The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is rapidly evolving. At the same time, many organizations are aware of the need to satisfy their audience’s appetite for quick, useful searches that deliver relevant results. But just as many organizations are locked in time with now archaic definitions of SEO. In the new world of SEO, approaches are rapidly evolving to focus on user experience. Where previously tactical SEO was the name of the game, and activities like keyword stuffing and paid backlinking were influential today, the focus must be on frictionless user experiences.
The SEO focus shift to user experience is not surprising when you consider some essential data points. Data from Forrester indicates that the majority of web experiences begin with a search query. We also know that an on-site search box is increasingly the first interaction from our research. For many websites, half or more of the first interactions is the search box. What happens after that first interaction is where the user experience problems begin. All too frequently in our design thinking workshops, we hear user sentiment like: “The on-site search experience is severely lacking.” Or “We go to Google to search our site because our site search does not work.” And “We can’t find what we are looking for, and we question the value of belonging to this organization.” Users who cannot find what they are searching for recall a negative brand experience.
Common Search User Experience Challenges
- Content is not scannable.
- Content is presented in PDFs.
- Content is written for machines, not humans.
- The content matches organizational wants more than audience needs.
- The content creation process does not include updates or content retirement.
The Four Pillars of Search Engine Optimization
For organizations with vast amounts of content, SEO needs a larger context. Google is the largest player but not the only player. Consider yourself a player. Your site search box is a critical component of search engine optimization. In many cases, the search engine in need of the most optimization is the one on your website. To help understand what SEO means today, let’s review “The Four Pillars of Search Engine Optimization.”
The Four Pillars of Search Engine Optimization
- Off-Page Search
- On-Page Search
- Paid Search or Search Engine Marketing (SEM) or Pay Per Click (PPC)
- Reputation Management
Extending what “SEO” Means
“Off-page SEO” (also called “off-site SEO”) refers to actions taken outside of your website to impact your rankings within search engine results pages (SERPs).
Moz.com
Briefly, off-page SEO considers factors beyond the pages of your website. While on-page SEO is SEO happening on your website. Search Engine Marketing or SEM and Pay Per Click or PPC typically cross off-page and on-page. At the same time, reputation management is a newer consideration for SEO. More specifically, tools like Google My Business or GMB are rising factors in SEO. These definitions are not comprehensive. But they widen the scope of the typical SEO conversation. SEO today requires thinking beyond on-page and off-page optimizations.
“How can we compete with Google.”
The answer is to start with understanding how Google’s focus has shifted over time. In the early years of the world wide web, Google’s algorithm was far less sophisticated. Keyword stuffing, meta description manipulation, and paid backlinking could go a long way in boosting SERP performance. With the right combination of white hat and black hat SEO tactics, an organization could climb and stay on top of the search results pile. Of course, Google’s innovation is not stagnant. As machine learning improved, Google understands what content would drive the best results and keep the user’s experience satisfaction high. In brief, the algorithm measures user satisfaction with the search results. Satisfaction is scored based on many iterations of the algorithm, which continually makes micro-adjustments on various inputs. When user satisfaction is improved, the algorithm accepts or reverts changes.
In human terms, this means the focus of SEO should be on user experiences that increase user satisfaction. In the pursuit of improved UX, it’s always crucial to start by understanding your audience. What are their needs? What are their goals? What content will meet the user where they are in the channel they expect your content? These questions are fundamentally content strategy questions.
Start with Content Strategy and Focus on User Experience
In today’s SEO environment, the critical first step is to start with an effective content strategy. For many organizations, updating the content production process includes planning and evaluating success after publication. In our experience, our clients are masters in creating best-in-class content but are often missing a planning stage to determine where the content should live in the digital ecosystem. The old-world assumption that all content belongs on the website is no longer a given. Organizations that have clear guidelines and content governance outperform the competition. Many of the most useful websites I see are sites where the audience is clearly understood and the content meets the audience’s needs.
Image Credit: “Viewing the Transit of Venus (print)” is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
