By: Misty FaucheuxFaucheux Enterprises

Mistyfaucheux.com

UX is short for “user experience”. Google defines this as:◦ the overall experience of a person using a product

such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or pleasing it is to use.

UX is important for a variety of factors:◦ Improves the chances of someone doing an action

on the site◦ Makes it easier for users to find what they’re

looking for◦ Improves site flow◦ Ensures the site meets the needs of the customer◦ Overall, a good UX makes a good website

Google manually checking sites for UX◦ True? Probably not, but….

Scrolling sites not good for business◦ Scrolling sites don’t get ranked well◦ While probably not true, there is some anecdotal

evidence for this◦ Why? Again – just a rumor - Div tags not actually

individual pages so Google takes it as a single page as opposed to multiple pages.

Page load issues◦ Increases bounce rate◦ Reduces conversions◦ Hard to navigate with mobile

Site Navigability◦ People quickly leave hard to navigate sites◦ Won’t come back to site if they can’t find what

they’re looking for◦ They’re not going deeper into your site affecting

pages per visit◦ If content is hard to find, then the consumer isn’t

going looking for it. They need to be directed to quality content like blogs, products, etc.

URL Structure◦ URL structure is for BOTH robots and people – but

people first!◦ URLs should be easy to remember and not overly

long◦ Should also incorporate keywords – without

stuffing◦ If URLs are too long, figure out where categorical

information can be logically cut

External Sites Won’t Link to You◦ If other quality sites think your site is bad, then

they won’t link to hit.◦ No backlink juice

Bad 301 Redirects Tank Current SEO Standings◦ If pages are moved and not directed correctly,

you lose all the ranking factors for those pages. If done correctly, the PageRank will be transferred to the new page.

◦ Redirects not sent to a comparable page could confuse the user

◦ Always make sure 301 redirects are done for all deleted or moved pages. If not, you’ll waste good backlinks from other sites.

Google’s new emphasis on mobile◦A site that’s not optimized for mobile is bad

for business – both for SEO and for conversions

◦Google has put a huge emphasis on sites being mobile-friendly since the vast majority of people are using mobile for search and that trend is supposed to only accelerate.

Google knows how people are using your site◦ And they know if people are finding what they’re

looking for or not◦ Especially with Chrome, they can see how many

pages people visit, how long they stay on the site, did they find what they’re looking for

◦ If not, then they’re back searching

◦All of this signals to Google that your site is not satisfying the consumer causing a lower page rank

Build sites for people – not search engines

A good experience is a must nowadays◦ See where people are most often exiting your site and

fix the page if it’s an issue

Use the suggestions in Webmaster Tools◦ Provides guidelines◦ Will crawl your site for potential issues and give

suggestions

Try doing your own user flow and bug tests◦ Get people to beta test your site◦ Use some tools

Xenu – Checks for broken links Webmaster Tools/Analytics Web Performance/LoadComplete – Load testing Open Site Explorer/Majestic SEO Tools – Inbound link

analysis

◦ http://www.searchenginejournal.com/two-examples-of-how-one-line-of-code-could-kill-your-seo-case-studies/37004/

◦ http://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-to-avoid-seo-disaster-during-a-website-redesign/

◦ http://usabilitygeek.com/4-ways-bad-ux-hurting-seo/

◦ http://moz.com/blog/ux-myths-that-hurt-seo-whiteboard-friday