SXO vs. SEO: Why Your WordPress Site Needs Both

Online marketing is evolving. New technologies are beginning to surface, and users’ expectations and behaviors constantly change. This is why analyzing Google’s current trends and requirements is crucial.

One of the biggest current trends is Search Experience Optimization (SXO). What is it, and how does it increase conversions? And how does it affect your WordPress site? Find out more in this article!

What is search experience optimization? 

SXO, or search experience optimization, is one of the most effective strategies for online marketing. However, what exactly is it? SXO merges Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with User Experience (UX). This means that SXO activities can help attract users to a website while improving its position in search results and converting users.

How is SXO relevant for online companies?

SXO is relevant for most websites, but where is it mostly used?

• E-commerce: Online shop activities are highly beneficial from SXO activities. In the e-commerce sector, they usually aim to increase conversion rates. SXO also has an impact on reducing abandoned baskets, saving products to wish lists, and increasing the number of purchases.
• Content sites: SXO also works for content and WordPress sites. It aims to increase users’ dwell time on a site and trigger specific behaviors, like clicking on specific content. SXO also supports content marketing.
• Service industries: SXO can help increase leads and allow the acquisition of converting traffic.

Before we examine the details of SXO, it’s important to consider SEO and UX first, as they are the two elements that make Search Experience Optimization.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO is the positioning of a website to increase visibility in search engines like Google. It improves website traffic and optimizes conversion rate (CRO). However, it’s important to understand that website optimization is extremely complex as there are over 200 factors that influence a site’s position in Google search results. So, what does the optimization process consist of?

Keywords and phrases

Phrases and keywords, including industry phrases, are essential elements for SEO. Long tail and short tail keywords are words and phrases that must be included in the website’s content to make it easier to reach your target audience.

Link building 

An effective SEO strategy is also influenced by link building. Links can be either external or internal. Internal links take users to various sub-pages within a website, while external links take users to a page on another site.

Technical SEO

SEO activities can be highly technical. These focus on removing technical challenges that search engine robots face when crawling your website. These activities include adding ALT attributes to the site’s graphics, completing structural data, and optimizing the website code.

UX – Why user experience matters

User experience is the overall impression and emotions a user experiences when they land on your site. UX isn’t as technical as SEO but includes psychology, cognitive science, and other elements.

A website must be designed with its user experience in mind. This includes the intuitiveness of the website and how pleasant it is to use. So, what does UX design actually involve?

• The design of the website’s user interface (UI). This includes the menu, tabs, and all buttons on the site.
• The website’s visual elements, such as the color scheme and design. 
• The website’s content, including the links, text, and general content. 
• The website’s functionality, including page location, loading times, and overall performance. 
• Usability and readability.
• The types of interactions, such as chatbots and animations.

The better optimized a website is in terms of user experience, the more enjoyable it will be for users to use your site and the lower the bounce rate. This will improve the chance for conversion and improve your site’s positioning, which will rank your website higher in Google search results. 

SXO – the combination of SEO and UX

For most web developers, SXO is an advanced approach to WordPress website optimization. This combination of SEO and UX optimization approaches helps improve a site’s visibility in Google searches and positively impacts conversion rates. But how do SXO services help your WordPress website?

SXO audit 

The SXO audit is the first stage of Search Experience Optimization. This audit is designed for business owners looking to optimize their new or existing sites.

The SXO audit includes an analysis of the effectiveness of both SEO and UX. This means that it checks the essential elements of the user experience and SEO positioning. An SXO audit allows you to draw conclusions about the website’s performance and optimize the website better. 

What’s next for your site?

After you’ve discovered the areas of your WordPress site that need improvement, you can move on to the optimization process. What should you focus on when working on SXO?

One key element is the content published on your site. Whether you’re running a SaaS website or e-commerce, it should be tailored to your audience’s needs, which is favorable to organic results.

A well-prepared website for SXO must be intuitive and easy to use. This applies to viewing on every device, including computers, laptops, and mobile devices. The website must be designed so all key information is easily accessible from various devices. For example, sub-pages involved in the conversion path that support users at different purchase decision stages are particularly important.

To optimize a website effectively, consider looking at heat maps. These help identify which areas of the site users find easy to navigate, how much time they spend on sub-pages, and which elements catch their attention. They also reveal where users click on a site and their purchasing behaviors.

Conclusion – SXO is the most effective marketing strategy 

Ultimately, SXO is the most effective online and content marketing strategy. This unique combination of UX and SEO lets you significantly increase conversion rates and improve your website’s user experience.

SEO is responsible for ranking your site higher in Google search results and attracting users to your website. On the other hand, UX increases the chances that your visitors will stay on your site for longer and convert due to a positive user experience.

So, if you’re still deciding whether to apply the best practices for SXO to your website, we think it is definitely worth it and will give your website the edge over your competitors.