Many years ago, when the use of the internet first came into the business environment, business owners and internet users had other priorities. Back then, people had never seen acronyms like SEO, UX, or CRO; hardly anyone was thinking about “ranking a website” or good “user experience”, let alone “boosting your website’s conversions”. However, people used to say:
“If you’re not on the internet, you don’t exist”
And it was the truth! But over time, websites multiplied all over the internet (from 120,000 registered domains to more than 2,000,000 in less than three years…), and the need for search engines arose; as SEO was born and started to become essential, our phrase evolved:
“If you can’t be found, you don’t exist”
Most might think that’s the end of the story, but this is where UX and CRO come into play. There is another premise that you have to meet to exist today, and that is:
“If you don’t convert, you don’t exist”
Building a successful website is a combination of several key factors, including Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), User Experience (UX), and Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO). Each of these practices is critical to your website’s success, but when they are combined, the impact can be truly POWERFUL. In this post, we will explore how the combination of SEO, UX and CRO can skyrocket your website’s performance.
SEO + UX + CRO: How do they improve your website
Before we dive into the benefits of combining SEO, UX and CRO to boost your website’s conversions, it’s important to understand what each practice entails:
• SEO is the process of optimising your website to improve its visibility in search engine rankings. It involves a variety of techniques such as keyword research, on-page optimisation, link building, and content creation.
• UX, on the other hand, refers to the overall user experience of a website. This includes everything from the site’s layout and design to its navigation and functionality. A positive UX is critical for keeping users engaged and on your site.
• Finally, CRO is the practice of improving your website’s conversion rate by optimising elements such as calls-to-action, forms, and landing pages. This helps ensure that your website is not only attracting visitors but also converting them into customers.
Visit our glossary for more useful definitions
Importance of SEO for website ranking
One of the primary benefits of SEO is improving your website’s visibility in search engine rankings. This is important because the higher your website ranks, the more likely users are to find and visit your site.
To achieve this, it’s important to use effective keyword research to identify the terms your target audience is searching for. You can then use these keywords in your content, page titles, meta descriptions, and other elements of your site to help improve your rankings.
Why UX is critical for website conversions
A positive user experience is critical for keeping users engaged with your website. If your site is difficult to navigate, has slow loading times, or looks unprofessional, users are likely to leave and seek out a more user-friendly site.
To ensure a positive UX, it’s important to focus on elements such as site speed, mobile responsiveness, and clear navigation. Additionally, a visually appealing design and engaging content can help keep users on your site for longer periods.
How CRO boosts your website’s conversions
Even if your website is attracting a lot of traffic, it’s important to focus on converting those visitors into customers. After all, traffic by itself is no guarantee for anything… This is where CRO comes in.
Conversion rate optimisation is the brother (or son…? whatever) of user experience, as they are closely related. By optimising your calls-to-action, forms, and landing pages, you can create a more streamlined and effective conversion process. This can help improve your website’s overall conversion rate and ultimately lead to more sales and revenue.
Combining SEO, UX and CRO for maximum impact
To truly maximise the impact of SEO, UX, and CRO, it’s important to take a holistic approach to website design and optimisation. This means considering all three practices when creating and updating your website. While SEO, UX and CRO are each essential to a website’s success (through driving conversions), they work best when combined: When SEO is used to attract visitors, UX can keep them engaged, and CRO can convert them into customers.
In other words, effective keyword research and on-page optimisation can help improve your website’s SEO. This can lead to more traffic, which can then be converted into customers through a positive user experience and effective CRO practices. By creating a streamlined and effective conversion process, you can increase the likelihood that visitors will become customers. All this can help improve overall user engagement and ultimately lead to more conversions and revenue, and above all, improve the Return on Investment (ROI).
By taking a combined approach, you can create a website that not only attracts traffic but also keeps users engaged and converts them into customers. For example, when creating content, it’s important to not only focus on relevant keywords for SEO but also to ensure that the content is engaging and easy to read for users. Additionally, when designing your website’s layout and navigation, it’s critical to consider not only the visual appeal but also the user experience.
Common mistakes to avoid
While a combined approach to SEO, UX, and CRO can be highly effective, there are several common mistakes to avoid if you want to start boosting your website’s conversions:
Keyword stuffing: This refers to the SEO practice of overusing keywords in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings. While it’s important to include relevant keywords in your content, stuffing them unnaturally can harm your rankings and make your content appear spammy. Instead, focus on creating high-quality content that provides value to your audience and uses keywords in a natural way.
Testing too many changes at once: Another mistake to avoid while applying CRO techniques is testing too many changes at once. Testing multiple changes in one go makes it difficult to isolate the effects of individual changes on your conversion rate. Instead, focus on testing one change at a time, and ensure that you have statistically significant results before moving on to the next test. This will help you identify the most effective changes to make to your website or landing page.
Not conducting enough research: One common mistake is jumping straight into testing without conducting enough research. It’s important to understand your audience, their behaviours, pain points, and motivations before creating and testing any hypotheses. Without proper research, your tests may not be effective, and you may end up making changes that don’t lead to increased conversions.
SEO, UX, CRO: Conclusion
In conclusion, SEO, UX, and CRO are each critical if you want to start boosting your website’s conversions like never before, but when combined, the impact can be truly unbeatable. By taking a holistic approach to website design and optimisation, you can create a site that not only attracts traffic but also keeps users engaged and converts them into customers.
