Design optimization is a crucial part of search engine optimization. As you probably already know, SEO is a very powerful marketing strategy modern businesses use to boost their exposure and attract new audience. However, lately, UX optimization and user intent have really started to gain significantly more traction.

By optimizing the design and UX to match user intent, businesses stand to gain far more than ever before. Simply put, by taking the time to research what your audience is after and presenting them with just that, you can expect your business to grow and flourish much faster. That being said, let’s see how you can optimize your design and UX to match user intent.

What is user intent and how it affects SEO?

When we search on Google, we’re sometimes not entirely sure of the full or correct name of the thing we’re looking for. So, if you search for “that song from the Rocky movie” your intent is most likely to find the “eye of the Tiger” song, but you don’t necessarily need to know the name of the song. This is due to the fact that Google aims at finding the most relevant results that would match the intended search query. Needless to say, the way in which user intent affects SEO is exactly this: marketers need to predict which types of searches the users will conduct when looking for products or services that the business offers.

Improve loading speed

When it comes to the website design, page loading speed has always been one of the top-ranking factors. However, it’s become even more crucial after the latest Google Speed Update. According to research, a single-second delay in page loading can actually lead to 11% less pave views, which is a significant number. Ideally, you should aim at the loading speed of 2 seconds – or even less if possible. So, make sure you minimize – or entirely exclude – auto-play multimedia forms, select a reliable host, optimize your content and make sure everything’s functioning properly.

Simplify your website’s architecture

Your site’s architecture denotes the way in which the pages on your website are arranged. From Google’s point of view, a good website architecture will enable the pages to be found and indexed easily, which will boost SEO in general. On the other hand, when visitors are concerned, a well-structured website will be easy to navigate. It is extremely important that your visitors can easily navigate your website and quickly find and access any information they may be looking for. So, make sure you structure your website so that it encourages seamless navigation and features a user-friendly design.

Boost responsiveness

Similar to website speed, your website’s responsiveness is another key element you need to keep in mind at all cost. This doesn’t only include the version of your website that’s designed for PC users. Instead, you need to keep all other devices in mind as well. With the rising number of mobile users, it’s estimated that, nowadays, well over 50% of online searches are conducted via a mobile device. Knowing this, neglecting this part of optimization is borderline irresponsible. A good example of this is the reputable AskGamblers site that has fast, responsive and easy-to-navigate versions available for any device and operating system.

Correlation between SEO and UX

We’ve already mentioned that poor UX can really hinder your SEO efforts. However, it’s also important to note that poor SEO can seriously affect your UX. You see, these two are so closely connected that looking at them as completely separate entities would be a mistake. As an example, websites that deliver overly-promotional content and are constantly trying to push various promotions are not held in the highest regard by the audience. Instead, they oftentimes come off as too spammy.

What you should do instead

So, instead of overly promoting your business and offers, try to present your audience with content that will be of value to them. For instance, create high-quality informational blog posts that will offer your audience a chance to educate themselves further. Keep in mind that long-form, engaging content (1000+ words) usually does better than short-form, overly-promotional content. Additionally, encourage your audience to engage with your content even further by dividing it into concise wholes by adding headings, sub-headings and easy-to-spot keywords. Another feature your website will greatly benefit from is a functioning search option.

Design and UX will determine how you are perceived

Finally, it’s important to remember that your website acts as the first link between your audience and your business. That’s why you need to make sure that your audience likes what they see, in order to ensure that they stick around and even possibly come back for more. So, by investing both time, effort and resources in not just research but proper execution as well, you’ll ensure that your general perception is a positive one.

In the end, it’s really not that difficult to optimize both your design and UX to match your user intent. However, it is extremely important to first identify the intent, in order to be able to do it properly.