Is good user experience a ranking factor?
Is good user experience a ranking factor despite not being explicitly mentioned by Google? The short answer is yes, and we’re here to tell you why. User experience should be central to your website, prioritising a positive experience for whoever has clicked on your site.
While not formally recognised as a direct ranking factor, it’s essential to know how SEO and user experience go hand in hand. Our comprehensive audit service can help you identify areas in which your site can be optimised for a good user experience, saving you time and resources with the benefit of our expert knowledge.
User experience is predicted to become even more important shortly- get ahead whilst you can and work towards optimising your site in every way that will improve a user’s experience. After all, users are what drive the success of sites. Therefore, their needs should be considered in every element of your SEO optimisation.
What is the relationship between user experience and SEO?
Why Is User Experience So Important?The definition of user experience is how user-friendly your site is. If this experience is anything but positive, a user can abandon the website, increasing the bounce rate and negatively affecting engagement. This is even more important in a society where our attentions are increasingly diverted and forever seeking fast access to information. The structure of the site and content must cater to its intended users whilst boosting SEO factors.
A positive user experience creates positive outcomes for ranking and vice versa. Google prioritises content that is user-friendly and is forever trying to understand the ways in which users navigate both content and the site.
An attractive and engaging website is crucial for the user experience and therefore boosts SEO. Ranking factors are directly linked to the experience of the user, so the relationship is close-knit and cooperative.
It can be hard to navigate which factors are at play in crafting the desired experience for your users, so here are some of the most important ones.
Website speed
A slow-loading site is the enemy of your good user experience, increasing bounce rate as users become bored and impatient. A high bounce rate essentially tells google that your site is not worth ranking highly due to the lack of time spent on it by users.
A quick and fast-loading website is optimal for user experience and encourages them to stay on the site. Again, society demands fast access to any query and with Google at our very fingertips, expectations are high.
Content on the site
Your content must remain relevant to the users’ interest, meeting Google’s Helpful Content guidelines. Remaining relevant and not appearing spammy with keywords paints your content as trustworthy and deserving of ranking highly in the SERPs. In addition to relevance, your site is optimal if the content is attractive and designed in a user-friendly manner.
Optimise your content as something a user would want to look at, using relevant H1, H2 and H3 headings to signpost important information. If your content is organised so that paragraphs are lengthy with a small font size, the likelihood is a user will not want to read on. In turn, google sees that the user clicks away almost immediately, realising that your page does not align with the user’s needs and shouldn’t rank highly.
Not only should the content look appealing, it should be written in a way that’s digestible for a user. Limiting jargon and using clear language that aims to answer their query is key- giving them what they need in an easy-to-read way means they’re likely to come back to your site for information in the future. Remember, helpful content is rewarded!
If the user is unimpressed with your content, then so is Google. Effective visual stimuli are appealing and liven up your site, adding a bit of dimension and flare alongside your useful bits of information. It is useful to consider breaking up your words with images.
Accessibility
How users access content has become increasingly modernised, with most now turning to their mobile phones to look for answers. While a site may appear perfectly well on a laptop, it’s important to consider how it would display on a mobile device.
Prioritising a responsive design ensures that your website runs on all devices and formats properly no matter where or how a user has found it.
Users want to find exactly what they’re looking for, so every element of the site must be accessible and easy to navigate, that’s where mobile SEO comes in handy. Google uses a mobile-first indexing system, prioritising the mobile version of a site over the desktop version. So if your site isn’t optimised on mobile, you risk losing valuable ranking positions.
User interface
Following on from accessibility, a user interface that anyone on any device can use is crucial. However, not only should it be usable, it should be aesthetically satisfying and fit with your brand theme to give the user a consistent experience.
Inevitably, users won’t bother to engage with your site and dig deep to find what they want- everything should be navigated easily on the surface, and any extra effort or hard work to get there will immediately put them off.
If you can’t provide a visually appealing website, users might conclude that you can’t help them with their query.
Linking
A well-structured site with an array of helpful internal and external links creates a website that is useful for whatever needs a user may have. It is comprehensive in its information and if it directs a user somewhere useful and credible, this gives the page authority in its ranking.
An effective internal linking structure additionally helps users to find their way around your site, sticking to what’s relevant for their query but allowing more visitors to other parts of your website.
Site architecture
The architecture of your site helps users travel across your site, and navigational features (such as breadcrumbs) can help them trace their steps. Your site should easily point users in the direction of where they want to go, and be organised in such a way that this is possible.
As well as helping the user go from A to B, having an effective site architecture allows the search engine crawl bots to crawl your site easily. As well as guiding a user, it guides the search engine and clearly illustrates what your site offers.
How can we help optimise your user experience?
At Embryo, we prioritise the creation of high-quality SEO content with a bespoke strategy for your every need. We understand how important user experience is for your success, so the user remains central to everything we do.
Users are the people who get you those all-important conversions and sales, so you need their utmost satisfaction when they browse your website. Otherwise, you risk losing important customers. Discover how your site can be optimised for the best user experience possible with our expert audit service and support from our knowledgeable team.
FAQs
Answered by Jamie Beatty
How do we know user experience is a ranking factor?
Google never releases clear documents with guidelines surrounding ranking factors. Within its updates, Google has always said to put the user at the focus of all SEO. Google doesn’t want its users to have poor results, so it will always serve and favour a website that takes user experience into account.
How can Google prioritise the user experience even more in their next update?
Every update that Google does, will always have the user in mind, and the user experience at the centre of their approach. Google wants people’s queries to be answered to a high standard, which can only improve if Google continues to make algorithm improvements surrounding intent.
Does user experience still affect loyal and returning customers?
Yes, user experience does still affect loyal brand users. People still have very high expectations and standards of companies with a digital presence. This is seen in things such as page speed and loading times. Websites can’t ignore best practices by thinking they can rely on returning and loyal customers.
Does design impact user experience?
The design has a huge impact on UX. Design affects the whole way that people interact with a website. People do lose interest quickly if they don’t have all of the information immediately available to them. Putting the things above the fold is important such as review widgets, CTAs and reviews.
What analytical tools can I use to test my user experience?
Microsoft Clarity is a good tool for heat mapping. You can see where people click and interact with your site. This is useful to see where your content is performing well and to monitor common elements people are engaging with which helps with making data decisions.
