SXO as a new referencing strategy?

Introduction

Search engines have always had specific requirements for websites to determine their position on the results pages. The more these requirements are met, the better the positioning of the website will be. It is essential to prioritize usefulness and value for users. Nowadays, Google presents itself not just as a search engine, but also as an answer engine. Therefore, it is important to create content not only for Google's algorithms but primarily for the benefit of your website's users.

Are you curious about how to improve your website's ranking on search engine results pages? Are you interested in starting a digital SXO strategy? This article, powered by our trusted partner Dedi Agency, an expert on the subject, will provide answers to your questions.

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What is SXO?

SXO is a hybrid approach that combines two distinct fields to enhance the referencing of websites: SEO and UX. While SEO focuses on content, semantics, and technical aspects, UX emphasizes design and user-centric navigation. By combining these two fields, SXO aims to optimize both the technical and human aspects of a website's performance.

To gain a deeper understanding of what SXO entails, it is essential to first examine the fundamental principles of both SEO and UX design.

Understanding SEO

SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization, encompasses all the on-page and off-page optimization techniques that are implemented to improve the natural ranking of a website's pages. While this strategy is cost-effective, it requires specific skills and knowledge.

To optimize a website for SEO, one can focus on improving semantics and using appropriate keywords by researching their domain. Additionally, internal links can be created, and external links can be utilized to enhance their positioning. The objective of SEO is to increase the quantity and quality of traffic to a website.

UX Definition

The term UX means User Experience, which refers to the way users interact with a website, mobile application, or software. UX focuses on the quality of the user's overall experience when using the platform, taking into account various aspects of the interaction, such as ease of use, accessibility, usability, efficiency, satisfaction, and perception.

The ultimate goal of UX is to create websites and applications that meet the needs and expectations of users by providing them with a positive experience. To achieve this, it is essential to analyze and understand the behavior and motivations of Internet users to design a site that enhances their overall experience.

What are the benefits of SXO?

By integrating both SEO and UX improvements into your website, SXO offers numerous advantages that should not be overlooked. The benefits are significant and have the potential to increase your sales!

The primary advantages of SXO are as follows:

Enhanced user experience: By prioritizing the needs and expectations of users, SXO can help you build customer loyalty by satisfying their needs when browsing your website.
Improved visibility and traffic: By aligning your site with SXO criteria for search engines and optimizing the search experience for users, your ranking will improve. The higher you rank on the results page, the more visible you become to users, which can enhance your click-through rate.
Increased conversion rate: By improving the user experience and visibility of your site, you can increase sales. Moreover, acquiring more customers through these free practices can help reduce your advertising costs.
Competitive differentiation: The e-commerce market is increasingly competitive, and by offering a quality user experience, you can stand out from your competitors. The goal is to add real value to the customer, so designing your site with users in mind (and not only for Google bots) is crucial.

How to implement an SXO strategy?

To optimize your user experience, search engine ranking, voice search results, and performance, implementing an SXO strategy is essential. This involves making both technical and semantic improvements to your website.

"Tree Structure" Web Site Layout or Website Architecture

First and foremost, before even starting to develop your website's tree structure, you need to establish your personas. Personas represent the target customer groups established with demographic data to give a concrete representation of the typical user.

Each persona has specific needs and behavior, so you need to organize your tree structure and internal linking based on the navigation of each one. Develop a user journey for each persona to identify different entry points and pathways.

Additionally, make sure not to have a site that is too deep because users often give up after three clicks to find what they are looking for.

The Core Web Vitals

The Core Web Vitals are essential for measuring your website's performance, and it's fundamental that you pay attention to them. These vitals allow you to assess the user experience on your pages, considering loading speed, interactivity, and stability. There are three key indicators you need to consider:

The Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures the time it takes to display the main content on your page. A "good" score means it takes less than 2.5 seconds to load.
The First Input Delay (FID) measures the time it takes for your website to respond to the first interaction from the user, such as a click. The ideal score is less than one hundred milliseconds.
The Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures the visual stability of your pages by assessing unexpected layout changes during loading. It's best to keep it under 0.1 seconds.

Google has announced that Core Web Vitals are now a ranking factor for search results. Therefore, it's critical to make improving them a top priority!

