SXO 2021: Combining SEO and User Experience

| February 18, 2021 | Blog, SXO | No Comments

SXO are the three letters that should not be forgotten in 2021 to carry out SEO strategies and maintain your positioning. Some SEO experts advised focusing more on UX (User Experience) in order to uphold the position in the SERP. Google has now understood that users must be the priority of the SEO strategy. For they are the ones who do the research, click on the pages, and without them, SEO doesn’t exist.

SXO 2021 - search experience optimization

What is SXO?

The acronym SXO stands for Search Experience Optimization and is the association of SEO and User Experience (UX). It refers to the new SEO aspect involving taking into account user experience, to adhere to the new norms of the Google algorithm. Therefore, wasn’t the user primarily at the core of SEO strategies?

Yes, User experience was a concern for Google for a very long time. However, until now, UX was taken into account for everything relating to the content of the pages. But focusing very little on the more “technical” aspect of SEO. In 2021, the SEO trends are changing and evolving; thus, the technical aspect of user experience is progressively more accentuated.

New SEO strategies for 2021

Here are some SXO strategies on how to optimize your pages in 2021. Bearing in mind the comfort of your visitors from a technical and content point of view.

Content Optimization

  1. Your content should be the first aspect as you start optimizing your pages. Make sure that the right keyword is being used according to respond to the users’ requests.
  2. The content must be relevant, comprehensible, and organized. Before publishing the page, run final proofreading to correct any mistakes and inconsistencies.
  3. Incorporate images, videos, and infographics as Google considers pages with interactive content to be quality results.

Page Speed

  • Note that SEO and UX (SXO) will join forces to ensure that your pages rank on top of the Google results page. Ensure that your pages load fast for a few extra seconds have a huge impact to engage visitors.
  • Remember that Google bot would prioritize pages that improve the browsing experience for Internet users.
  • A new Google algorithm update will come into play: Core Web Vitals

This update will be a very decisive new ranking factor as a user experience.

Navigation

  • Ensure that your site’s structure is based not only on the tangle of your pages but on the content as well. Hence, the page’s content needs good organization and structure. As to facilitate visitors while navigating through the website.
  • Note that Google pays particular attention to the site’s content tree. Visitors will move away from your site should the content be messy or dense. This will have a negative impact on Bounce Rate.
  • Alternatively, comprehensible text punctuated with images and videos will keep users longer on the page.

Make your website mobile-friendly

    • As of March, the Google bot user agent will prioritize websites’ mobile versions instead of desktop versions. Note that Mobile-First Index is another update scheduled for 2021 featuring in SXO
    • This new update is adapting to Google’s current audience as most users nowadays browse the web from a smartphone.
    • Make use of Google Search Console to check your website’s mobile compatibility.