How to enrich your content with an SEO and UX friendly method?
"The form is the substance that rises to the surface", Victor Hugo. Proof that the close relationship between container and content is not new. And this regardless of the medium.
Applied to the web, this theory illustrates that in a logic of conversion, SEO and user experience (UX) must be united. The layout of its content and the wireframe is not only useful to offer its visitors a pleasant reading experience, it must also meet their needs by taking into account the context of the search, the user's intention.
Why and how to write SEO and UX friendly content? How to improve your positioning in the SERPs in order to generate conversion, traffic, leads and clicks?
For this article, we prefer to focus on the content production and writing part rather than the technical aspect of webperf. We are also pleased to have a special guest: Laura Blanchard, founder of the webmarketing agency KHOSI and specialist in UX and SEO issues (among others!).
UX and SEO: the #strongertogether of the web
On the one hand, SEO aims to improve the visibility and positioning of a site in the SERP by proposing content that responds as best as possible to a user's problem. On the other hand, the objective of UX is to understand the context (need, usage, situation) of the user in order to offer him an engaging content experience to generate conversion.
Have you ever read the word SXO? It is the acronym of an approach that mixes SEO and UX: Search eXperience Optimization. In fact, it is about offering quality content that meets the intent within a structure designed for the user and that facilitates conversion. This approach is part of the evolution of algorithms, the "way of thinking" and functioning of search engines. It's no secret that the hegemony of keywords is over, UX and content quality are now Google's battle horse.
The recent updates of the search engine (E-A-T, Google Page Experience and Core Web Vitals) continue to prove this logic. The Core Web Vitals indeed prove the importance of UX in the ranking of websites through the implementation of metrics to measure the performance of a site and the user experience.
Form and content go hand in hand. In a logic of conversion, improvement of visibility on SERPs and ranking of your page, it is therefore necessary not to neglect the SEO on the UX, or vice versa, but to consider them together .
Often considered the poor relation of web marketing, SEO has long been relegated to the bottom of the page, explains Laura Blanchard. Let's give credit where credit is due and see SEO as a real opportunity. Faced with the evolutions of the search engine, the specialist recommends a time of analysis and not to take these changes for granted.
UX and layout: for a clear and pleasant reading experience
Reading an article on the web is like watching a Marvel movie: not everyone stays until the end of the credits to see the stinger (post-generic scene). Especially if the movie is mediocre.
With the new media, the way we read and consume texts online has evolved and continues to evolve. Already in 1997, the Nielsen Norman Group, a company specialized in UX, explained in its study How People Read Online that 79% of the people questioned scan a new page against 16% who read it word by word . The study noted certain techniques for obtaining easily scannable text, such as bold keywords, lists, informative subheadings, one idea per paragraph, inverted pyramid structure and realistic length.
In his recent conference How to do UX when you are an SEO? (SEO Garden Party 2021 by Linksgarden.com), Laura Blanchard explained that it is the form (wireframe, template) that adapts to the content, or even the information, and not the other way around . It is indeed about thinking the ergonomics of a site or a page according to the user's intention to which the page must respond. "UX design serves information and not the other way around.
For Laura Blanchard, founder of KHOSI, it is indeed necessary to build the wireframe according to the content so that it becomes one with the strategy to generate conversion. Building an intelligent and efficient wireframe is a step-by-step process that requires common sense, empathy and some good writing practices.
"Work as a team and involve developers in the creation of your site or wireframes. Webperf + UX + SEO = trifecta!
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Some UX and SEO friendly tips to enrich your content
Do not neglect the immersion phase in the subject and market area and the time to gather information from your customers.
Tap into their empathy and create personas to better understand visitors' needs, context and how they search. The mistake is to create a single persona that looks more like your projection of the perfect user.
Look at what the competition is doing.
Observe the results and formats displayed by Google in the SERP on the queries where you want to be positioned.
Examine trends using tools such as Semrush and its Keyword Magic Tool, Yourtexguru and its question explorer tool, answerthepublic.com, Google Trends or Google Keyword Planner.
List the search queries and intentions of users in your domain and see to what extent they can generate the display of a Featured Snippet. If so, which one? And if so, write your content accordingly.
Optimize and structure your content using tags.
Vary the formats and the layout (bulleted or numbered list, table...).
Take care and vary your titles : affirmative sentence, interrogative...
Focus on clear, concise and engaging writing.
Basically, "if you understand the user's intent and know how to respond, you can't screw up." (Laura Blanchard)
Featured & Rich Snippets: your content valued by Google
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Google offers a tool to test your structured data and test the compatibility of your page with the rich results.
Reaching position 0 in Google is a bit like climbing the Iron Throne: an ambitious and uncertain path. If a good sword and networking skills (or netlinking!) can be effective for one, you will need to arm yourself with patience and a good SXO strategy for the other.
Position 0 in Google is now occupied by what is called a Featured Snippet. Occupying this royal position has a significant impact on the click-through rate (CTR) for your website and its SEO.
Featured Snippets are intended to respond directly to users' queries, illustrating Google's shift to an "answer engine" status. As Google explains, Featured Snippets are displayed when their system determines that this format will better help users find what they are looking for. For a UX as smooth as a latte.
Featured Snippets should not be confused with Rich Snippets. Rich Snippets are generated from the information contained in the structured data of a page on your site. Rich Snippets are only displayed if you have structured data on your site. They are coded and normalized using markup. They help Google understand the content of your site. Note that Rich Snippets have a better CTR than a classic link.
Example of Featured Snippet
Example of Rich Snippets (stars, rating, review, duration)
The appearance of Featured Snippets is not without consequences. It can be blamed for the low click-through rate, since by providing an answer directly, there is no need to explore the site. Featured Snippets can take several forms depending on the type of query and answers: text box (Google Answer Box), bulleted list, table, videos ...
How to appear in Featured Snippets?
You can't decide to appear in Featured Snippet, Google remains the only decision maker. You can nevertheless improve your chances by applying the tips mentioned above.
Always put yourself in the user's shoes, make a semantic analysis and the SERP results (related searches as well, other questions asked), and choose the best format (bulleted list, comparative table...).
Example of a bulleted list to protect your salads
What about the editor?
For the web editor, thinking in UX mode allows him to vary both the formats of his texts and his content. It's a real mental gymnastics that avoids monotony and the impression of being only a creator of content blocks. Web editor and content designer: same battle!
In writing, you can't always revolutionize sauerkraut, especially if you're working on themes that have been seen over and over again. By thinking UX, you intrinsically enrich your content but also your writing experience. Thinking about other formats more adapted to the intention (comparative table, bulleted list) also allows you to distinguish yourself from some of your competitors.
