SEO feels broken right now. Zero-click searches are exploding. GEO is reshaping search. Clicks are declining across the board.

Here’s the truth: we can’t control the SERP chaos, but we can control what happens after someone clicks.

That’s where Search Experience Optimization (SXO) comes in. Stop obsessing over traffic you’re losing and start maximizing the traffic you’re getting. Because the real question isn’t "how many clicks?" It’s "what happens next?"

What is search experience optimization (SXO)?

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.

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SEOs are all preparing for AI mode to become the default method of search as well. This means we’ll continue to see fewer clicks, and those that do come in are likely to be “destination” clicks. By destination clicks, I mean the last place users go after researching elsewhere (ChatGPT, Reddit, TikTok, etc.). So these users are ready to be convinced to take action, but if they land on a friction-filled page, they may bounce and go elsewhere.

The good news is that while you can’t control the SERP, you can control the experience after the click. That’s the heart of SXO.

The metrics that matter for SXO

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

Scroll depth shows whether users are seeing what matters. It reveals how far people scroll and where they lose interest or get stuck.

When I review scroll maps, I’m looking for the cliff, or the point where a significant drop-off in engagement happens. Once you spot it, there’s usually a reason. Maybe the intro is too long. Maybe the formatting makes it hard to scan. Maybe the page takes too long to deliver value. Or maybe there’s no obvious next step.

If users aren’t scrolling, it usually doesn’t mean you need more content. It means you need to move things around.

This is also where CTA placement becomes an SXO lever. If your primary CTA is buried, even motivated users might never reach it. Moving key actions higher can turn passive traffic into real action. Dead clicks and rage clicks Dead clicks and rage clicks are some of the most honest user feedback you’ll get because they reveal real friction.

Dead clicks happen when users try to interact with something that isn’t actually clickable. That’s a broken expectation caused by a misleading design. While rage clicks are rapid taps or clicks in one spot. They often mean something is broken or not working the way users expect.

You can find these behaviors in Microsoft Clarity using heatmaps and filters, then watch session recordings to understand what happened.

Fixes are usually straightforward: make an element clickable, adjust the layout, fix a broken link, or uncover a specific bug.

Session Recordings

Heatmaps show patterns. Session recordings show context. They explain user behavior, making them essential SXO tools rather than just optional.

Watch for signs of friction: hesitation, erratic cursor movement, repeated scrolling, or navigation jumps. These often mean the user is looking for something they can’t find.

The key is to turn what you observe into a testable hypothesis. Instead of saying, “this feels cluttered,” get specific:

• “We believe moving the CTA above the fold will increase clicks.”
• “We believe removing the accordion will improve engagement.”

That’s how SXO becomes measurable.

The SXO testing workflow

Now that you know what to look for, you can follow the SXO workflow below to establish a repeatable process for including user behavior data in your work.

Step 1: Observe behavior

Start by gathering user behavior data to spot friction. You can use your tool of choice (Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar, Crazy Egg, etc.) and focus on what users are telling you through the data points the tool provides and the metrics outlined above.

Look at heat maps, watch session recordings, compare time on page before and after a change to a page, etc. Fully explore the metrics your tool provides to get the full picture of how users interact with that page.

Step 2: Identify patterns and hypothesize

Ask questions like “Why are users bouncing here?” or “Why are they not clicking this?” Use scroll depth, click behavior, and recordings to identify patterns that repeat across multiple sessions.

Pro Tip: You don’t have to do this manually. If you use Microsoft Clarity, they now have an MCP server you can use to easily pull your data.

Then, create a simple hypothesis that connects the friction to a possible fix.

• “We believe that moving the CTA higher will increase clicks.”
• “We believe that simplifying the layout will reduce confusion.”

Step 3: Test and measure

Implement one change at a time. Keep it simple: move a button, rewrite a headline, remove layout blockers.

For measurement, I like to use a mix of tools:

• Microsoft Clarity for user behavior data
• GA4 events to measure actions like CTA clicks or form submissions
• Google Search Console clicks to see if the experience improvement also supported organic performance

Real examples from SXO testing

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.

How to get buy-in from clients or stakeholders

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.

Optimize for what happens after the click

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.

The author’s views are entirely their own (excluding the unlikely event of hypnosis) and may not always reflect the views of Moz.