Why SEO is a UX Discipline

In his talk presented at BrightonSEO San Diego, Ola dives into the parallel between SEO & UX. He shows how you can use UX to simplify your SEO efforts and why this is good news for the future of SEO in the world of AI

Transcript

1. Why SEO is a UX Discipline Ola King Independent Consultant (Previously UX Research at Moz) speakerdeck.com/olaking @JustOlaKing
2. “SEO is dying” …again @JustOlaKing
3. @Justolaking @JustOlaKing
4. AI Takeover @JustOlaKing
5. Shifting Search Behaviour @JustOlaKing
6. SEO CS, then Product @JustOlaKing Connecting Dots
7. 3 Bosses of SEO SEO Growth Kit @JustOlaKing
8. @Justolaking Aha Moment @JustOlaKing
9. @Justolaking R.I.P SEO Search Engine Optimization @JustOlaKing
10. Need Generative AI Search Search Engines Exploratory: “I need to find a few good things” Conscious: “I’m looking for this specific thing” Exhaustive: “I need to know everything about this topic” Re-finding: “I need this specific thing again” @JustOlaKing Information Need Types
11. @Justolaking We gon' be alright SEO Industry Searchers Search Engines @JustOlaKing
12. “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been” - Wayne Gretzky @JustOlaKing
13. •People-First* •Reward Content with satisfying experience. •Reduced performance of content that don’t meet visitor’s expectations. •Site Wide signal. •Affects every content, not just unhelpful content. @JustOlaKing Helpful Content System
14. •Good Core Web Vitals. •Pages served in a secure fashion. •Optimized for mobile. •Optimal amount of ads. •Non-Intrusive Interstitials. •Easy page/site navigation. •Proper Site Hierarchy. @JustOlaKing Page Experience Criteria
15. @JustOlaKing People-first Content Created primarily for people First-hand expertise and depth of knowledge Site has a primary purpose and focus Content satisfies a goal
16. @Justolaking The Solution: User/Visitor Empathy @JustOlaKing
17. @JustOlaKing What people want most Love Understanding Power Attention Freedom Creative Expression Sense of Belonging Success Connection
18. Long Live S.E.O Search Experience Design (S.E.D) @JustOlaKing
19. What is Search Experience Design? @JustOlaKing
20. What is Search Experience Design? @JustOlaKing
21. •People-first •User-Centric •Holistic •Multi-Modal •Best SEO Practices •Best UX Practices @JustOlaKing Search Experience Design
22. SEO is facing an Existential Threat SEO UX Common Goals @JustOlaKing
23. What’s UX? @JustOlaKing
24. •Quality of a user's interaction with a product, service or system. •Focus on satisfaction. •Ease of use. •Focus on overall experience. @JustOlaKing
25. •Understanding user behaviours, needs, and preferences. •Create intuitive, usable, and enjoyable experiences. @JustOlaKing Crafting the overall experience users have when interacting with a product, service, or system.
26. Example: Google Map @JustOlaKing UX Research Example
27. Illustration by Codecademy @JustOlaKing Five Elements of UX Design
28. @JustOlaKing Design Thinking
29. •Prioritize needs and preferences of audience throughout content creation process. •Use storytelling techniques to engage audience. •Make content engaging with color schemes, typography, and layout. •Experiment with interactive content formats. •Make evidence-based & data-driven decisions @JustOlaKing Applications of design thinking in SEO
30. @JustOlaKing Examples of UX Overlap with SEO @JustOlaKing
31. @JustOlaKing UX: User Research and Feedback SEO: Identifying Searcher’s Intent Keyword Research
32. User Research and Feedback The methodic study of target users—including their needs and pain points—so designers have the sharpest possible insights to work with to create the best solutions. @JustOlaKing User Research and Feedback
33. @JustOlaKing
34. @JustOlaKing UX: Findability SEO: • Indexable • Crawl-ability •Content Optimization • Accessibility (Voice, Visual, etc) • Language • Internationalization
35. User Research and Feedback The ease and efficiency with which users can locate and access information, features, or content within a digital interface or environment. @JustOlaKing Findability
36. @JustOlaKing UX: Discoverability SEO: • Links • Site Architecture • User Journey (e.g Next Search Intent) •Off-Site SEO (Digital PR)
37. User Research and Feedback When a piece of information is discoverable, it means it is easy to discover - without a user actively looking for it. @JustOlaKing Discoverability
38. @JustOlaKing UX: Usability SEO: Performance • Technical SEO •Core Web Vitals • Page Speed
39. User Research and Feedback A measure of how well a specific user in a specific context can use a product/design to achieve a defined goal effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily. @JustOlaKing Usability
40. @JustOlaKing UX: Credibility SEO: E.E.A.T
41. User Research and Feedback Credibility means you believe and have faith that the product, service system will do as promised. @JustOlaKing Credibility
42. @JustOlaKing Other SEO & UX Overlaps • Relevance • CTAs • Cross-Functional Collaboration • Ethics • Accuracy • Visual Design • Value
43. What’s Next? @JustOlaKing
44. Learn More on UX Nielsen Norman Group @JustOlaKing
45. Learn these UX Concepts • User-Centered Design • Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) • Experience Flow • Information Architecture • User Story Mapping • Customer Journey Mapping •Peter Morville's User Experience Honeycomb • Cognitive Walkthrough • Lean UX • Gestalt Principles • Affordance and Signifiers @JustOlaKing Learn these UX Concepts
46. Widen your lens of SEO Marketing SEO Team Structure: Before UX @JustOlaKing
47. Widen your lens of SEO Marketing SEO UX Team Structure: After @JustOlaKing
48. @JustOlaKing Assign a Search Experience Designer
49. Use existing user feedback (UX, Customer, & Sales) @JustOlaKing
50. Search Experience Design CheatSheet @JustOlaKing
51. • User-centricity - Placing user at core, understanding their intent and preferences, crafting content that resonates. • Understand UX basics. • Seamless navigation - Intuitive, effortless navigation, responsive design, streamlined journey & paths. • Contextual relevance - Aligning content with user context, strategic keyword optimization, delivering personalized content experiences. • Accessibility and inclusivity - Compliance with accessibility standards, designing for diverse user needs and abilities. • Content engagement - Maximizing user engagement & multimedia elements. • Data-driven decision - Making use of other sources of user data beyond SEO, routine performance monitoring and analysis. • Collaborative synergy between marketing and UX, and customer teams. • Shared goals and communication channels. • Ethical practices - Long-term sustainability over short-term gains. • Voice of the User: Actively seeking and incorporating user feedback, continuous improvement based on user insights. • Design/write for diverse user needs and abilities. • Integrate a centralized feedback system. • Get quantitative data from UX - FullStory, CrazyEgg, Hotjar, LuckyOrange. • Be aware of social, cultural, & ethnical biases. • Assign a Search Experience Designer or leverage your UX team. • Align UX & SEO Goals. • Collaborate on templates design, design systems with UX/Design. • Involve UX in high-level content reviews. • Embrace multi-modal experiences. Search Experience Design CheatSheet @JustOlaKing Why SEO is a UX Discipline|BrightSEO, San Diego
52. Thank You! Ola King Independent Consultant (Previously UX Research at Moz) speakerdeck.com/olaking @JustOlaKing