How to Make Every Click Count with Search Experience Optimization

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

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