. Quick Load Times Are Gold

Search engines like Google consider page load speed as a ranking factor. That is why your web page should ideally load in 2 seconds or less. Faster load times will avoid frustrating users and make them stay longer to explore more website pages.

Similarly, 40% of people will abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load. Especially for eCommerce sites and other online services, fast load times are crucial for customer success. Customers are more likely to complete purchases or sign-up processes if the site responds quickly and smoothly.

To improve page load speed, follow the 7 steps:

• Optimize images in WebP file format, and compress them without losing quality.
• Reduce unnecessary elements on your page to decrease the number of HTTP requests.
• Use asynchronous loading for JavaScript so it loads independently from the rest of the page.
• Enable browser caching so returning visitors can load your site faster.
• Optimize CSS delivery to ensure that it delivers critical styles first, and defer secondary styles.
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to store a cached version of your website content in multiple geographical locations to reduce the distance data needs to travel.
• Use Ranktracker to analyze your site speed and identify improvement areas.

Other than these strategies, make sure you conduct site speed audits quarterly to stay updated with the evolving search engine algorithms.

2. Clear Paths, Better Ranks

A well-structured site with clear menu labels decreases bounce rates by up to 27%. It helps retain users longer and increases conversion rates by 200%. On the other hand, 50% of potential sales will be lost because of poor user experience.

UX principles ensure that your site is:

• Intuitive
• Engaging
• Accessible
• Interactive
• Consistent
• Responsive
• User-Friendly

Here are 6 elements you should consider to make your website both user-friendly and intuitive:

2.1 Map Out A Clear Structure

Start by creating a clear and logical hierarchy for your website. Think about the main categories that represent your content and services, and organize them in a way that makes sense from your users' perspective. This structure should help search engines understand the relationships between different parts of your site.

An excellent example is 3Wishes’ navigation menu with main categories, sub-categories, and filter options for a seamless user experience. Each category is clearly labeled and logically organized, making it intuitive for users to find what they are looking for quickly.

Additionally, users can use the filter option to narrow down their choices to different colors, sizes, and types. This way users do not have to navigate away from the page.

2.2 Optimize Your Navigation

Make sure your navigation menu is simple and straightforward. Limit the number of items in your main navigation to prevent overwhelming your visitors. For example, place web navigation at the top, on the left side, or at the bottom of a page. A well-structured navigation menu reduces user frustration and helps search engines index your web pages more effectively.

2.3 Use SEO-Friendly URLs

Create concise URLs that include the keywords you are targeting. This helps both users and search engines understand what the page is about, boosting relevance for those keywords. This ultimately improves your search engine rankings. Consider what a user-friendly URL looks like in the example below.

Make sure your URLs reflect your site hierarchy and avoid using unnecessary parameters or characters. The image below shows a good vs bad URL.

2.4 Add Breadcrumbs

Integrate breadcrumb navigation on your pages. Breadcrumbs provide users with a path back to previous pages. They also appear in search results, so that users understand where the page sits within your site structure. This will help increase the click-through rate in the search results.

2.5 Include A Search Function

For larger sites, incorporate a search bar to help users find specific content quickly. This feature is particularly important if your site has a wide array of products or a large volume of content.

Follow the 3 strategies to create an effective search function:

• Position it prominently, either at the top or in the header.
• Allow for autocomplete to suggest search terms.
• Provide filters and sorting options to refine results.

2.6 Consistent Layout & Design

Maintain consistency in colors, fonts, and layout structures across all pages. Consistency reduces the cognitive load on users as they navigate through your site. This makes the experience smoother and more predictable.

An excellent example is GreenSupply’s product page which shows a consistent layout and design. Here are 6 things you can learn from this product page:

• High-resolution images are consistently placed on the left side to catch the eye immediately.
• Clear, comprehensive product descriptions are short so it's not overwhelming to read.
• A green and white theme across pages strengthens brand identity and website aesthetics.
• 'Add to Cart' and 'Buy Now' buttons are above the product description and info to trick the eye into focusing on the next action they should take.
• A 'Product Tests' section details certifications to add credibility and trust.
• The mention of 'Ships Next Business Day' shows the brand's commitment to making the buying process very convenient for customers.

3. First on Mobile, First on Google

58% of worldwide internet traffic now comes from mobile devices. So now, Google uses the mobile version of your website as the primary source for indexing and ranking. If your site has separate desktop and mobile versions, the mobile version will be considered the main version.

Here is how to optimize your site for mobile-first indexing:

• Ensure your site has a responsive design. It means it automatically adjusts to fit the screen size of any device.
• Make sure that your mobile site contains the same content as your desktop site. This includes all texts, images (with appropriate alt attributes), videos, and links.
• Include the same structured data markup on both mobile and desktop versions of your site. This helps Google better understand and index your content.
• Ensure that titles and meta descriptions are equivalent on both versions of your site.
• If you have separate mobile and desktop sites, add and verify your mobile version in the Google Search Console. This way, you can monitor how your mobile site is performing in search results and identify any indexing issues.
• Check for mobile-specific errors like blocked resources (CSS, JavaScript, images), faulty redirects, or pop-ups that cover content, which can negatively impact both the user experience and SEO.

4. Content that Connects

UX writing focuses on creating clear, concise, and useful text for user interfaces. It includes buttons, error messages, menu labels, and instructional content. The goal is to guide users efficiently through a digital product, making sure they achieve their desired outcomes with ease. To understand better, consider the image below that shows a good vs bad error message.

