Boost Conversions with SXO: 8 Proven Strategies That Actually Work

With the evolution of technology, SEO is not limited to just getting a rank on the first page of search results. It has leveraged its branch with the evolution of search engine algorithms. Search experience optimization SXO is an emerging branch of SEO that looks after user experience (UX). 

The modern user expects engaging and ‘to-the-point’ content instead of just finding a site. Here comes the role of search experience optimization SXO. Actually, SXO is the intersection of SEO and UX. 

This article will tell you how SXO and SEO work together and what are the proven strategies of SXO. 

What is SXO in SEO?

Search experience optimisation SXO indicates the optimisation of your website for an excellent user experience. Better you can say it as the intersection between search engine optimisation (SEO) and user experience (UX). You already know how to optimize for SEO. But what about SXO? You can do it by making your site mobile-friendly, implementing easy navigation, and scrolling, etc. That means you should optimise your site for smooth operations, resonating look and feel. 

So, let us jump into SXO vs SEO:

SEO means optimising your website content so that it can rank high on search engines as much as possible. Obviously, search experience optimization considers SEO. But its aim is to enable a user-friendly experience on your site for the visitors. That means it’s all about catering to UX best practices combined with SEO techniques. 

The Four Pillars of SXO

From the above discussion, it’s clear that search experience optimisation SXO merges UX and traditional SEO together. Together, they make your site more user-friendly and search engine-friendly. Here are the four foundational components of SXO –

1. SEO basics 

You can’t ignore SEO as it’s one of the major foundations of SXO. So, you should do the same things like keyword research, optimising header tags, meta tags, and so on. You must focus on On-page SEO, to gain a high rank in search engines. Remember that on-page SEO helps the search engines comprehend your content properly. As a result, your content gets indexed, which supports improving search rankings. 

2. User experience

User experience is the base of SXO. The goal is simple: keep the visitors engaging. For this, you must prioritize accessibility, intuitive design, ease of navigation, and make your content readable. Thus, you should build a well-structured website with clear menus, scroll bars, breadcrumbs, and navigation that guide the users towards what they are actually looking for. Additionally, you should put high-quality visuals on your site to make it more appealing. Also, you should focus on conversion optimization. 

3. Engagement metrics 

Engagement metrics provide insights about how people interact with your site. For instance, a high click-through rate (CTR) indicates your users easily find what they want to see on your site. That indicates you have a strong engagement in your content. In contrast, a high bounce rate means users don’t find their target content on your website. So, by analyzing engagement metrics, you can improve many things and consider data-driven decisions for boosting UX. 

4. Content quality

When it comes to SEO and UX, content quality matters. A quality content should have well structured content with proper header tags, paragraphs, bullet points, visuals, etc. And before writing a content it’s necessary to understand your target audience. This includes their demographics, interests, and expertise level in your niche. By considering these factors you can craft better content and provide a better experience for your audience. 

What are the Strategies to Improve SXO?

Here are 8 proven search experience optimization SXO strategies – 

1. Prioritize technical SEO

Technical SEO is the key of search experience optimization SXO. Without a solid technical SEO your site can’t stand out. You’ve already learned that how the website architecture impact on SXO. Now here are other key elements of technical SEO:

• Page speed: Users always prefer the pages that don’t  make them wait for minutes. Ideal pages take a few seconds, which directly impact bounce rate and search rankings.

• Secure protocols: Always use HTTPS protocol to enable the highest layer of security in your site. A secured site always becomes trustworthy for the users and search engines. 

• Crawling and indexing: Ensure every content of your site has been crawled and indexed properly.

• Add schema markup: Adding schema tags can make your content more engaging to users and encourage them to interact more to your site.

• Mobile optimization: Your site should be mobile friendly as well. 

2. Optimize your content for Generative AI

With the advent of Gen AI, people have become accustomed with AI-powered search. Thus most of the large tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta, and LinkedIn invested in answer engines. To show up your content in answer engines you should deep dive into the answer engine optimization. Thus you should focus on these-

• LLMs.txt: It’s a standard file that tells the LLMs which pages of your site are most important to use and cite. 

