Optimizing content for SEO and UX

In the competitive world of web and mobile content, you want two things: to be seen by search engines and to be loved by users. That’s where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and UX (User Experience) come in. While they might seem like separate entities, SEO and UX work hand-in-hand.

At larger companies and agencies, you’ll usually find SEO specialists who can help ensure your SEO is on point and UX writers who focus on clear, concise user content. But if you’re a small business or nonprofit, your content strategist will likely need to wear both “SEO specialist” and “UX writer” hats as part of their job.

A common conundrum for optimizing SEO and UX is the quantity of words on the proverbial page. UX often functions better with less content while SEO benefits from more words. Quality plays a role too, but more than that, content strategists have to consider how users read and consume content (which is a whole different conversation!).

The TLDR

For those of you who don’t want to read the rest of this article, here’s the quick TLDR (or top of the inverted pyramid). You can create (and maintain) a website that’s both user-friendly and optimized for search engines through:

• Keyword research: Understand what users are searching for and integrate those keywords into your content in a natural way.
• Compelling content: People don’t come for keyword stuffing, they come for valuable information. Create engaging content that solves user’s problems or answers frequently asked questions.
• Mobile-first design: Make sure your website looks great and functions smoothly on all devices, especially mobile and tablet.
• Fast loading times: Nobody likes waiting. Optimize images, code, and server response time for a speedy experience.
• Clear navigation: Your website should be intuitive and easy to navigate. Users should be able to find what they’re looking for quickly.
• External and internal links: Add links to the pages on your website and create backlinks from other trusted sites to increase traffic and site authority.
• Optimized accessibility: Use descriptive filenames and alt text for images. This helps with SEO and accessibility.

To dig a little deeper into the relationships between SEO and UX, read on.

What is SEO and why does it matter?

SEO is the art of making your website attractive to search engines like Google. This involves using relevant keywords, optimizing technical aspects, and building backlinks. Strong SEO gets your website ranking higher in search results, increasing organic site traffic.

Image source: Semrush Backlink Scores

TOOL TIPS: Analytics tools, like Semrush, allow you to track and analyze how users interact with your website and identify areas for improvement. AI tools, like Seona, will measure and suggest ways to improve your SEO through custom code updates and blogs with featured keywords.

Major redesigns can impact your search engine results pages (SERPs). This results in lower site traffic, which signals to Google that your content isn’t important or your user experience isn’t interesting. If you’re planning to make major changes to your website, like redesigning or replatforming it, you might also want to consider hiring an SEO agency or using a tool like Hike. (← This is not an affiliate link, but you can use this link to get 50% off your first month with Hike!)

There are lots of factors that contribute to good SEO, but some of the biggest ones are:

High-quality content: Google wants to show users content that is informative, relevant, and valuable. Content that is well-written, up-to-date, and targeted to your audience’s needs will rank higher in search results.

• Consider adding product descriptions, detailed image titles, and short articles. But remember, when you add new content, be sure it’s useful and not just filler-words to boost SEO.
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs) are a great way to provide self-service for your customers and boost SEO, but you should use structured data to ensure they index correctly. If you want to draw special attention to your FAQs, you might consider adding metadata to your technical SEO.

Technical SEO: The technical aspects of your website can affect how well it is crawled and indexed by search engines.

• To improve technical SEO, you should submit a sitemap to Google each time you add new content to your site.
• Update your site’s metadata and meta-tags regularly to ensure your site is findable. If you’re super techy, you can even use JSON-LD files with custom HTML or XML code to boost SEO.

External backlinks: Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. They are like votes of confidence, and they can help to improve your website’s authority and ranking in search results.

• Work with local organizations (e.g., Chamber of Commerce), product vendors, or paid media (e.g., digital ads) to list your business and link back to your website or social media channels.
• Use Semrush’s backlink checker to quickly evaluate and compare link profiles and map your backlinks.

Internal links: Connect relevant pages on your website to keep users engaged and improve SEO.

• When you create URLs for your site pages, use dashes instead of underscores. Google’s bots don’t crawl underscores, and it won’t include them in your SEO data.
• Make sure your anchor links or jump links (the text users click on to go to a linked page) are descriptive. Using something like “explore outdoor furniture products” as a CTA (call to action) rather than “learn more” helps boost usability and SEO.

Domain age, URL, and authority: The older your domain is, the more authority it will have in the eyes of search engines.

• If your business is new, you’ll need to give special attention to SEO to ensure your URL shows up near the top of the results list in organic searches.
• Domain or webpage authority is measured through a logarithmic score, so it becomes harder to achieve higher scores over time.

Website security: Google prefers websites that are secure (start with HTTPS) and accessible to all users, especially if e-commerce is available on your site.

• Install an SSL certificate. This will generate the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure or HTTPS you see at the start of most website URLs.
• Choose a reliable web hosting provider and keep your passwords for your CMS and website data in a password managing system.

