I’m sure this is not the first time you’ve heard about the importance of good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your brand’s digital presence. According to media company Fleishman-Hillard, 89% of customers begin their purchasing process via search engine. No matter the industry, if someone is looking to hire a vendor for architecture, construction, design or to purchase a new product, their journey most likely begins with a need and that iconic, minimalist Google page.

User Experience (UX)is carefully researched design decisions that guide a user to quickly and easily get what they need. In a similar manner, search engine results work the same way. So how can these informed design principles be used to optimize your brand’s search engine results?

GET TO THE GOOD STUFF RIGHT AWAY

As with creating a user friendly website, your search results should show a clear indication of what the user is looking for. When a user visits your website, it’s important to organize the most important information first. This also applies to SEO. A user should be able to tell exactly what a page is about by reading the title and description on Google, before they even click over to the site. . Being on the first page of search results is important, but a good title and description will set your website apart from the rest of the listings on the page. Users are more inclined to click a search result with a compelling title and meta description, so knowing your audience through design research is not only an important part of UX design, but also great practices of SEO.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Speaking to your end-user is important and really knowing your audience is a key part of creating compelling search results. As mentioned before, a good title and meta descriptions are vital to turn a top search result into a site visit. Understanding your audience starts with research. Looking at the market and the personas of potential users is a big part of thoughtful design decisions. This research can also be applied to create compelling SEO.

CALL TO ACTION

Calls to action (or CTAs) are a part of the UX design that suggests a user click a certain area and advance them on the journey through your site. These are often in the form of buttons that stand out and entice the user to click. Using action words commonly found on CTA buttons like “Read More” or “Click Here” can get a user to visit your site.

These are just a few UX design principles that can be applied to your website’s SEO. UX and SEO are a big part of what we do on our digital interactive projects. If you feel like your brand’s digital presence could use a boost, drop us a line, we’d be happy to chat.