What Is SXO and How Does It Affect E‑commerce?

SXO is an often underrated element of customer acquisition. These days, it’s common knowledge that SEO is a building block for success on the internet. However, it must not be forgotten that what the user does after entering the site is also of great importance. In fact, this is where the main battle for conversions takes place.

In order to be successful with SXO, you need to ensure not only good visibility, but also a good user experience. The SXO strategy focuses on combining these two areas. So, what is SXO and how does it affect e‑commerce?

What is SXO?

SXO (Search Experience Optimisation) is a combination of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and UX (User Experience). This strategy focuses not only on improving visibility in the search engine, but also on optimising the user experience and encouraging those users to perform a desired action.

It can be said that SXO best practices to acquire customers on the internet can be divided into three main stages:

Presenting yourself on the web and distinguishing yourself from others.
Catching the user’s attention and offering them something valuable (e.g. content).
Encouragement to perform the action (e.g. fill in a form, buy a product).

Activities under the SXO strategy aim to satisfy both indexing robots and users.

How does SXO affect e‑commerce?

Conversions are the main source of profit in an online store. Even if you invest a lot of money in search engine ranking and positioning, there is no guarantee that the users who come to your site will make a purchase.

The experiences and impressions accompanying users while using a website influence their purchasing decisions. In other words: If they visit your store and don't like what they experience there, they will most likely leave your site and go to the competition.

Source: shutterstock.com/chrupka

It is also worth adding that UX optimisation translates into effective search engine positioning. Google Search requires website owners to care about the value provided to users. A high bounce rate doesn't look good in the eyes of Google and can lead to a lower rank.

Of course, implementing UX without SEO won't be effective either. So what good is your website if it is professional, attractive and useful, but difficult to find on the internet? SEO and UX in e‑commerce should always go hand in hand. This is what the SXO focuses on.

Benefits of implementing SXO in the online store

The benefits of implementing SXO in your e‑commerce business include:

greater online visibility (more organic traffic)
higher conversion rate
higher profits
lower bounce rate
lower number of abandoned baskets
customer trust, a good reputation and customer loyalty

What activities make up SXO?

A complete SXO strategy consists of five components:

Positioning (SEO)

A high position itself is not the main benefit and does not translate directly into success in e‑commerce, but it is necessary in order to succeed in the next stages. It is worth striving for a place in the top 10 search results for your most important keywords because most users don’t click past the first page of search results.

Positioning consists of activities performed within the site (including URL optimisation, building the headline structure, internal linking, metadata optimisation) and outside it (link building, promotion of the site in social media or other channels).

UX Optimisation

A website properly optimised for UX is, above all, useful, safe and visually and technically attractive. You need to take care of:

content loading speed
SSL certificate (security protocol)
availability on multiple devices (responsiveness)
intuitive navigation

Source: shutterstock.com/Black Salmon

Nothing should discourage a user from staying on the page. It is worth making sure the user’s first impression is a good one (i.e. what the user sees immediately after clicking the link to your site).

Content marketing

Content marketing is considered to be one of the pillars of online activities. Rich substantive content adds value to the website, helps recipients solve problems and make purchasing decisions. Without valuable content, you can't talk about SXO.

In e‑commerce, the most important content is:

product descriptions
category descriptions
blog entries
product selection guides
FAQ section

Of course, content is not only texts, but also graphics, infographics, video, and even audio (podcasts!).

It is worth remembering that although the substantive contribution is of great importance, the presentation of the content is also very important. Texts must be properly formatted, divided into sections with headings, and videos or graphics should be of the highest quality.

Conversion Optimisation

Conversion optimisation is the implementation of solutions to encourage users to perform a specific action. Important are issues such as performance, usability, and the aesthetics of the website. What else needs to be done to increase your conversion rate? First of all, an effective CTA (or call-to-action) must not be forgotten.

In addition, the path that the consumer must follow to complete the transaction should be analysed. It should be as simplified as possible. An intricate, complicated purchasing process is very often the reason for an abandoned cart.

Analytics

None of the above-mentioned activities can be effectively carried out without analytics. You need to learn about the behaviour, habits, and needs of consumers, and regularly check how they react to implemented solutions.

It is worth using analytical tools such as Google Analytics, as well as conducting A/B tests or even focus groups. Conducting regular SXO audits of your website is important, and this holds true for SEO audits as well. You have to remember that search engine requirements change dynamically.

Conclusion

SXO is a complex strategy. Implementation of SXO strategies requires a lot of knowledge and experience in several areas, but its implementation will certainly pay off. If you do not have experience in the field of internet marketing, consider working with a professional SEO/SEM agency.