What is Search Engine Experience?
“Search Engine Experience is a comprehensive methodology that combines strategies, techniques, and tactics aimed at enhancing the user experience for searchers on both search engines and websites. This approach leverages Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Branding to maximize visibility and engagement in search results.” – Daniel Vollgraaff
In light of recent changes to Google’s search algorithms, it is vital to reassess existing strategies and optimise team structures to improve the user experience on search result pages. While the term “Search Experience Optimisation” may not be new—having been referenced in publications such as Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch—it is increasingly relevant today.
What Sets Search Engine Experience Apart?
Search Engine Experience comprises two primary components:
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Search Engine Branding (SEB)
SEE leverages both SEO and SEB to optimise every possible facet of a brand’s online presence, ensuring visibility to searchers. By effectively using Search Engine Branding, brands can enhance their visibility and create an optimal experience on search result pages, recognising that most online activities commence on search engines. Thus, search engine result pages serve as a crucial canvas for branding.
In essence, the goal of SEO is to achieve high rankings through technical and onsite optimisations, while Search Engine Branding focuses on offsite strategies that maximise visibility and improve the overall search result experience.
1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is primarily concerned with increasing website traffic by securing high positions in search engine results pages (SERPs). This includes the research, technical, and onsite aspects of your Search Engine Experience structure, while traditional outreach efforts now fall under the umbrella of Search Engine Branding, alongside PPC, social media, email marketing, and local SEO.
Key Components of Technical SEO:
1. Audit/Research
Conduct a thorough SEO audit, including keyword and competitor research. This process should establish benchmarks, goals, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Consider the following types of audits:
- Website & Technical Audit
- Meta Tags
- URL Structure
- Internal Linking
- Image Optimisation
- Mobile Friendliness
- Sitespeed
- Structured Data
- User Experience
- Competitor Analysis
- Keyword Gap Analysis
- Backlink Gap Analysis
- Content Audit
- Local SEO Audit
Example of Website & Technical Audit
2. Keyword Research
Effective keyword research begins with identifying seed keywords, which serve as the primary keyword. As you refine your strategy, primary keywords can be redefined as primary intent, while secondary keywords become secondary intent. This distinction helps in aligning your content with user search behaviour and intentions.
3. Website Architecture
An effective site architecture is essential for both user navigation and search engine indexing, ensuring that relevant content is easily accessible.
4. Technical Audit
This aspect includes all non-content-related SEO efforts that lay a strong foundation for content visibility.
5. Onsite Audit
Onsite SEO involves making your website search engine friendly by optimising titles, descriptions, and internal links to improve crawlability and understanding.
My Google Sheet that I work from and Copywriter (after getting website data using Screaming Frog).
6. Structured Data
Implementing structured data in your HTML markup allows search engines to generate rich snippets, enhancing the presentation of your content in search results.
How will your SEO workflow look like now:
- Audit/Research
- Technical Audit
- Onsite/Content Audit
- Website Architecture
- Technical SEO
- Onsite SEO (Titles, Descriptions, Content, Onsite links)
- Structured Data
2. SEB (Search Engine Branding)
“Search Engine Branding is the practice of aligning offsite SEO efforts with paid media, social media, and structured data to enhance visibility and user experience on search engine result pages.” – Daniel Vollgraaff
1. Outreach
Building high-quality backlinks from reputable sites is crucial for improving organic rankings and increasing exposure to new audiences.
2. Social Media
Social media platforms offer powerful avenues for boosting brand awareness and driving traffic to your website. Effective calls to action can help convert social interactions into leads.
3. PPC
While PPC does not contribute to organic rankings, it provides a method for gaining immediate visibility on search results, complementing your organic strategies.
4. Local SEO & Citations/Directories
Local SEO efforts can lead to increased visibility through rich snippets in the knowledge graph, further enhancing brand recognition. Citations also play a significant role in local search visibility.
5. Structured Data
Utilising structured data ensures that Google comprehends your content effectively, thereby improving your chances of appearing in various search result features, such as rich snippets or carousels.
Rich Snippet for “What is Search Engine Experience” however Google took the wrong information of my page. Trying to get Google to take the correct information.
Google’s Structured Data categories:
- Article
- Used for news articles, blog posts, and other written content. Helps display rich snippets like images and publication dates.
- Product
- For e-commerce sites, this schema allows you to provide information about products, including price, availability, and reviews.
- Local Business
- Optimises for local search results, including information such as address, phone number, opening hours, and geographic coordinates.
- Event
- Used to markup events such as concerts, webinars, or festivals, providing details like date, location, and ticket information.
- Recipe
- Ideal for food blogs and recipe sites, this markup allows you to display cooking times, ingredients, and ratings.
- Review
- For showcasing reviews of products or services. Helps enhance the visibility of reviews in search results.
- FAQ
- Used for marking up frequently asked questions, allowing them to appear directly in search results with expandable answers.
- How-To
- Perfect for instructional content, this markup can display step-by-step guides with images directly in search results.
- Video Object
- Allows you to optimise video content, providing details such as duration, description, and thumbnail images.
- Breadcrumb
- Helps search engines understand your site structure, allowing breadcrumb navigation to appear in search results.
- Organization
- Provides information about your organisation, such as logo, contact information, and social media links.
- Person
- For personal websites, this markup allows you to highlight individual profiles with details like name, job title, and affiliation.
- Aggregate Rating
- Used to showcase the overall rating for a product, service, or business based on multiple reviews.
- Course
- Suitable for educational institutions, this schema provides information about courses, including provider, duration, and prerequisites.
- Job Posting
- For businesses looking to list job openings, this markup allows job listings to appear with details like title, location, and application instructions.
Using Pinterest can improve your chances to get your images displayed. Remember to use your keywords and add the relevant information to your image on Pinterest.
How will your SEB workflow look like now:
- Social Media
- Local SEO
- Paid Media
- Outreach
- Research areas for Structured Data (Handover to SEO when done)
My Search Engine Experience Workflow:
For agency. Inhouse timeline might look different.
Conclusion
While traditional SEO methodologies can achieve many of the desired outcomes, our agency has adopted the Search Engine Experience methodology to harmonise the efforts of different departments. This collaborative approach fosters teamwork rather than competition, ultimately increasing the visibility of our brands in search results. By working towards a unified goal, all SEM teams can contribute to enhancing the overall search engine experience for users.
