SXO – Search Experience Optimization

Among the relatively new terms that should be taken into account when designing a corporate website, the SXO abbreviation, developed as Search Experience Optimization, comes to the fore of the pack. SXO is a combination of SEO (search engine optimization) and UX (user experience) terms that have been popular for years. In a nutshell, the idea is not only to effectively attract the search engine user and encourage him to enter a given page (with the help of SEO), but also to keep him on the page for longer and persuade him to convert thanks to the appropriate UX.

A refined SXO will work well with virtually any type of website. The most common conversion goals are:
– Online stores and widely understood e-commerce industry – main goal: increasing the number of transactions; additional goals are, for example, increasing the number of subscriptions to the newsletter or adding a product to the wish list;
– Service industry – main goal: increasing the number of leads, additional goal: for example downloading a PDF guide or filling in a survey;
– Content websites – main goal: increasing the user’s stay on the website, clicking on related articles, additional goal: for example, playing a video in the content.

Of course, the main and secondary goals can change places smoothly – it depends only on the industry and assumptions of the website owner. However, this does not change the fact that the emphasis on SXO (Search Experience Optimization) with the correct implementation of solutions will improve conversion – regardless of the specific goal.

But let’s start from the beginning. As mentioned above, SXO is a combination of two terms – SEO and UX. Let’s take a look at them in turn:

SEO – website positioning

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, means positioning a website in search engines. This process is designed to ensure that the page in response to a specific phrase appears at the top of the search results – or at least on the first page of search results. According to statistics, few internet users, after entering keywords, visit websites placed outside the TOP10 of displayed results, and the farther away, the lower the number. If the site is not at least in the TOP50, it can be concluded that the site will not attract anyone to a given phrase, except for individual Internet users who are either very determined or “lost” during the search. The goal of every website owner who would like to increase traffic on a long-term basis at a relatively low cost (compared, for example, to advertising in social media or Google Ads systems), should be appropriate optimization.

Positioning is a complicated process – the position of a page in the Google search engine is influenced by over 200 different factors. Some are officially published by the Mountain View company, but many of them are not disclosed to the public. For this reason, effective SEO requires a lot of knowledge and experience, but also requires constant experimenting and testing new solutions.

SEO activities are basically divided into two branches. The first one is called on-site SEO and consists in adapting the website and its content to Google’s requirements. This includes:
– speeding up the operation of the site (users often drop out of the visit if the loading time is too long – after all, it’s all about time);
– appropriate responsiveness, i.e. the ability of the website to display properly on various devices (including mobile – smartphones and tablets);
– enriching the content on the website with long, substantive texts that are adequately saturated with key phrases – that is, words for which the website should be displayed to users in search engines;
– presentation of content in a friendly form – division into paragraphs, use of headings (H1, H2, H3), appropriate use of graphics, internal linking.

The second branch of activities is off-site SEO, i.e. activities carried out through other websites. Each link on a different site to the target site strengthens its “strength” – that is, it signals to the search engine’s algorithm that the page is valuable and its rank should be raised. First of all, the link parameter is important – the link can be marked as dofollow or nofollow – in the first case, the link “invites” the Google bot to go to the page, which translates into SEO. The nofollow parameter also allows the user to click, but will be ignored by crawlers, so positioning will be impacted to zero.

However, not all dofollow links are created equal. A link placed on a small, unknown page will not be of much value. The key to off-site SEO is acquiring links from as large as possible, widely recognized by web bots, pages that are themselves placed in top positions in the rankings.

Why SEO Matters?

It’s worth remembering that SEO is the most cost-effective option in the long term to generate traffic to your website. Both Google Ads and social media advertising systems in the hands of specialists can be effective marketing tools. When using these solutions, when we turn off the campaign, traffic immediately disappears. Positioning effects last much longer, which in the long run generate noticeably lower customer acquisition costs. By investing in SEO, you ensure that your business is always exactly where the potential customer is.

