Online retailers work hard to differentiate their stores from the competition. One of the main points they should focus on is providing the best user experience. Combined with a proper SEO strategy, this can produce great results. Search engines like Google place great value on user satisfaction. Therefore, integrating UX and eCommerce SEO helps improve search rankings and build a long-term relationship with your customers.
UX is the underrated SEO powerhouse
Traditionally, SEO focused on keywords, backlinks, and technical factors. However, Google’s algorithms also focus on user engagement and satisfaction. Great UX is not just an add-on, but the foundation of your SEO efforts.
As Steve Jobs famously said, “Design is not just how it looks and feels – design is how it works.” Quality UX/UI design can increase the time visitors spend on a website and lead to better conversion rates. Such metrics indicate to search engines that the website is effectively responding to users’ needs, which could justify higher rankings.
Customers want a seamless experience when purchasing. Great UX can influence these purchasing decisions and differentiate your brand from competitors in a market with similar products and services.
Another company leader, Dr. Ralf Speth, former CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, famously said: “If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”
Improving conversion rates through UX
A website’s design, performance, and functionality directly impact its conversion rates. A well-designed interface can increase conversions. Such extensions attract more visitors and convert them into loyal customers. There are many areas of your online store that could benefit from UX improvements.
For example, shopping cart abandonment is a big problem in e-commerce. There are many reasons why users abandon their shopping cart without purchasing anything. Most of these are related to the buyer journey, but many customers also abandon their shopping cart due to problems with the store or the purchasing process UX. In numbers: the Baymard Institute found “that 22% of U.S. online shoppers abandoned an order in the last quarter solely due to a “too long/complicated checkout process,” while 17% abandoned due to technical issues on the site.”
Improving page speed is also one of the pillars of UX. Sign found that “the difference in eCommerce conversion rates between blazingly fast and moderately fast websites is significant.” A website that loads in 1 second has a 2.5x higher eCommerce conversion rate. Rate as a website that loads in 5 seconds.”
These are all things you can fix in your UX strategy. In a well-known study Forester research has shown that for every dollar spent on UX, companies can expect up to $100 in return. For many retailers, investing in UX and eCommerce SEO can drive business growth.
The importance of mobile optimization
With mobile market share far outpacing desktop traffic, optimizing for mobile is more important than ever. At the beginning of 2024 Statista calculated that smartphones were responsible for 77 percent of global retail website traffic and for generating two-thirds of online shopping orders.
The first impression counts
It is crucial for eCommerce businesses to make a positive first impression. Research suggests that users form an opinion about a website in just 50 milliseconds. Key factors influencing these lightning-fast judgments include visual complexity, prototypicality, and exposure time. Prototypicity refers to how closely a website matches users’ expectations based on known design patterns. Exposure time is the short period of time in which visitors see and evaluate a website for the first time.
Websites that are visually simple but adhere to common conventions are perceived as more appealing even within this short exposure time. As visitors spend more time on a website, the familiar structure becomes as influential as its simplicity. Focus on these design elements to make visitors happy and improve engagement.
Google NavBoost and user trust
Current findings about Google’s NavBoost Highlighting the role of user behavior in search rankings. NavBoost analyzes user interactions, particularly click patterns, to refine search results based on user satisfaction. Metrics like “good clicks” (which indicate user satisfaction) and “last longest click” (where users spend the most time) are directly related to user experience.
A positive user experience leads to higher rates of good clicks and lower bounce rates. This shows that UX is important in building trust and credibility through Google’s EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) framework.
The symbiosis of UX and SEO
UX and SEO are one. You could even call it SXO: Search Experience Optimization. Search engines prioritize websites that offer a good user experience. This makes sense because it aligns with their goal of providing users with valuable content. A focus on UX increases user satisfaction and could improve search engine rankings. These rankings could help increase traffic and improve conversions.
Strategic initiatives for UX and SEO
There are many things to do if you want to improve both UX and eCommerce SEO. Here are just a few of them:
- Responsive Design: Make your website mobile-friendly as mobile devices account for over half of global web traffic. Responsive design improves user satisfaction by providing a seamless experience across all devices. This could have a positive effect on search engine rankings. E-commerce giants like Amazon, for example, excel at responsive design. These stores ensure that users have a consistent and user-friendly experience whether they are browsing on a desktop, tablet or smartphone. This adaptability helps attract and retain mobile users.
- Clear navigation and structure: Develop an intuitive site architecture that allows for easy navigation. This not only improves the user experience but also helps search engines understand and index content effectively. A well-designed navigation system with a robust website search function can improve user satisfaction. For example, ASOS, a popular online fashion retailer, offers a well-organized navigation menu with clear categories so users can quickly find what they are looking for.
- Improve performance: Optimize page speed to reduce bounce rates and improve user engagement. Google’s Core Web Vitals emphasize the importance of fast, stable and interactive pages. Practical steps include compressing images, leveraging browser caching, and using content delivery networks (CDNs). Research shows that a website that loads in one second can have a 2.5x higher conversion rate than a website that takes five seconds.
- Engaging content: Create informative, relevant and engaging content. High-quality content attracts users and sends positive signals to search engines. For example, including detailed product descriptions, customer reviews, and engaging blog posts can enrich the user experience and encourage visitors to spend more time on your website.
- Accessibility: Incorporate accessibility features to accommodate all users, including those with disabilities. This is in line with UX best practices and eCommerce SEO requirements. Adhering to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ensures that your website is usable by a diverse audience, thereby increasing user satisfaction and search visibility.
- A/B testing: Implement A/B testing to refine your UX and conversion strategies. This involves comparing two versions of a website to see which performs better. For example, testing different CTAs, headlines, or images can reveal what resonates most with your audience. Businesses can continually optimize their website for better interactions and conversion rates by iterating based on real user feedback.
A successful strategy with UX and SEO
These days, it would be foolish not to incorporate UX into your SEO strategy. Focus on user experience design and combine it with proven SEO strategies. This helps eCommerce companies improve search visibility, engage users, and support long-term growth. This approach helps customers find and appreciate online stores, resulting in loyal customers and increased sales.