Ecommerce SXO
What is SXO?
Traditionally, SEO played the role of getting a visitor to your website. Once they were there, it would often fall to a separate team to handle the conversion rate and UX side of things.
But these things also impact your SEO. SXO stands for Search Experience Optimisation, and it is the merging of SEO, UX and conversion optimisation into one.
Any good ecommerce agency not only needs to focus on bringing traffic to your website, but they also need to make sure that traffic converts too.
Nobody wants great traffic and low conversions. Similarly, people hate having great conversion and low traffic. There is a balance to be had and this is where SXO sits. It blends SEO and conversion rate optimisation into one discipline, and it’s a core concept of our work as an ecommerce agency.
Search Intent Mapping
Every important search matched to the right type of page, so people land where they expect and don't bounce straight back to Google.
First Screen UX
Clear headings, products in view and nothing in the way. Visitors know they're in the right place within a couple of seconds of landing.
Product Page Conversion
Pricing, delivery, returns, reviews, video and unique copy laid out so buyers get their answers without leaving the page.
Categories and Navigation
Filters, variants and internal links built around how your customers shop, giving them a sensible next click instead of a dead end.
Speed and Performance
Core Web Vitals, image handling and page weight fixed in-house, because a slow page loses both rankings and sales.
Measured Together
Rankings, engagement and conversion rate tracked side by side, so every change is judged on search and on sales.
The old trade-off
There can be a trade-off between UX (user experience) and SEO. For example, it could be argued that having more products on your ecommerce store allows you to target more keywords, but this can impact the user experience.
Instead of landing on one page and viewing all the options, product variants get split across several pages, forcing users to jump between them when changing colour or size.
By mastering SXO, there is no trade-off. We optimise SEO performance by using canonical tags, unique content and development techniques so there is no internal battle between what is good for users and search engines.
Good for SEO
- A separate page for each colour or variant targets more specific searches.
- More indexable pages means more keyword coverage.
- Each page can have its own title, description and images.
Bad for users
- People have to jump between pages just to compare colours or sizes.
- Reviews get split across several pages instead of building up on one.
- Near-identical pages provide little value.
Where we land
SXO is about getting both. Usually that means one strong product page with every variant selectable, and only splitting out a variant into its own page or landing page where there's real search demand for it. Every decision gets judged on search and on sales.
Example of SXO in Action
Example product. Pick a colour on each.
Linen Sofa Charcoal
94 reviews
£899
Colour: Charcoal
Delivery calculated at checkout.
- Every colour click loads a whole new page.
- The photo never changes, so you can't see what you're buying.
- Reviews split four ways, and Google sees four near-identical pages and picks one itself.
Linen Three Seater Sofa
212 reviews, all colours
£899
Colour: Charcoal
In stock. Free delivery in 3 to 5 working days. 30 day returns.
- Colour changes instantly, on the same page.
- The photo matches the colour picked, with delivery and returns in view.
- All 212 reviews build up on one page, and the canonical tells Google which URL is the main one.
What we look at on every page
It’s easy to focus on SEO without actually focusing on UX and Conversions. This is also true of the opposite; you can focus on conversion without realising the implications for SEO.
Our experience in scaling sales is heavily focused on the front-end experience, and SXO is part of the content strategy we deploy for eCommerce clients. We don’t treat conversion optimisation in isolation; it falls within the framework of our SXO approach.
Intent
User intent is important from the SEO side. The content of the page needs to align with the information or product a person is looking for, and they should know they're in the right place within a couple of seconds of landing.
Experience
Once on the page, the content needs to be accessible, digestible and free from errors. Pages need to perform well and be structured so a user can navigate without even thinking. This is what UX does.
Conversion
Unique commercial content, pricing, specifications, delivery information, video and rich media, with a constant pushing of boundaries to make the journey from search to checkout not only seamless, but enjoyable.
The signals we check
- The first screen matches what was searched
- Price, stock, delivery and returns are easy to find
- Unique product descriptions, not manufacturer copy
- Proper images, video and specs you can scan
- Reviews on the page, not somewhere else
- Real company details and clear policies
- Fast loading, especially on mobile
- Internal links that give people a sensible next click
Real Results. Local Businesses.
Ecommerce brands we've helped grow through connected SEO, PPC, development, and automation.
Direct
Scaling Organic Traffic for Liverpool's Largest Bed Retailer
How we helped Bed Factory Direct, a Liverpool-based bed manufacturer and retailer with over 37 years in business, increase organic visibility and drive ecommerce revenue through a connected SEO and development strategy.
Driving Ecommerce Revenue for Liverpool's Iconic Home Store
How we helped Taskers, an established Liverpool home and furniture retailer with over 60 years of history grow their online revenue through an integrated approach spanning SEO, development, and ecommerce optimisation.
Monthly organic visits at Bed Factory Direct, grown from around 3k.
Traffic like that was built on the same approach: pages that match what people search for, and are built to sell once they get there.
Put Your Name
in The Book
Tell us what you need. We'll be in touch within 24 hours.
We'll be in touch within 24 hours.
You're In the Book
Your experiment is about to begin.
Frequently Asked
Common questions about SXO and how it works for ecommerce.
Search Experience Optimisation. It combines SEO, user experience and conversion rate optimisation into one discipline, so the same work improves both your rankings and your sales.
Traditional SEO focuses on getting the click. SXO carries on past it, making sure the page people land on answers their search, is easy to use and turns the visit into an order. It's still SEO, just judged on sales as well as rankings.
CRO focuses on turning visitors into customers. SXO includes that but starts earlier, at the search itself, and treats rankings and conversions as the same problem rather than two separate jobs handled by two separate teams.
Google doesn't publish its ranking factors, but its leaked internal documentation and evidence from the US antitrust trial both show that click data feeds into its systems. We treat a good user experience as an SEO job as well as a sales one.
It can if it's done without thinking about search, which is exactly what SXO avoids. Every change is checked for its impact on both, using things like canonical tags, unique content and careful development so what's good for users doesn't cost you rankings.
Shopify, Magento and WordPress, plus custom builds where needed. Because we handle development in-house, SXO changes get implemented properly rather than sitting on a list waiting for a developer.
Page improvements can lift conversion rate within weeks. Ranking changes usually take a few months to show properly, and the gains compound as more of the site is improved.