One thing that Google takes seriously when it determines search rankings is how engaging a site is. If your bounce rate (the number of people who take one look at your site and close it) is high, you won’t be on page one anytime soon. The key to keeping people on your site is to provide them with a good user experience (UX). Let’s consider 5 ways to step up your UX game.
Simplified Menu – If every one of your drop down menus leads to 10 or 15 pages, a customer may decide to search for what they are looking for on a less complicated site. Make navigation as simple as possible. And never make someone have to click through more than two to three levels to get to the page they want to see.
Graphics – No one wants to see a site that is all text. Whether you animate your logo, use high-quality stock photos, or include video content on your site, there has to be something that catches the attention of a user and makes them want to read your content.
Mobile-Optimization – More people are searching on mobile devices than desktop computers nowadays. That means a mobile-friendly site is a must. If the user has to zoom on every little thing to see or use your site, you are probably not going to keep that individual on your site for very long. He or she will simply find a competitor who has a mobile site or a responsive design site.
Don’t Annoy the User – Let me give you an example. You’re in a quiet room of the house late in the evening. You click on a website, and suddenly a video or ad is playing at full blast. The baby wakes up, your wife comes running to see what is going on, and the kids figure they can crank up their video games since everyone else seems to be doing it. If you have anything that autoplays on your site, make sure the sound option is set to off. Let the user turn it on if he wants to hear it.
Blog – Provide some useful, entertaining, or education content for your users. No one wants to go to a boring site that doesn’t teach anything of note. Plus, a user may get into the blog and go back through several articles, significantly increasing how long the person is on the site. A blog is a perfect way to increase engagement.
Remember, improved engagement means a better search ranking, so start working on your UX today!