SXO – worth the investment?

On the Internet, one can increasingly come across the acronym SXO (Search Experience Optimization), which stands for Search Experience Optimization and is a kind of combination of the well-known SEO (Search Engine Optimization), with the strongly popularized UX (User eXperience). 

The main goal of SXO is to improve a site’s visibility in Google search. SXO optimization will also translate into gaining converting traffic. So without a doubt, it’s worth investing in SXO. Why exactly? This I already explain.

SXO a SEO

Because SXO can be seen as an evolution of SEO, or activities geared toward acquiring organic traffic, it is intended to increase website traffic. As in SEO, here too there are on-site and off-site activities.

The former involves optimizing the site’s configuration – the presence and content of meta tags, internal links and other parameters. The second type of action is placing links to our site in external domains, where not only quantity but also quality matters.

Actions or SEO campaigns, performed under SXO, are expected to have the same effect as before – provide a better position in search engines, which is expected to translate into a higher number of visitors. We are more visible, so more potential customers will see us. So where are the differences?

SXO versus UX

Since we already have a higher ranking and more visitors, it would be good to translate that into sales results. And this is where UX, or user experience optimization, which is becoming more widely used, comes to our aid. 

The activities can and should take a wide range – from the visual layer of the user interface, known as UI, to content, i.e. the presentation of content that best meets the needs of visitors, to all interactions and processes performed on the site.

Good UX transforms visitors into customers

Make sure that the entire user experience of using a website or online store is as easy, seamless and intuitive as possible. This will ensure that more traffic generated by, among other things, SEO optimization will bring an increase in conversions. 

This is an important point – improving UX should result in a higher conversion rate, even when the number of visitors does not increase.

SXO-to-synergy-in-website-positioning

Conducting comprehensive SXO optimization is a bonus. It is obvious  that performing the full range of activities will bring a noticeable increase in conversions. It should also be emphasized the fact that since 2021, Google’s algorithms also examine pages for UX.

What follows is that a positive user experience translates into a higher ranking in search results. On the other hand, a large number of shortcomings in this area relegates the domain to further down the list.

The domain’s UX is also a major factor in the search results.

Search Experience Optimization will bring our website a higher position among organic search results, but will also make it easier to attract converting traffic.

SXO is the future of internet marketing

For some time now, a clear trend can be noticed – UX optimization applied extensively has become increasingly important. It is creeping into virtually every sphere of business, both in the real and virtual worlds.

Products and services are getting better, competition in many markets is intensifying, consumers have higher and higher expectations. Nowadays, in order to gain an advantage you need to have better UX, and the changes taking place show that this will become more and more important as time goes by. 

User more important than product

Web site positioning today already requires focusing on the user and improving the user experience. The importance of SXO is sure to grow over the next few years. 

Save-with-combining-SEO- and UX-activities

Based on Search Experience Optimization as an integrated whole, you can expect to save time and money. Proper synchronization of SEO and UX activities will allow you to get faster results. Consequently, this will translate more quickly into increased conversions and a return on the money invested in SXO. 

If the work is carried out by a single agency, it will undoubtedly go more smoothly. This will be reflected in earlier improvements, but also in costs. Close cooperation during search experience optimization should also yield better results.

SXO service is worth performing periodically 

Being on the financial side, it is worth mentioning one more fact – SXO inherits both SEO and UX longevity. This means that the effects of optimization will be visible for a long time.

Of course, nothing is forever, user needs and preferences evolve, so every now and then it’s good to repeat the whole process. Some of the solutions applied during the first SXO run need to be verified over time. So it’s worth keeping your hand on the pulse and ensuring a good search experience on a regular basis.

SXO Audit 

SXO activities always begin with performing a website audit. Specialists analyze hundreds of parameters related to positioning and usability of the website. The following elements, among others, are checked.

SEO and analytics audit

• domain history
• keyword analysis
• visibility in Google search results for specific phrases
• internal links and external links
• metatags
• configuration of analytics
• parameters related to organic traffic and conversion
• and others…

UX audit

• expert analysis by cognitive wandering method
• heuristic analysis
• checklist
• analysis of user behavior (including heat maps)
• page loading speed
• value content
• content layout
• intuitiveness of service
• and much more

For such an SXO audit to make sense, it is first necessary to have a good understanding of user needs. Everything that is analyzed should be viewed through the prism of the potential customer.  It is the user experience that will ultimately translate into the decision to finalize the transaction. 

Drawing conclusions from analysis

The SXO audit ends with the development of a report. Such a report will include information about the problems encountered and recommendations for solving them. This is the basis for further site optimization activities.

A well-prepared report includes not only a list of problems and recommendations for their solution. Each problem should have a weight assigned to it, indicating whether it is a critical point or only requires minor correction.

The report should also include a list of the problems that have been resolved.

In the report, it is also a good idea to point out the positive aspects present on the studied site. This will reduce the risk of accidentally getting rid of them during the various works carried out on the site.

The report should also indicate the positive aspects present on the site.

Implementing SXO optimization is extremely important

After the report is provided, it’s time to make adjustments according to the recommendations. It is worthwhile to outsource a comprehensive SXO service to one agency – this will reduce the costs associated with optimization and speed up the process. 

Ordering changes to a site to an agency that performed the SXO audit will also allow you to expect greater accuracy when optimizing your site. This will have a positive impact on the outcome of all the activities.

The SXO audit will have a positive impact on the outcome of all the activities.

Benefits of SXO

Even a simple SXO audit will provide insight into the problems that stand in the way of better SEO. SXO optimization based on the recommendations in the report will provide many benefits, including:

• improved site positioning
• increase user dwell time on the site
• optimize the conversion path (more transaction finalization)
• increase valuable traffic
• increased number of loyal customers

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

When done well, SXO has an impact on CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization), or conversion rate optimization. Higher ranking in organic search results, means more traffic. 

Detailed UX/UI that supports users at all stages of the purchase decision means better sales results. The above applies not only to e-commerce, but to any type of website – company websites, blogs, landing pages. They all have specific goals and Search eXperience Optimization will help achieve them efficiently.

Summarizing – SXO is a necessity today

Even today, without a well-executed SXO optimization effort, it’s hard to get good search engine rankings. The old methods of SEO have less and less relevance.

Not only that, what worked in favor of a domain some time ago, today can relegate it to further places. UX itself, which is increasingly important not only in search engines, is an extremely broad and capacious field. 

The UX is not only important in search engines, it is a very broad and capacious field.

Whether it’s a website, an e-commerce site, a landing page focused on acquiring valuable leads or a blog – any site with a specific task in front of it needs a comprehensive SXO service to achieve it. Right now!  It can’t be avoided. 

Long-term effect

Of course, you can use paid campaigns to increase the number of visitors, but it means more expenses and there is no lasting effect – you end the campaign, close the budget, the number of visitors decreases. It is also worth noting that running a campaign for a site that is not optimized for UX, may involve significantly higher CPC rates.  

Additional SXO benefits

A great complement to UX efforts are paid campaigns, which work all the better the better optimized the website is for a positive user experience. Performance campaigns generate traffic within a certain period of time, while SXO influences higher conversion rates and more efficient achievement of long-term goals. How many letters does the word success have? Three. SXO!

Take advantage of SXO’s comprehensive offering

The best results from SXO activities can be expected when they are synchronized, well-planned and executed. Therefore, a good choice would be to use an agency that offers to carry out the entire process – from audit to implementation.

Up&More offers a full range of SXO activities.  Contact us if you would like to know more about optimizing for SEO and improving user experience, or would like to start the process of optimizing your site.