SXO for reaching modern audiences and search engines

As search engines, especially Google, evolve, they increasingly prioritise how users interact with websites and the overall quality of their experience. SXO combines traditional SEO practices, tactics and strategies, with a strong focus on user experience (UX). If you’re new to SXO, you can learn more about it here.

A focus on user-centric metrics
Search engines have shifted from ranking websites simply based on keywords, multiple semantic pages, backlinks and domain authority, to evaluating the quality of site architecture and content categorisation, user experience and interaction onsite.

Key algorithm updates like Google's RankBrain and Core Web Vitals place emphasis on factors like page speed, mobile responsiveness, and user engagement (e.g., time spent on a page, engagement rate, exit rate).

Intent-based search
Modern algorithms try to understand a user’s intent behind their search query. When practising SXO, one of its key exercises is understanding intent and the behaviour behind a type of query, and then aligning the page and its content with those intentions, focusing on delivering unique content and not just keywords that match a query. If you’re new to user intent, you can learn more about it here.

Demand for seamless experiences
Today’s users expect fast-loading websites, easy navigation (don’t make them think), accessibility and mobile-friendly designs.

A website that performs poorly, isn’t optimised, is slow loading, doesn’t meet the needs of people with disabilities or doesn't offer a great user experience will quickly lose visitors. SXO focuses on making websites user-friendly — directly impacting engagement and conversion — from the point of discovery in SERPs to their experience with the page and website they land on.

Content relevance and engagement
Users are more likely to stay on and engage with websites that offer real and unique value. SXO ensures that the content not only aligns with search queries but also user intent, enhances readability, provides answers quickly, and leads users naturally through the site on an onward journey mapped out at the planning stage between an SEO and UX combining their practices for the best case scenario for their site visitors (and bots!)

An optimised journey from search to conversion
SXO underpins the entire user journey, from the moment they see a result in SERPs and click to when they convert (e.g., make a purchase, sign up, enquire, etc). This holistic approach ensures that users have a positive experience at every touchpoint, increasing the chances of conversion, and boosting brand trust, credibility and the likelihood of a returning visit too.

Trust and credibility
On that note, quality experiences build trust which is essential for modern audiences who are overwhelmed with choices but expect so much more from brands.

Quote from Vogue Business's report - Gen Z Broke The Marketing Funnel.

To earn loyalty, brands need to keep consumers engaged for the long haul and that means considerations for the technical aspects of website usability too. Optimising for search and user experience makes audience touchpoints more credible, reduces bounce rates and drop-offs, and increases the possibility of peer-to-peer referrals.

Voice search optimisation
With the rise of voice search, users tend to ask questions conversationally. SXO emphasises natural language processing (NLP) and content optimisation to align with how users speak, further enhancing visibility in these searches.

Content writers and SEOs need to understand this changing behaviour and give more emphasis to longtail keywords, whilst considering — in line with their UX designers — the type of components on the page, such as FAQs to capture queries and rich snippets in search. It’s important to not make assumptions or lean too heavily into a brand tone of voice in certain areas of content onsite.

We only have to look at search queries in apps such as TikTok to see the changing habits and behaviours of how modern audiences search or the types of queries they’re looking for algorithms to answer.

AI-driven assistants
Virtual assistants like Google Assistant and Siri rely on delivering fast, relevant answers. Websites optimised for search algorithms and user experiences are more likely to be favoured in these contexts.

It’s why it’s becoming so much more important to combine SXO to understand user behaviour on-site and in search to consider wireframes, on-page components, types of content, and SEO requirements to gain visibility in search engines, rank higher and be visible for virtual assistants to harness.

Mobile responsiveness
The mobile-first approach by Google means that websites must be optimised for mobile devices to rank well. An SXO team ensures websites are designed and built to be responsive, fast, and easy to navigate on mobile, which aligns with search engine priorities and the need for impressive Core Web Vitals and ranking factors such as page load speeds.

Combining SEO and UX
In the past, SEO primarily focused on technical aspects like meta tags, keyword mapping, 301 strategies, interlinking and link-building. SXO combines these practices with audience understanding (user intent, NLP, behavioural changes) and UX strategies (usability, audience behaviour, design, and accessibility). This collaboration supports search engines and users to interact with a website more efficiently, more enjoyably and with more cause to convert

Content structure and engagement
SXO emphasises structuring content to cater to search engine bots and human visitors, making information easy to find and understand. It’s why SXO is fundamental to the early planning stages of a website.

Data informs user intent (what they’re looking for based on a query and why), NLP (the language and types of words they use and understand) and current interactions with a site (time on page, bounce rates, returning visits) all inform whether a website or its pages meet audience needs.

Understanding how to structure a sitemap, architecting its content to make it easy to navigate and be where it’s expected, and deep consideration for what is on the page (to appease bots but more importantly, support and encourage user interaction) are fundamental to great SXO.

SXO is crucial because it reflects the intersection of SEO and UX, which are vital in a landscape dominated by sophisticated search engines and demanding users. Search engines are now prioritising user satisfaction. We only have to consider Google’s more recent updates: helpful content, E-E-A-T, and core updates making significant, broad changes to serve helpful and reliable results for searchers.

Websites that combine optimised search performance with excellent user experiences will perform better, rank higher, and achieve greater audience engagement (and conversions!)

Want to know more about SXO and putting it into practice? Watch or listen to myself and Lucy Williams—Principal Digital Designer and UX expert—talk about SXO and our process.