Optimizing a website for SXO – how to get started?
To start optimizing your website for SXO, opt for an SEO audit. With the help of this solution, you will verify the advantages and disadvantages of your website, in addition to receiving implementation recommendations from specialists.
Next, plan relevant keyword phrases regarding business, which will help monetize your venture. For keyword research, you can use, among others:
- Ahrefs
- Ubersuggest
- Senuto
- Google Keyword Planner
- KWtool
Here are the highlights of creating
Fig 1. Analysis of key phrases in Ahrefs.
Once you’ve chosen the right key phrases, start planning the technical tasks to improve your site. After implementing the necessary technological SEO changes, take care of content marketing.
In the following paragraphs, we suggest what technical changes in terms of SXO are worth implementing to have a comprehensively optimized site.
What SXO technical changes should be implemented on your site? 7 key suggestions!
Technical SXO elements you should take care of to meet the requirements of search engines and users:
- Intuitive site structure
- SSL certificate
- Breadcrumbs (crumb navigation)
- HTML, CSS and JavaScript code
- Site performance
- Schema markup
- SXO-friendly URLs
We discuss the details below.
1. Intuitive site structure
The structure of your site should reflect a logical hierarchy of information, making it easy to find the data you are looking for. Organization of content based on easily understandable categories and subcategories, supported by effective navigation systems (e.g., menus or an internal search engine), definitely improves the user experience. In addition, properly designed site architecture contributes to better indexing by search engines, translating into significant online visibility.
While taking care of the intuitiveness of the structure, be sure to use semantic labels that directly communicate the section’s content.
Fig. 2. The correct structure of Apple’s service navigation menu. Source: www.apple.com
2. SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate initiates a secure connection between the server and the browser, ensuring that transmitted information is protected from unauthorized access. This is especially important for sites that handle financial transactions or process personal information. Google and other search engines prefer sites secured with an SSL certificate, an essential element affecting SEO. This protects users’ data (e.g. when making online purchases using payment cards).
Fig 3. Properly implemented SSL certificate. Source: www.amazon.com
3. Breadcrumbs (crumb navigation)
Breadcrumbs navigation, commonly referred to as breadcrumbs, is a vital component for enhancing site navigation. It provides users with a clear path to their current location, allowing for seamless navigation back to previous sections without relying on the browser’s “Back” button. Moreover, breadcrumbs aid search engines in comprehending the site’s hierarchy and structure, potentially leading to improved rankings in Google’s organic search results. Therefore, incorporating this feature enhances the site’s usability and visibility on the web.
Fig 4. Crumb navigation on Ahref’s blog. Source: www.ahrefs.com/blog
4. HTML, CSS and JavaScript code
Optimization of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code is crucial to ensure quick loading and proper display across various devices. Therefore, maintaining clean and well-organized code while eliminating unnecessary elements is essential. Additionally, employing techniques such as compression and minification of CSS and JavaScript files can significantly enhance performance. This, in turn, accelerates page load times, thereby boosting user satisfaction. According to research by Blogging Wizzard, websites typically load within 1.65 seconds by default.
5. Website performance
The performance of your website is a critical factor affecting user experience and positioning in search results. Optimizing your site’s loading time is essential to ensure that users can access your content quickly and minimize your bounce rate.
In this case, focus on minimizing the size of resources (e.g., images, scripts and stylesheets), using file compression and aggregation. Consider additionally using lazy loading. What is more, this will improve the time to access the first content (First Contentful Paint) and the interactivity of the page (Time to Interactive).
Fig 5. Performance analysis of Mac Cosmetics website. Source: pagespeed.web.dev.
6. Schema markup
The use of schema markup (microdata, RDFa or JSON-LD) on your website is a strategy that allows search engines to understand the context of published content better. By accurately describing the elements of a page (e.g., articles, events, products or reviews), you make it easier for indexing machines to assign relevant attributes to the data presented. This practice not only improves the presentation of your site in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) through rich snippets but also increases the chances of more effective SEO optimization. Therefore, the implementation of schema markup is an investment in site visibility, allowing your site to stand out in organic search results and better match user queries.
Fig 6. Schema markup on Google. Source: www.google.com
7. SXO-friendly URLs
Creating URLs that are both readable by users and optimized for search engines is important for improving user experience and SEO. Friendly URLs should be short, logical and descriptive, containing keywords that reflect the content of the page, without unnecessary parameters or characters.
Such a structure not only makes it easier for users to remember the address, but also helps search engine robots understand the site’s subject matter, thus improving indexing.
Fig. 7. SEO-friendly URL. Source: www.douglas.ca.
Who to go to for help in optimizing a website for SXO?
A professional SEO agency or freelancer can help you optimize your website for SXO. We advise choosing professional marketing organizations for their comprehensive and effective services.
For example, a freelancer’s illness may result in your site’s activities not being undertaken for several weeks. This means big drops in SERP results.
Hiring an SEO agency provides reassurance in case of specialist unavailability, as they can promptly replace them with another competent professional, ensuring consistent results.
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