This approach influences user engagement metrics like clicks. For example, a button should tell users exactly what will happen when they click it, like " Save File, " " Download PDF, " or " Add to Cart. "

Similarly, whether a user completes an action successfully or encounters an error, the feedback they receive should be designed to keep them informed and guide them on what to do next. This can include simple confirmations like " Your file has been uploaded " or corrective suggestions in case of errors.

Follow the 3 key considerations for a positive user experience:

• Use simple and direct language that users can easily understand.
• Use active voice to make instructions direct.
• If your product serves a global audience, consider how your text translates across cultures and languages.

5. Design Meets Desire

User intent refers to what users aim to achieve when they interact with a digital product like a website, app, or software. Understand UX intent to create more intuitive and positive user experiences.

This could range from completing a specific task, like booking a flight or purchasing a product, to seeking information or simply exploring content for entertainment.

Follow these 5 steps to identify and design your user search intent:

• User Research: Conduct surveys, interviews, and usability testing to learn what users are trying to achieve when they use your product. Analyzing user behavior using analytics tools like Ranktracker and Encharge. They’ll provide clues about user intent based on how they navigate your site or app.
• Persona Development: Create detailed user personas that include user goals, preferences, and expected behavior patterns. Use automation to analyze large data sets and identify common user characteristics and behaviors.
• Journey Mapping: Develop user journey maps that outline every step a user takes from entering the application to reaching their goal. This helps in identifying potential friction points and opportunities for improvement. At this step, you can hire a marketing intern to help gather data, observe interactions, and document stages efficiently.
• Contextual Design: Think about where and how your digital product will be used. This includes understanding the devices used, the physical environment, and possible distractions that could affect user interaction.
• Iterative Design & Testing: Test your initial designs based on user feedback. This approach ensures that the final product truly aligns with user intent and improves overall user satisfaction.

6. Speed, Stability, SEO

Core Web Vitals are a set of specific ranking factors that Google considers important to a webpage's overall user experience.

These metrics focus on 3 aspects of the user experience: loading performance, interactivity, and the visual stability of the page. Understand and optimize these factors as they directly affect how Google ranks pages.

Here’s a breakdown of each Core Web Vital:

6.1 Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

LCP measures the load performance of a page, specifically how long it takes for the largest content element in the viewport (like an image or block of text) to become visible to the user. A good LCP provides a better user experience by ensuring that the main content of a page loads quickly. According to Google, an LCP should occur within the first 2.5 seconds of when the page starts loading.

6.2 First Input Delay (FID)

FID measures interactivity and responsiveness. It tracks the time from when a user first interacts with a page (i.e., when they click a link, tap on a button, or use a custom, JavaScript-powered control) to the time when the browser begins processing event handlers in response to that interaction. To provide a good user experience, pages should have an FID of less than 100 milliseconds.

6.3 Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

CLS measures visual stability by quantifying how much visible content shifts unexpectedly during the loading process. This metric ensures that pages are visually stable as they load, preventing annoying and potentially harmful layout shifts that could cause a user to click the wrong button accidentally. A good CLS score is less than 0.1.

Follow the 7 steps to Improve your site’s Core Web Vitals:

• Compress and properly size images in WebP to reduce their load time.
• Reduce or defer JavaScript that's not essential for the initial page load to decrease FID.
• Implement Lazy Loading. Load images and videos only as they enter the viewport.
• Avoid inserting ads that shift content unexpectedly by reserving space for them.
• Preload Important Resources. Use <link rel="preload"> to tell the browser to prioritize loading key resources first.
• Use tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights, Ranktracker, and SEOptimer to measure and optimize these core web vitals.
• Consider hiring affordable overseas developers. They can compress images, leverage browser caching, and minimize JavaScript.

7. Write to Rank

Well-crafted headlines grab user attention, communicate content quickly, and encourage further user interaction. Headlines are placed in <h1> tags in the HTML, helping search engines understand the main topic of a page.

Moreover, users often skim through content, and headlines can help them navigate and decide which sections of content are relevant to their interests or needs.

Follow the 6 best practices for writing SEO-optimized page headlines:

• Use simple, direct language that tells the reader exactly what the content is about.
• Include relevant keywords that reflect how users might search for the content. Highlight the value or benefit that the content offers. For example, a headline like "Increase Your Productivity with These 5 Tools" clearly states the benefit of reading the content.
• Use numbers and lists in your headlines (e.g., “7 Tips for...” or “Top 10...”) as they attract more clicks.
• Without resorting to clickbait, craft headlines that stir curiosity or emotion.
• Use A/B testing to try out different headlines and see which performs better in terms of click-through rates and engagement.

For example, you can use Amazon's MYCE tool to A/B test different product headlines. You create two versions of the page headline: one version could say "Revolutionize Your Kitchen with Our Top-Rated Blender," while the other might say "Discover the Best Blender for Your Culinary Creations."

Run these headlines simultaneously for different segments of your audience to track which headline grabs more click-throughs and purchases.

Conclusion

As you implement these changes, ask yourself: Which website elements don’t meet my user needs? Which areas of my site have high bounce rates, and how can I improve them? Keep these questions in mind as a guide to keep on refining and optimizing your website.

Don’t forget to track these changes to see what’s working and what’s not. You can seamlessly track your progress using Ranktracker. It offers comprehensive solutions to monitor your search engine optimization efforts. Using our tool, you can adopt strategies that align with the ever-evolving demands of search engines and users alike.

Remember, the goal is always to create a website that delights users and dominates search rankings. What step will you take today to move closer to that goal?