• Sitemap.xml: A well-maintained sitemap is a foundational element of a logical site structure. It lists out all the URLs that you want to be crawled and indexed. 

3. Optimize your on-page UX for SXO

The on-page UX design determines how the users interact with your site and finally convert them. So, here are the strategies to design for on-page UX. 

• Responsive design: Your site should be compatible across all devices and screen sizes. 

• Contrast and accessibility: Ensure proper readability for all the users. 

• Visual hierarchy: Maintain the visual hierarchy of your site so that users can quickly process the information.

• First-glance placement: Highlight essential critical information and CTAs in the key areas so that users can look at these at a glance. 

4. Maintain conversational intent

In recent years,  the hike in voice-enabled search intent has introduced a conversational environment in the search. So, people now interact with search engines the way they talk with other people. Thus voice enabled search intent includes questions and natural long-tail phrases. Thus you should apply following strategies –

• Use longer queries: Focus on queries like ‘content writing services in India for business growth’ instead of just ‘content writing services’. 

• Boost the usage of BOFU keywords: Use BOFU (bottom-of-funnel) keywords as much as possible. 

• Question formats: Utilize questions starting with ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘when’, and ‘what’. 

• Local intent: Focus on services near the user’s physical location. So, use the keywords like ‘content writing agencies near me’, ‘best graphics designer near me’, etc.

5.  Conversion path optimization

It’s essential to ensure improving conversion rate for search experience optimization SXO. Here are the factors you should consider to improve it- 

• Seamless navigation: The users must navigate smoothly from your homepage to the conversion points.

• Smart CTAs: Include personalized, dynamic CTAs that result in higher conversions, delivering the right message at the right time in customers’ journey. 

• Build trust: Add customer reviews, testimonials, and certifications to boost your brand trust. 

• Focus on micro-conversions: Prioritize micro-conversions like form completion subscriptions, downloads, etc. that lead to larger or macro-conversion. Here is an example of how micro-conversions of laser cutters related searches in an Australian site transit into macro-conversions. 

Source

6. Core Web Vitals and Experience Metrics

Google’s Core Web Vitals are key to experience-based ranking. A strong Search Experience Optimization (SXO) strategy continuously monitors and improves these metrics:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures how long it takes for the main content of a page to load.

• First Input Delay (FID): Measures the time from a user’s first interaction with a page to when the browser is able to respond to that interaction.

• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures the unexpected shifting of visual elements on a page.

• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Measures the responsiveness of a page to user interactions, which is set to replace FID (First Input Delay).

To keep client websites optimized for both users and algorithms, we use real-time performance monitoring tools and AI-powered suggestions.

7. E-E-A-T and content trustworthiness

You should establish E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trust) for the niches like technical, financial, healthcare, and legal. Contentus Digital always take care of E-E-A-T Here are what you should look on –

• Author bios and credentials: Establish credibility with author bio and credibility.

• Transparent policies: Your brand should incorporate transparent policies and processes. 

• Sources: Append data from credible sources like government sites, reputable newspapers, and agencies.

8. Consistent testing and optimization

Search experience optimization SXO is not a one-time work. It’s an ongoing cycle that requires consistent improvement, learning, and experiment. So, you should implement these strategies: 

• A/B testing: You should measure the changes systematically to identify what works and what doesn’t. 

• Iterative content update: Continuously update content with evolving search trends and user intent.

• Split URL testing: Compare the performance of two entirely different pages. Remember that the formats or designs of the pages should not be the same. 

• Consistent monitoring: Keep a constant watch on website performance to fix the issues as soon as they occur. 

What are the Benefits of Search Experience Optimization SXO?

Here are the benefits of SXO –

• Enhance visibility

• Improve search rankings 

• Higher conversion rate

• Boost brand trust and reputation

• Increase engagement and lower bounce rate 

Conclusion

Implementing search experience operation SXO strategies is a long-term investment. For this, you should consistently focus on SEO basics, engagement metrics, content quality, and user experience. These approaches help you satisfy both the visitors and the algorithms. As a result, you can take your brand a step forward to long-term success. 

FAQs

• Why do I need search experience optimization? 

 

You need search experience optimization to ensure your website provides a positive user experience that boosts your conversion rate and engagement.