Understanding the Link between UX Design and SEO

June 17th, 2021 by Aravind Ajith

When it comes to website design and strategy, you can’t ignore SEO. Search engine optimization is a huge factor in ranking your site above the competition. That said, tunnel vision can really start to impact other aspects of a website that Google likes to see. One of those crucial elements is user experience, or UX, and it’s far more important than you might think. 

UX and SEO are intertwined when it comes to both search engine optimization and making your audience happy. As New York’s top SEO agency, we know that you can’t have one without the other. That’s why understanding the link between UX and SEO is so important for building a better website. Let’s explore some of the details behind this impactful relationship.

UX Design and SEO Put the User First

There’s nothing more important than setting your sites on what user want. In any digital space, user engagement and retention are two of the strongest signs that you’re resonating with your audience. Aligning your UX and SEO strategies is an important step in adjusting your website for a user-first approach. Think about it this way: when Google ranks a site high on its results pages, it’s essentially telling the user “this is what you want to see.”

Google decides this by ranking sites higher that offer a better experience for the user. While SEO is the more obvious indicator of a site’s quality for users, UX design plays a big role too. It’s not just about the style or delivery of a website; it’s about getting the user what they want. That’s why UX matters greatly to both the actual visitors to a site and to search engines. There’s nothing more important in web design than keeping all things user-focused. Doing so ensures that every step of the development phase, even post-website launch, is targeting who really matters. 

Improving Website Clarity and Effectiveness

SEO and UX have similar goals. We often think of SEO as a way to get Google to be on our side in the war for clicks, views, and users. In reality, SEO is all about clarity and effectively delivering a message to your users. UX design seeks to accomplish a similar goal. One of the most important elements of user centered design is keeping clear and defined design at the center of all creative endeavors. Just like copywriting or product descriptions, design needs to evoke a defined message as well.

Making the most of UX and SEO together as a joint approach to web design doesn’t mean sacrificing what makes your design style unique. Similarly, you can’t just load up web pages with SEO keywords and expect users or search engines to get on board. However, when clarity and effective communication are the root of your UX and SEO approach, you can use your natural voice and brand to make an effective website.

Making a Great Impression with Good UX Design and SEO

SEO and UX design are two of the quickest ways to make a great impression with your audience. By taking these key links between the two and improving the way we utilize them in the digital ecosystem, users and search engines will find our websites more helpful, more enjoyable to explore, and more valuable. Still looking to dive into this topic further? Reach out to us today and we can chat about all the great ways UX design and SEO can transform your website.