If you have been around the SEO world for a while, you may have noticed the ambiguity surrounding the factors involving in ranking process. Search Engines like Google, is believed to have around 200 factors involving in its ranking, some are well known while others are not. Google have shed some light on the factors affecting their ranking process but still it is far from completely disclosing the secrets behind it.
But one thing is for sure, nearly all the factors involving SEO points towards the user experience (UX). How do you think Google became Google it is today? Its very simple by providing fast, secure, efficient, relevant and quality search results to their users. How many times have you seen Google searches to be slow or showing irrelevant results Lentis LLC?
This is what search engines like Google wants from the website listed in its search engine result pages (SERP) and this is the key to rank higher.
We will discuss some of these factors in the following list:
Mobile Optimization
The reason I have selected mobile optimization first is because, it highlights the medium through which customer enter his queries. The first step for any search query is selecting the medium to reach that search engine. Every user wants to see optimized websites according to his medium (Desktop, mobiles phones, etc.). And we know mobile phones have surpassed the desktop searches, so most of the users using search engines use it through mobile phones. Google, have also shifted to Mobile-first index. This gives us a clear indication that it is a major factor in the ranking.
Relevant Content
A user always looks for relevant content for his search queries (keywords). Highlighting keywords on your page is how you try to gain attention of search engines. It is a major factor in your ranking process. But stuffing your page with keywords unnaturally and forcefully can impact user experience and affect your ranking negatively.
Security and Page Speed
The next factor is related to your page security, as every search engine wants its users to feel more secure. HTTPS websites are also preferred by Google. Pages running on HTTP are flagged as not secure by Google in Chrome browser.
Page speed plays a very important part in your ranking. With the internet speeds today no one would like to even wait for a few seconds for a page to open. A slow page will most likely force the user to bounce and this will impact negatively on your ranking.
Quality Content
Quality of the content lets a website standout from its other competitors. Two websites competing for the same keyword, one has high quality content and the other have redundant content. Which one do you think Google will prefer its users to go?
So quality content is a very crucial factor in your ranking process.
Inbound Links
Inbound links, are hyperlinks on other websites which are pointing its users to your page. Inbound links are not something that directly affects UX. But it is considered very important for any SEO campaign. Search Engine sees them as a vote of confidence from a third party over a content of a website. The better the reputation and authority of the website which is referring, the more positive affect on other pages ranking. It kind of certifies search engine that the content of the page would be relevant and of high quality for its users from a third party.
Conclusion
There are many other factors which affect UX, such as site structure, internal links, reviews and feedbacks. The point is whatever steps you are taking to optimize for search engines, make sure they are directed towards a better UX. Even if it does not count in your SEO rankings which I doubt, it will be good for your overall business.