How to Make Every Click Count with Search Experience Optimization

SXO, or Search Experience Optimization, combines aspects of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and UX (User Experience). While it's important to achieve visibility in search results, it's equally crucial to focus on what users encounter once they reach your site. The objective is not just to appear in the search engine results pages (SERPs) but to enhance the on-site experience, ultimately transforming visits into conversions.

This shift matters because a click isn’t the finish line anymore, and it shouldn’t have been in the first place. In a zero-click world, getting someone to your site is only step one. Now, you have to keep them engaged long enough to take action.

I like to explain SXO like this: you still have to earn the click, but now you also have to earn the scroll, and only then can you earn the conversion, or whatever action you’re hoping a user takes on that page.

If you’re adopting an SXO approach, you need to focus on metrics that truly reflect user experience. Start analyzing what users do after they land on your site: where they scroll, where they pause, what they try to click, and where they hit friction.

Tools like Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar, or Crazy Egg help you move from guessing to seeing exactly how users interact with your site and identify the biggest opportunities. Full disclosure here — I am an ambassador for Microsoft Clarity and will be using it as my tool of choice throughout this article.

Above-the-fold content & first impressions

Above-the-fold content matters for both users and search engines. Google uses mobile-first indexing and gives more weight to content that is visible without scrolling. Their scoring method, described in US Patent 7,596,581 B2, specifically assigns higher relevance to content appearing “above the fold,” and those segment scores impact a given document’s overall ranking. 

Even if we set search aside, the first screen view is where users decide if they’re in the right place. Research shows people form an impression of a website in just 50 milliseconds.

This is where the halo effect comes in. A strong first impression makes users more likely to trust the page, scroll further, and take action. A weak one—cluttered, vague, or confusing—can lead to bounces or rage clicks.

Adjusting the layout of these landing pages will bring key content above the fold, making the pages more relevant to their topics, more useful to visitors, and more likely to appear in search results. 

So, what should you prioritize above the fold? A clear headline that matches intent, a CTA that shows the next step, and trust signals that answer, “Why should I believe you?” It can be as simple as the following:

• Google/Yelp star rating
• Embedded reviews
• Recent awards
• USPs

Scroll depth & page engagement

SXO comes to life when small changes lead to real results. Here are some examples of real tests and their impact on key metrics for my clients. 

Removing a large hero image

Large hero images can look great, but they can also eat up prime space above the fold and delay the content users came for. 

Removing a large hero image and replacing it with a clear headline and CTA led to big engagement lifts:

• Pages per session increased by 81.39%
• Time on page increased by 158.33%
• Scroll depth increased by 18.62%

Making a phone number clickable

Dead clicks can be simple conversion wins hiding in plain sight.  

I saw a contact page where users clicked a phone number and expected it to work, but it didn’t. Once the number was made clickable, phone call clicks increased by 137.5%.

Accordion removal

Accordions can be helpful, but they can also create friction, especially on mobile. 

In an accordion test I shared, removing the accordion reduced quick backs (when a user goes back to a previous page before reaching the dwell time for that page)  from 15.79% to 13.22%, increased scroll depth by 14.7%, and increased “Request quote” clicks by 66.7%. Rankings improved, too, even though that was not the goal.

Homepage CTA placement

Sometimes the problem with a home page  is not content quality. It is that users do not know where to go next. 

I decided to add an “Our Programs” CTA above the fold, which gave users a clear path forward. In addition to counting clicks on this button, we measured clicks to different programs from the programs page. One program CTA increased clicks by 134.37%, which helped drive more users down the funnel.

SXO is easier to pitch when you present it alongside data and frame it as testing rather than a design improvement. You’re not asking for trust based on opinion. You’re showing behavior data, identifying friction, and proposing a measurable fix.

This is where before-and-after metrics make it real. Scroll depth improvements, fewer dead clicks, fewer quick backs, more CTA clicks, more calls, more form submissions, etc. These outcomes are tied to business goals and are easier to defend than “we think this will look better.”

Rather than simply asking to remove a hero image, explain to your stakeholders that you've noticed visitors are not scrolling past the header and that you'd like to test reducing the size of the image. 

Making things easier for users supports the bottom line for clients and the C-suite. Happy users lead to more conversions, and more conversions result in better ROI.

Clicks are becoming less reliable – that’s the reality we face. SXO is how you can adapt without compromising your results.

With search engine results pages evolving, SEO is no longer just about visibility; it’s also about usability. By enhancing the user experience after a click, you increase user engagement, including scrolls, clicks, and conversions.

Making it easier for users to find what they’re looking for and guiding them to the next step helps protect your performance, even when the SERP isn’t in your favor.

Just remember — you cannot control the SERP, but you can control the experience. That is how you make every click count.