User experience and SEO

Although they have had a difficult time cohabiting in the past, they can and must now live in harmony. First of all, let’s try to dispel the myths surrounding the interaction of SEO and user experience. In fact, the best sign of a site’s health lies in taking into account the ‘look’ (the interface) and the search engines that index your pages and rank you in the SERPs.

User experience and SEO: myths to combat

Let’s talk about a subject that, just a few years ago, never crossed the mind of an SEO when it came to optimizing a website: user experience and its impact on SEO.

Historically, these two concepts have been in conflict, especially at the turn of the millennium, and this conflict has lasted for many years. Even today, there are still site managers who do not take this process into account, although there has been a marked improvement. We can now say that the two are better combined than before, without a doubt.

However, there are little things that many people, including those who take user experience into consideration, believe to be true about the way Internet users use the Internet, as well as the problems encountered by most users, the types of functionality or the design.

Calling in a web analytics agency will enable you to learn more about the visitors who come to your website, and it will give you the areas to work on as a priority.

But these false truths have negative consequences for SEO. So we’re going to dispel any doubts on this subject and give you some food for thought that you can re-use for your own websites or projects. The aim, of course, is to improve your SEO through user experience.

Single and multiple forms: optimize your conversion tunnels!

Let’s start with the following example: let’s imagine that you have a number of forms on your site. These forms need to be filled in by web users to complete a logical registration process. This could be to register for a website, an event or a download.

Whatever the case, what solutions will you put in place to optimize the user experience on your site? Will you put all the queries and form fields on the same page, so that visitors don’t have to wander from step to step? Or is it preferable to proceed in stages? Generally speaking, the tests carried out to analyze this type of procedure have shown that the second choice will be preferred.

To see for yourself, all you have to do is visit most e-commerce sites. A simple step-by-step action is often better than a long form. Filling in your e-mail address, entering a password, entering your credit card number… These are the types of actions that are most likely to create interaction with web users, since they are simple and quick to carry out. In fact, there’s nothing more frustrating for a visitor than thinking: “Do I really have to go through this to get a simple contact or a quote? That’s why we encourage you to think carefully about your forms when you design them. A small form will certainly not need to be split, whereas for a longer form, it may be more appropriate to divide it into multiple stages, particularly for conversion funnel marking and Analytics statistics.

The paradox of choice: guiding the surfer step by step!

It’s true that if we give visitors a large number of choices, they’ll pick the one that suits them best. … The best example is obviously social networks. Tons of websites or blogs offer a phenomenal number of Twitter sharing buttons, Facebook ‘likes’, Google +, Pinterest, etc. All of these are social networks that are widespread on the web, and they are all very popular. These are all social networks that are widespread on the web, some certainly more popular than others.

The question is this : are you in the process of creating what psychologists commonly call the “paradox of choice”, which assumes that when an individual is faced with a long list of options and is forced to make a choice, they often make the wrong one? Wouldn’t it be better to reduce the list of options to make life easier for them and, above all, to encourage them to share your content? Try it out and you’ll see that by reducing the number of options, your readers will dare to get more involved and participate.

What layout should you choose: graphic or textual?

Is it true that a page devoid of visual elements (images, videos, graphics, etc.) and composed solely of text distorts the user experience? A large number of tests have shown that it is a bad idea to pile up a block of text in a crude manner. If, for whatever reason, you can’t edit your content or you can’t find a suitable visual, we recommend that you divide it up into different sections and space out the blocks to make it easier for your audience to read. The choice of typography and the use of headings and sub-headings are recommended in this case.

Should you abolish scrolling on your site? An investigation into an untruth…

Is it true that web users never “scroll”? That all the content you want to display must be above the waterline on a web page? Is this absolutely essential?

Studies show that these claims are based on unfounded myths. On the contrary, research tells us that Internet users scroll frequently. This means that content that is accessible below the waterline may just as well be accessible. This revelation will undoubtedly allow many of you to space out your content more, without worrying about the length of your article and going over the waterline. As a result, you’ll be able to highlight more content thanks to better visual design.

Is user experience bad for SEO?

The idea that ‘ux’ is detrimental to SEO is one of the myths that most affects the world of organic search. Yet, as we have seen throughout this article, the two coexist perfectly well. They are even interdependent. The ability of a page to rank well in search engines, which remains the primary means for a web surfer to find information on the web, is just as important as taking into account the user experience on a website.

See also our article: What is SXO?