SEO & UX Considerations For Your New Website
My Dad's primary way of teaching me life lessons growing up was through stories.
He was never necessarily telling me to do things one way or another (okay, maybe a little bit) but his purpose was to give me the tools to analyze a situation, try to be objective, and form an opinion based on the information that I had. If I felt like I didn't have enough then ask questions. The only stupid question is the one that wasn't asked!
I'm going to adopt his approach and tell stories that will hopefully give some value, or at least some food for thought.
I'll begin with a conversation I had a few weeks ago with a prospective client.
Nice Site! Pity No One Can Find It.
They had launched a new website after a rebrand but they were not performing well in organic search.
They were trying a few tactics themselves however, this wasn't achieving the results they wanted. After closer inspection, the user journeys had not been set up with conversion in mind either. What would look like the basics to those seasoned in digital marketing were either missing or poorly executed.
The client was rightfully a tad disgruntled after being advised by 2 credible web agencies that SEO or UX hadn't been considered. It's worth noting that the client was heavily reliant on the guidance of others after having little to no digital knowledge.
Where I want to remain impartial is without seeing the brief myself, there's no way I can know if the criteria was met. If the goal was to build a good-looking website without having to consider SEO or UX then it's all good.
The perception is that this often costly process hadn't given the client the outcome they wanted. If they had been advised with more consideration to the website performance post-launch, in their opinion, they wouldn't be in this position.
This situation is all too common. It's not the first time I've had this conversation and I doubt it'll be the last.
At Think Bambu, we believe that SEO and UX are a partnership. They should come as one. A well-optimized site combined with a thoughtful, empathetic user experience is more likely to achieve better organic visibility and conversions.
So if you're about to embark on a new website, here are some considerations for SEO and UX.
SEO Considerations
The topics listed below are the fundamentals that are huge topics in their own right. These areas are intended to give you guidance on where you can begin discussions on each aspect. If you’re unsure about any area of how to approach it then we would recommend chatting with an experienced professional or dropping us an email!
Keyword Research
Identify relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience is searching for. Understanding why your audience comes to you is critical for this step. This is called search intent. It's important that these keywords guide you but don't dictate the content. You write for users first, not search engines.
On-Page Optimisation
Ensure your website content is well-structured, easy to read, and includes your target keywords naturally. If you feel unsure as to how your pages could look then check out your competitors. What are they doing? If you know the types of keywords you want to appear for in search, how is that content laid out? These can give you some ideas as to how your content should be displayed and what the expectations of your audience is. Based on the last few core updates from Google, your content should be "helpful content", "high quality content" etc. In short, make it useful for your audience.
Technical SEO
This topic can be overwhelming and generally speaking, requires professional guidance from an SEO specialist. Technical SEO is about identifying and fixing the technical aspects that can make it more difficult search engine crawlers to understand your website. This typically includes your sitemap, robots.txt file, and the mobile-friendliness of the site.
Mobile First
This is a common factor not considered due to the misconception that "my visitors come from desktop therefore, I don't need to worry about mobile". Search engines are looking at websites in the context of mobile-first. Even if your audience mostly comes from desktop, you should be building your new website mobile-first. This applies to UX too.
UX Considerations
Intuitive navigation
Design a clear and logical navigation structure that guides users effortlessly through your website. A well-structured navigation increases user retention and decreases bounce rates.
Fast Load Times
Optimise your website's speed to ensure a positive user experience. Focus on image optimisation, minimise unnecessary code, and leverage caching techniques. This is worth discussing with a professional.
Mobile-First Design
Aim to create a responsive mobile-friendly website that adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes and devices. As more users access the internet via their smartphones, prioritizing mobile search and design is essential. For example, designing interactive elements such as buttons and links to be easily tappable.
Clear Call-to-Actions
Guide users towards desired actions with prominent and visually appealing call-to-actions. These should be descriptive. They set the expectation of what will happen next for the user.
Accessibility
Ensure your website is accessible to users with disabilities by following accessibility guidelines like WCAG.
User feedback
User feedback from user testing for qualitative measurement can be invaluable when considering designs, messaging, page layouts, etc. This removes the guesswork. There are tools available that enable you to monitor user behaviour as well so you can have the best of both worlds with quantitative and qualitative data. This can help you in the building process create the best experience for users that you can.
Contact Us About Your Migration
If you'd like a conversation with myself or one of the other pandas can help you on your SEO and UX journey then feel free to contact us at hello@think-bambu.com.
