Search Engine Rankings & User Experience

The content a search engine collects after you create your website is considered meta information. Meta information is defined as being the “information about information,” and this has been continuously used by search engines to determine quality. Remember that since search engines cannot read and understand items like humans can, they had to create a way to read user interaction to help determine the quality of a web page. We talked earlier about how having proper link arrangement and structure is one of the ways that search engines can clearly access your content. We have also discussed how search engines are still limited as to how they interpret content. For these reasons, search engine developers have worked endlessly to find a more streamlined and seamless way of detecting quality content. Besides using data such as the web page link structure and keywords within a web page’s content, the search engines also rely on the user’s Interaction and engagement to determine the best sites of the web. This is why you will constantly hear phrases like “content is king” as having great content will play a great role in determining your web page’s success.

Tip

If your website comes up in the top search results for a visitor, the position of your website can still lose ranking by the search engines over time. If that visitor clicks your link and then quickly exits to leave within seconds, this can gradually knock you from the first page of search results. This is one of many user interaction metrics, known as bounce rate and these are considered to be “signals” that search engines use to help determine quality.

  • Create User-Friendly Navigational Links (If your visitors are confused as to how to navigate your web page, they are more likely to immediately leave)
  • Make Sure Your Content Matches Your Titles and Keywords (If you are using titles or keywords that are not relevant to your content and it is realized by the visitor, they are also likely to leave your website quickly)
  • Be Sure That Your Content Is Compatible With All Web Browsers and Resolutions (It is now standard to make all web pages mobile friendly. If the visitor can’t access the content, then they are sure to leave)

User Engagement

In the above tip, you now see how creating valuable content with direct relevance to your keywords can play a major role in how your website is perceived by both web users and search engines. Using that same tip, remember that search engines keep and store web data engagement details like this for millions of searches per day. This can have a huge impact on how well you rank.

Web Visitor Interactions

Why not take it a step further and satisfy your visitors with high-quality content that matches their intent? Doing this will not only equal conversions for you as a webmaster but also ensure high rankings in the search engine, so that you will continue to see these conversions from new and repeat visitors alike.

If the web user has the intent to go to a particular page on your website, but does not know the URL, you can help this user by making sure your link structure is clear and defining. URLs should be user-friendly and named in close relation to the subject of the page. Example: “/delicious-red-apples” vs “/page45”.

Call To Actions

As the name implies, a “call to action” directly and clearly asks the visitor to take action. Signing up for a newsletter, or even making a purchase is often accomplished by using a call to action. An example would be: “Sign Up Today and Receive 30% Off!” or “Click Here to Get Started”. These items when presented on your website will almost always ensure user engagement if the content matches with what they searched for.

Informative

Some of your visitors will simply be looking for information. This doesn’t necessarily have to involve a purchase, but it does involve the web user staying on your website and engaging with your links because your content is valuable to them. In the eyes of Google, this is a huge positive as it will lower your bounce rate, leading the Search Engine to believe your site must have valuable information.