Usability, from the English word usability, which means "usability"

In SEO, it is the ability of a site or a separate page to be simple and easy to use for the visitor. Site usability directly affects its ability to retain the user, which in turn will increase behavioral factors and, accordingly, increase conversion. It is very important to observe some points during development. without good usability, the rest of the SEO optimization done may be pointless.

Let's look at 5 main principles that must be followed so that visitors do not leave immediately after going to the site:

Cross-browser and cross-platform
High download speed
Nice and intuitive interface
Convenient navigation
Content quality
1. Cross-browser and cross-platform
one

Cross-browser compatibility is an important point in website development that affects usability. Cross-browser compatibility allows it to display equally well in most browsers. The problem is support for older browsers that don't use some CSS elements, for example.
Cross-platform is an equally important point that allows the site to display the same on all devices with different screen formats. To achieve this goal, developers use adaptive layout, which means adapting the displayed information to the device used.
The ability to use these two points has long been a prerequisite for website development, therefore, almost any resource already has, for example, a mobile version. If you still do not have it, it must be urgently corrected, because every year the amount of mobile traffic is growing. And if a visitor comes to the site without a mobile version, he obviously won't stay there for a long time.

2. High download speed
2

It is no longer necessary to talk about the importance of loading speed, because all of us entering the site expect to receive the necessary information as quickly as possible. If this wait drags on for a long time, the visitor starts to get nervous and you can forget about a good mood that contributes to getting a conversion. In the worst case, he will simply close the site and go to another one from the search results.

Let's take a look at what mainly affects the download speed:

Connection and server response time, DNS processing - this time mainly depends on the hosting you choose. Therefore, consider your choice carefully.
HTML load time - the period during which the html code is loaded. You can shorten it by using less html and tag nesting.
Loading time for the rest of the elements - these elements include all kinds of images, js, css, etc. files. Those. of all that your site actually consists of. This item must be monitored most carefully. Make sure that the images are optimized and do not weigh 10mb each, and that js and css files are not crammed with unnecessary code and are minified, and also do not interfere with the loading of the rest of the page.
Google's PageSpeed ​​Insights are most often used to check loading speed. There you can also find a complete analysis of download problems and recommendations for fixing them.

3. Nice and intuitive interface
3

This is one of the most important points of good usability optimization. it is with the interface on the site that the user interacts and how long it will stay with you directly depends on its convenience.

When we talk about a pleasant interface, we mean a site that meets the following points:

Intuitive design. The user, entering the first time, should immediately understand where to click in order to get what he needs. To do this, do not make strongly "original" sites in which a person gets confused and does not understand anything. Those. don't sacrifice a clean interface for the sake of beauty. People come first for information, not to admire the design.
Keep one style. Don't use ten varieties of colors and fonts. Use calm colors and soft type. The site should not irritate the eye of the visitor, then it will stay on it longer.
Do not clutter up with unnecessary elements. It is better to leave empty space, but so that it looks harmonious. All kinds of pop-ups, advertisements and callback buttons, etc. use them only when necessary. They should also only bring convenience to the user and not be intrusive.
4. Convenient navigation
4

This point could be attributed to the previous one, but it is especially important, therefore we will consider it as a separate one.

Navigation optimization starts from the moment the structure is formed. You need to properly place all kinds of directories, blogs, etc. so that it is logical and understandable. After that, you need to start building navigation.

It must be done so that a visitor who visits your site can go to another page, making it easy, fast and comfortable.

For this you can apply:

Convenient menu, available anywhere, in which, for example, will be indicated

you are the main categories of the site, and they already have sorted products or other categories;
“Breadcrumbs”, with the help of which the user will know where he is and, if desired, can return to a higher level;
Re-linking between pages, which will indicate links to related topics that may interest the visitor.
Links in the footer, which the user can also follow by scrolling to the end.
Various other elements to make navigation easier, such as a “Up” button in the corner of the screen, or a link to the home page when you click on your logo.
5. Content quality
5

Content is the key reason people go to your site from search engines. This means that its quality should be at its best.

What do we mean by quality content?

First of all, this is relevance. The content should match the title of the page and, ideally, provide a comprehensive answer to the user's request. Those. be useful to the user.
Next, you need to make sure that it is up to date. Try not to make a user visit you via the link “Fashion Today” and see information five years ago. To do this, update information in a timely manner if it depends on time.
Also, the content should be easy to read and simple so that the person does not leave while reading. To do this, do not write monotonously and dilute the text with images. It's a plus if he ends up bookmarking your page or sharing it with someone else.
Conclusion
The main thing is to make the site the way you would like to see it from the point of view of an ordinary visitor. Next, you can conduct a survey among your friends or relatives, how comfortable it is for them. Also see how all these points are implemented by your competitors who are in the top of the search results.

If you do everything right, people will love your site and will return to it and call friends. And this will improve traffic, conversion, bounce rate and all parties will be happy.