Content accessibility: Inclusive content is good content. Make sure your website meets web accessibility standards (e.g., ADA, Section 508, and WCAG compliance). Here’s a quick, helpful webinar on accessibility! And…don’t forget about info icons and emojis accessible too!

• You can check to see if your website meets ADA and WCAG standards with AccessiBe’s access scanner. For a fee, they’ll help you fix it!
• If you prefer to handle accessibility on your own, download this free accessibility checklist or use the WCAG standards.

Social signals: While not as important as the factors listed above, social signals can also play a role in SEO. When people share your content on social media, it can help to improve your website’s visibility and ranking.

• Use Linktree or Squarespace’s Bio Sites to increase site traffic from your social channels.
• Run periodic contests or giveaways on social media. Users visit your website to register for the prize, which boosts your traffic. You can also gather their contact information (with permission!) for future email marketing campaigns.

User experience (UX): This refers to how easy it is for users to navigate your website and find the information they are looking for easily and quickly. Google considers user experience to be an important ranking factor, so make sure your website is user-friendly, especially for mobile customers. I provide more information on UX in the next section.

What is UX and why does it matter?

UX is all about creating a positive experience for your site visitors and return customers. This includes clear navigation, fast loading times, engaging content, and a user-friendly design. Sometimes UX is oversimplified into “fancy visuals”, but it’s much more than that — it’s about creating a digital experience that feels effortless and intuitive, guiding users toward their goals with minimal friction.

Image source: Proof Branding

Good UX and UI design are often compared to a layered cake — lots of ingredients that require a specific assembly for the final product to work.

To maximize the UX of your website, you should focus on a few key ingredients:

Know your user: Before you dive into design, understand who your target audience is and what they need from your website. What are their goals? What information are they seeking? By empathizing with your users, you can tailor the experience to their specific journey.

• Focus groups can help you gather qualitative, attitudinal research on your designs and content. User research can offer more quantitative results, if you design your study right.
• Customer journey mapping can provide a broad overview of what users want. It can also be used to map face-to-face customer experiences or processes.

Content is queen: High-quality, informative content is the backbone of any good website. Keep your text clear, concise, and scannable. Use visuals strategically to break up text and enhance understanding.

• Avoid using duplicate content. Search engines will flag or ignore duplicate content; this includes content that’s published in an external article that you choose to feature on your website.
• Add meta-descriptions with keywords for each of your subpages. Try to keep them between 60–150 characters to be sure they show up in search results for both desktop and mobile.

Navigation nirvana: Your website should be like a well-organized house. Users should be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. Simple menus, clear calls to action, and a logical information architecture are all essential for smooth navigation.

• Navigation should include tiered menus with a hamburger menu option for mobile users. It’s also a good idea to add a search option, so users can quickly search your site and find what they’re looking for.
• Don’t forget to consider your footer links and information; this is a great place to add your privacy policy, social media profiles, and call to action for Google reviews.

Mobile marvel: These days, most web browsing happens on smartphones. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, with a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes. Nobody enjoys pinching and zooming to read text.

• Mobile-friendly designs should do more than shrink a desktop experience down for a smaller screen. Design for mobile-first, if you can.
• Responsive text and designs are often available through popular website builders like Squarespace or GoDaddy, but not all content management systems are equal. Choose wisely.

The need for speed: First impressions matter, and that includes website loading speed. Slow loading times can frustrate users and lead to them higher bounce rates. Optimize your images and code to ensure your website loads lightning fast.

• High-quality and legal (not stolen or copyrighted) images are important, but you should test them to be sure they don’t impact your load speed.
• Research indicates that 32% of users will leave your site if it loads in 3 seconds, and the bounce rate increases to 90% or more for pages that take more than 5 seconds to load. Use Page Speed Insights to test the load speed of your site.

TOOL TIPS: Remember, UX is an ongoing process. Use website analytics tools or products like Glassbox to track user behavior and identify areas for improvement. If your budget allows, you can also conduct UserTesting to get real feedback on your site’s usability.

Why are SEO and UX best friends?

Imagine a delicious restaurant hidden down a dark alley with no signage. Great food, but no customers! That’s what a website can be like with just SEO or UX alone.

• SEO drives traffic, UX keeps it: Great SEO attracts users, but a frustrating UX sends them packing. Optimizing UX keeps them engaged and coming back.
• Search engines love happy users: Google considers user dwell time (how long users stay on your site) and bounce rate (how many leave quickly) when ranking websites. A positive UX translates to better SEO.
• Keywords with context: SEO focuses on keywords, but UX reminds you to use them naturally within well-written, informative content. Users appreciate it, and search engines reward it.

Saying the quiet part out loud

What’s described in this short article isn’t going to solve your SEO or UX problems. It’s basically a listicle with links to helpful resources and tools. High-functioning SEO and a happy UX are context dependent and industry specific, and they require intensive planning and iterative execution — That is to say… they’re never done, just in-progress. :)

Erica Stone has more than 10 years of technical communication experience with a focus on UX writing, content design, and user research.