UX – User Experience

User Experience, i.e. the user experience, is the whole experience felt by the internet user visiting the website. UX is a multifaceted field, covering not only technical studies, but also psychology, cognitive science and other disciplines.

An important component of the user experience is the UI, i.e. the user interface. A UI can be called a demonstration of how a user gives commands to a program – for example, a content management system (CMS) on a website. Any fragment of a page that, when clicked, causes the page to execute a specific command can be considered a UI element. The interface, or more precisely its graphical representation (GUI – Graphical User Interface) is extremely important – it is responsible for the simplicity of navigation on the website and its intuitiveness, as well as various visual aspects. On some pages, the combinations of colors, fonts or even borders make the use of the site difficult to define, while on others – very similar – it irritates or arouses some anxiety. Color psychology, typography, compositional solutions and many, many more – all these elements must be taken into account when designing a website in terms of interface.

User interface is an important element of UX, but user experience is a much broader term. The UX specialist takes on the wallpaper, among others, the user’s profile – his digital competences, demographic aspects, brand persona. It is also an in-depth analysis of competing parties. The most important in the work of a UX specialist are extensive experiments based on recording sessions, generating heat maps, A / B tests, and even examining the user’s eye movements.

UX, and in a broader perspective also SXO, takes three perspectives into account:
– user (who cares about simple, trouble-free and pleasant use of the website);
– site owner (focusing on valuable traffic and high conversion rate);
– web bots (analyzing the website in various respects, which translates into a specific result in the search results).

Why UX Matters?

A well-designed user experience can completely change the statistics on the website. Forrester’s research from a few years ago showed that just redesigning the user interface can change the conversion rate by 200%, and changing the UX by up to 400%. These are the results that can certainly be considered a business game changer. Of course, this is an extreme case and in the vast majority of cases the results of the website reconstruction will not be that spectacular (it also depends on what level we are starting from). However, it cannot be denied that in the business context, any positive change may herald the survival or dynamic development of the company. UX audit is therefore the first step to improve the effectiveness of your own website.

SXO – the future of web development

Search Experience Optimization is an evolutionary form of approach to web development, which combines the advantages of website positioning and UX design, and at the same time focuses on maximizing conversions. According to SXO, the mere transition of the user to the page from the search results does not mean anything – it must be supplemented with a possibly personalized experience, based on a number of variables.

We believe that the trend is going to continue with macOS Monterey this year, as well. If Apple follows the classic timeline, you can expect macOS Monterey to be released in late September’21. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t experience macOS Monterey right now.

If you’re lucky enough and your Mac device supports the system requirements, then you can sign up for the macOS Monterey public beta version. With the review of macOS Monterey, the integration among all the Apple devices is going to be stronger than ever.

Here’s everything about macOS Monterey; at least, what we know about the latest Apple sensation.

System Requirements for having macOS Monterey Installed

Generally, Apple doesn’t provide system requirements in detail. As expected, Apple has released a bunch of devices that will receive a macOS Monterey update this year.

According to the professionals at the Apple service center near me, macOS Monterey is going to be the honorary title-owner for supporting such a broad lineup of Apple Mac devices. Apple has even included Intel-based Mac devices to get the macOS Monterey update.

Here’s the entire list of Mac devices that can run on macOS 12 or Monterey:

• Mac Pro from late 2013 and later
• Mac Mini from late 2014 and later
• iMac from late 2015 and later
• MacBook Air from early 2015 & later
• MacBook Pro from early 2015 & later
• Apple MacBook from early 2016 and later
• iMac Pro from 2017 and later

So, if you have one of these devices, you can have macOS Monterey as soon as it launches. And that too without any additional cost, because Apple releases operating system updates for free. The public beta version of macOS Monterey is out for testing purposes.

Jaw-dropping Features of macOS Monterey

Apple has already depicted and demonstrated how macOS Monterey is going to change the perspective of Mac devices. The main motive of macOS Monterey seems to add more flexibility for Apple users, and every device of Apple will receive a similar software update. And, this is not just a concept as Apple has declared that it’s going to release iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 with almost the same features.

