If you’re a business owner trying to wrap your head around SEO and user experience (UX), you’re not alone. You’ve likely heard phrases like “optimize for Google” or “streamline the user journey”, but what does that actually mean? More importantly, how do those two things — SEO and UX — work together, and how might your website be working against you without you even realizing it?
At Baal & Spots, we’ve seen the same scenario play out again and again: a company invests in a flashy redesign or hires an SEO consultant to chase keywords, only to see flat results or even a dip in performance. Why? Because they’re treating SEO and UX like two different problems when they’re really two sides of the same coin.
In this article, we’ll discuss what user experience and SEO actually are, how they’re more connected than ever, and what you can do about it.
(Spoiler: It’s not just about keywords anymore.)
What is user experience (UX) really?
User experience refers to how a visitor feels when they use your website. It includes everything from page speed, layout, and mobile responsiveness to how easy it is to find what they’re looking for.
Imagine walking into a brick-and-mortar store. If the aisles are cluttered, the lighting is bad, and the cashier is hidden in the back corner behind stacks of boxes, you’re not going to stick around — no matter how great the products are. Your website is no different.
Here are a few UX fundamentals:
- Page speed: Slow load times kill interest and conversions.
- Navigation: Can users find your services, pricing, or contact page in one or two clicks?
- Mobile-friendliness: Over 60% of traffic is mobile. If your site isn’t optimized, you’re bleeding money.
- Visual hierarchy: Headlines, imagery, and calls to action should guide the eye naturally.
- Clarity: Is your messaging direct and digestible, or buried in buzzwords?
UX, in short, is about usability, accessibility, and performance. And in today’s search landscape, it directly affects your visibility online.
What is SEO again?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of making your website easier for search engines to find, understand, and rank in search results. The goal? Show up when potential customers search for what you offer.
Traditional SEO involves, but is not limited to, keyword research and content optimization; meta tags (titles, descriptions, headers); internal linking and site structure; backlink acquisition; and technical SEO (more on this below). Is SEO important anymore? Absolutely. But Google ( and AI-driven search engines) have evolved. Context, relevance, and user satisfaction are more important than ever.
A word about technical SEO
Technical SEO is often invisible to business owners, but search engines notice. These behind-the-scenes elements are foundational — if they're broken, even the best content can struggle to rank.
Key areas include:
- Indexability: Can Google crawl your pages efficiently?
- Structured data: Are you helping search engines understand your content with schema?
- Canonical URLs: Are you avoiding duplicate content issues?
- XML sitemaps and robots.txt (also llm.txt for AI platforms): Are you guiding crawlers the right way?
How UX and SEO work together
Modern search engines use hundreds of signals to determine where your website ranks. Increasingly, those signals are based on how users interact with your site.
Here’s what Google and other search engines care about:
- Bounce rate: Are users leaving your site quickly?
- Time on page: Are they actually engaging with your content?
- Click-through rate (CTR): Are people clicking your links in search results?
- Core Web Vitals: Do your pages load fast, respond quickly, and feel stable?
Each of these metrics ties back to UX. A site that’s slow, confusing, or visually overwhelming is going to underperform — even if your SEO is technically sound.
So, is UX important for SEO? You better believe it.
Enter AI
With AI becoming more integral to search (think: Google’s Search Generative Experience, Bing’s AI-powered answers), search engines are becoming better at predicting what users want before they finish typing.
This shift puts even more pressure on websites to present clean, structured data; answer queries clearly and concisely; and demonstrate trustworthiness and usability at a glance.
Simply put, UX should not be considered a luxury, but a ranking factor in your site’s SEO performance.
A tale of two (hypothetical) websites
Let’s bring this to life with a couple of hypothetical — but realistic — examples:
Scenario 1: “We did our SEO research, but conversions have flatlined!”
Let’s say a local HVAC company hired a solo SEO consultant to boost their Google rankings. The consultant optimized their content with the right keywords and built backlinks. They were ranking third overall for “AC repair in Austin” within months.
Great, right?
Well, not so fast. The site was built on an old theme, took nearly six seconds to load on mobile (basically a death sentence these days), and had confusing navigation. Despite great rankings, their bounce rate was through the roof, and conversions plateaued and eventually regressed.
Why did this happen? People clicked, but quickly left because their website experience on the site didn’t match their expectations. Search engines, noting the high bounce rate, acted accordingly, and prioritized the company’s competitors.
The fix? Blending technical SEO with user-centered design by rebuilding the site with faster load times, clear calls-to-action, and a mobile-first layout.
Scenario 2: “We spent a fortune on a new web design; how come nobody is seeing it?”
In this case, say a boutique interior design firm invested a great deal of capital into a beautiful custom website. It had elegant animations, a modern aesthetic, and gorgeous project galleries. But they were buried on page 4 for “interior designer in Dallas,” a high-priority keyword.
Why such poor rankings? The company failed to audit the new site that would have revealed some major SEO performance issues:
- No meta descriptions or title tags on site pages
- Broken links from a previous site migration
- Giant, uncompressed image files that had slow load times
- No structured data for services or location
- Old pages with low or outdated content
- Outdated contact information
- Sitemap.xml and robots.txt errors
- Lack of proper tracking setup
- Confusing website menu and navigation
Fixating on a website’s aesthetics without a solid SEO strategy is like building a model home without plumbing, electricity, or HVAC: people might like to visit, but nobody would realistically want to live there.
The solution? Running a technical SEO audit, optimizing on-page content, adding schema markup, and collaborating with the design team to strike a balance between beauty and function.
Recap: Is your website holding you back?
- User experience affects SEO. Search engines want to serve users, not just keywords.
- SEO needs UX to convert. What’s the point of traffic if no one stays?
- AI is changing search. Structured, usable, human-friendly sites will win.
- Technical SEO matters a lot. Your site must be accessible and understandable to crawlers.
- You shouldn’t have to choose. A well-rounded agency like Baal & Spots brings all the pieces together (see how).
The Baal & Spots SEO/UX best practices
Want to know how to quickly take your site’s temperature on both the UX and SEO front? It’s your lucky day (these tips are free):
- Loads in under 2.5 seconds
- Mobile-friendly and responsive
- Clear CTAs on every page
- Optimized title tags and meta descriptions
- Structured content with headers (H1, H2, etc.)
- Broken links fixed or redirected
- Schema markup for services, reviews, and location
- Keyword-focused — but natural — copy
- Engaging content above the fold
- Easy-to-use navigation and search functionality
- Advanced website tracking setup
- Well structured Sitemap.xml and Robots.txt files
- A modern codebase that search engines favor
If you're unsure where to start, a professional audit from a full service digital marketing agency like Baal & Spots can uncover exactly where you're losing users or missing search opportunities.
Ready for a website that works with you?
If your site is feeling a little dated, not performing the way you think it should — or you keep asking yourself, “why is SEO so difficult?” — it might be time for a deeper look and a helping hand.
At Baal & Spots, we combine intuitive user experience and SEO strategy with technical know-how. Whether you need a quick audit or a full overhaul, we’re here to help you connect the dots and turn your website into your best-performing salesperson. No BS. Contact us online or request your free audit below.
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