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How UX Affects SEO. By: Misty Faucheux Faucheux Enterprises Mistyfaucheux.com. What Is UX?. The Meaning of “UX”. UX is short for “user experience”. Google defines this as:
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How UX Affects SEO By: Misty Faucheux Faucheux Enterprises Mistyfaucheux.com
The Meaning of “UX” • UX is short for “user experience”. Google defines this as: • the overall experience of a person using a product such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or pleasing it is to use.
Why Is It Important • UX is important for a variety of factors: • Improves the chances of someone doing an action on the site • Makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for • Improves site flow • Ensures the site meets the needs of the customer • Overall, a good UX makes a good website
Rumors • Google manually checking sites for UX • True? Probably not, but…. • Scrolling sites not good for business • Scrolling sites don’t get ranked well • While probably not true, there is some anecdotal evidence for this • Why? Again – just a rumor - Div tags not actually individual pages so Google takes it as a single page as opposed to multiple pages.
How Bad UX Hurts SEO • Page load issues • Increases bounce rate • Reduces conversions • Hard to navigate with mobile
How Bad UX Hurts SEO • Site Navigability • People quickly leave hard to navigate sites • Won’t come back to site if they can’t find what they’re looking for • They’re not going deeper into your site affecting pages per visit • If content is hard to find, then the consumer isn’t going looking for it. They need to be directed to quality content like blogs, products, etc.
How Bad UX Hurts SEO • URL Structure • URL structure is for BOTH robots and people – but people first! • URLs should be easy to remember and not overly long • Should also incorporate keywords – without stuffing • If URLs are too long, figure out where categorical information can be logically cut
How Bad UX Hurts SEO • External Sites Won’t Link to You • If other quality sites think your site is bad, then they won’t link to hit. • No backlink juice
How Bad UX Hurts SEO • Bad 301 Redirects Tank Current SEO Standings • If pages are moved and not directed correctly, you lose all the ranking factors for those pages. If done correctly, the PageRank will be transferred to the new page. • Redirects not sent to a comparable page could confuse the user • Always make sure 301 redirects are done for all deleted or moved pages. If not, you’ll waste good backlinks from other sites.
Mobile Factor • Google’s new emphasis on mobile • A site that’s not optimized for mobile is bad for business – both for SEO and for conversions • Google has put a huge emphasis on sites being mobile-friendly since the vast majority of people are using mobile for search and that trend is supposed to only accelerate.
Key Takeaways • Google knows how people are using your site • And they know if people are finding what they’re looking for or not • Especially with Chrome, they can see how many pages people visit, how long they stay on the site, did they find what they’re looking for • If not, then they’re back searching • All of this signals to Google that your site is not satisfying the consumer causing a lower page rank
Key Takeaways • Build sites for people – not search engines • A good experience is a must nowadays • See where people are most often exiting your site and fix the page if it’s an issue • Use the suggestions in Webmaster Tools • Provides guidelines • Will crawl your site for potential issues and give suggestions
Key Takeaways • Try doing your own user flow and bug tests • Get people to beta test your site • Use some tools • Xenu – Checks for broken links • Webmaster Tools/Analytics • Web Performance/LoadComplete – Load testing • Open Site Explorer/Majestic SEO Tools – Inbound link analysis
References • http://www.searchenginejournal.com/two-examples-of-how-one-line-of-code-could-kill-your-seo-case-studies/37004/ • http://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-to-avoid-seo-disaster-during-a-website-redesign/ • http://usabilitygeek.com/4-ways-bad-ux-hurting-seo/ • http://moz.com/blog/ux-myths-that-hurt-seo-whiteboard-friday