Media Optimization

Optimizing media is crucial to ensure fast loading times and a good user experience on your website. Here are some best practices to follow:

Compress images: Use image compression software or tools to reduce the size of your images without compromising their quality. Large image files can slow down your site, so it's important to keep them as small as possible.
Use the right format: Different media formats are optimized for different types of images and videos, depending on what can the browser engine you’re using. Choose the appropriate format for each asset to reduce file size and improve loading times.
Lazy loading: Implement lazy loading for images and videos that are below the fold or not visible on the initial screen. This means they will only load when the user scrolls down to them, reducing the initial load time of the page.
Minimize JavaScript and CSS files: Minimizing the size of your JavaScript and CSS files can significantly improve your site's loading speed. Use minification tools to remove unnecessary characters, white space, and comments from your code.
Content Delivery Network (CDN): Use a CDN to store and deliver your images and videos. This distributes your media across multiple servers around the world, reducing the distance it needs to travel and improving loading times.

By following these practices, you can optimize the media on your website and improve its loading speed and overall user experience. Otherwise, you can integrate TwicPics and you’ll get all these best practices automatically!

The Markup

First of all, markup includes title and meta description tags. Each URL has these tags and it is important that they are all unique to avoid duplicate content. They are visible on Google search result pages when a user performs a search.

From Google's point of view, tags help understand the content of the page in order to offer the most relevant results to the user. It is the title tag that plays this decisive role. As for the meta description, it should be thought solely for users. Google does not use it in its algorithm, but it allows you to convince the user to click on your link.

Secondly, markup also corresponds to the hn structure of your site. The hn structure starts from h1 (the most powerful title) to h6 (the least powerful). Markup follows the structure of your site to allow Google to better understand the flow of your pages.

Content is key

Your content should be SEO optimized by taking into account target keywords and search intent, but not only that! Content that is solely optimized for search engines is becoming less effective. Nowadays, Google wants to offer interesting and value-added content to its users. So, you should think about your content for the algorithm, but especially for your readers.

Currently, voice search is becoming increasingly important in the daily use of the Internet. To optimize your content for this type of search, it is preferable to formulate your content in the form of questions/answers.

Users find it easier and quicker to speak to their virtual assistant to search for a product or information rather than having to type it on the keyboard. The difference is that the search is not done in the same way. Orally, it is no longer just keywords, but real phrases, often in the form of questions, that are asked.

The Mobile First Index

Today, we all know that most searches are done via smartphones. To remain relevant and provide adequate results, Google now emphasizes on mobile versions or at least responsive sites. Mobile versions are often lighter and faster than desktop versions when viewed on a smartphone. Therefore, Google aims to favor them for an optimal user experience.

If you own a website, you must ensure that your site is optimized for mobile devices to position yourself correctly on search engine result pages. If the mobile navigation of your website is smooth and user-friendly, you can significantly improve your natural referencing and your traffic!

The HTTPS protocol

The HTTPS protocol allows for securing data exchanges between the user's browser and the web server. Specifically, the GDPR regulation requires a certain category of websites to use the HTTPS protocol to prevent interception or manipulation of personal data. If you collect sensitive user information, securing it is essential. From a "Google SEO" standpoint, the use of the HTTPS protocol has a positive impact on the website's ranking. On the contrary, HTTP sites are considered exposed to cyber-attacks and therefore flagged by the search engine as potentially dangerous to users. This could greatly discourage users, so don't take unnecessary risks.

Your website’s design

Google's algorithm cannot judge on its own whether your design is modern or not. Nevertheless, a number of factors and indicators allow it to better understand the aesthetics of your site:

Reduction of bounce rate
Increase in visit duration
Reduction of the number of clicks to find information
Structure of HTML and CSS code
Intuitiveness of navigation

Can an agency help you optimize your website's SXO?

It is possible to engage a web agency to help with optimizing your SXO strategy. In fact, it is recommended to work with an agency to ensure that the implemented strategy is optimal and tailored to your target audience.

Dedi Agency is committed to delivering an SXO strategy that will meet your needs and long-term support from its Creative and Data Marketing departments.

They offer an effective method to optimize your website and improve your search engine ranking, including:

A technical, UX, and semantic audit of your site
Competitive monitoring and benchmarking
Implementation of technical, UX, and semantic recommendations
Development of a personalized SXO strategy
Implementation of optimizations on your site

If you need to give your website a genuine refresh or improve its search engine position and traffic, you can contact Dedi’s team now to discuss your project!