However, some special features will be available for the M1-based Apple chip. Here are some of the macOS Monterey features that we find extremely helpful.

FaceTime

Video calls from Apple will be universal and need to be appreciated when coming from a company like Apple. Now, Apple will let users share FaceTime video call links on different online platforms and chatting media. Thus, Apple users can share FaceTime conference links for Android and Windows users ahead of time.

Another ‘sharing is caring’ initiative is the SharePlay feature. Apple users can stream whatever they are watching on their Mac devices and let other participants watch. Apart from sharing videos on FaceTime, you can also share the audio that you’re listening to.

Additionally, audio and video enhancements are there. Wide Spectrum and Voice Isolation are two modes for microphones. The Wide spectrum feature lets you pay attention to the discrete noises, and voice isolation lets you concentrate on the voice only. Spatial Audio mode is there for understanding from which direction the voice is coming.

Moreover, the portrait mode will blur out the surroundings around you. And, participants of the FaceTime call will clearly see you. The credit goes to the Neural engine technology of Apple for realising the portrait effect inspired by the iPhone camera models.

Universal Control

Have you ever felt the necessity for universal control while handling mouse and keyboard and switching between an iPad and Mac? Well, Apple realised your requirements, and macOS Monterey would be launched with universal control for Apple devices. With enabled universal control, Mac users can now easily switch from iPad to Mac and vice versa.

Additionally, file transfers have gone too easy with drag and drop features. The interesting fact about universal control is that you need no additional setup. Just move your cursor as if you’re replacing your folder, and you’re done.

Focus

This productivity tool will come to Mac, too. With macOS Monterey, Focus will be introduced to Mac devices. This particular feature lets you decide on applications from which you’d like to get notifications when you are busy. Therefore, your Mac might notify you only when you receive messages and emails from your workspace. If you’re busy driving, then you can set up a different Focus arrangement for answering calls or replying to emails.

If you have kept your devices silent, then it will reflect in your Focus Status. Others are trying to reach you will notice that you’re busy with your work and won’t bother you. If it’s an emergency, then they will be able to connect you, anyway. Apple is keeping the chances open for developers to integrate with Focus.

Shortcuts

Well, the wait is finally over for Mac users who have been seeking Shortcuts on Mac devices. With macOS Monterey, users can now set Mac-based shortcuts on their devices. One can easily run Shortcuts from the menu bar, Spotlight, dock, or asking Siri. Further, you can also use Shortcuts that you made on iPhone and utilise them on Mac devices, and vice versa is also true.

AirPlay

Use your Mac device as a display with macOS Monterey. You can cast content from iPhone, Mac, or iPad and watch it on another Mac device. If you own an iMac, you can use it for your laptop uses, as well. You can use AirPlay and its sharing feature wired or wirelessly.

Are you Interested in Installing the macOS Monterey Public Beta Version?

If you’re a developer and love to test new software updates, then the macOS Monterey public beta version is for you. However, make sure that potential bugs might annoy you from time to time. If you are fine with dealing with them, then you can definitely get it downloaded. Or else, you can wait for the macOS Monterey to be available for everyone.

Still, we are providing you with the steps required for installing macOS Monterey on your Mac:

1. Start with backing up your device with the help of the Time Machine. So that, you won’t miss anything important when things go out of control.
2. Next, go to Safari and explore the official apple page of the macOS public beta version. Choose macOS from the beta slider. Click the button that says ‘Download the macOS…Access Utility’.
3. After downloading, open up the .DMG installer. It makes sure that your device comes under the beta version. Explore the tab of System Preferences.
4. Go to the Software Update option. Once the update is complete, you need to install it. Complete the task by following on-screen instructions carefully.

Moreover….

The announcement regarding the macOS Monterey release was made on June 7, 2021. Though Apple didn’t particularly state the release time of Monterey, we can expect it to come out in late September. Last year, Apple released Big Sur in November’20. Therefore, we might have Monterey by the end of this year, positively.