Michel Fortin joins the SEO Rant Podcast to share why putting users before bots matters and why that's the best thing you can do as an SEO:
Why you should stop chasing keywords, algorithms, and the like
Why user-first SEO means conversion-first SEO
What it means to put the user first when doing SEO
User-Focused SEO: Episode Synopsis
While the SEO industry has (mostly) moved off of the over-emphasis on keywords, there still seems to be a lag in adopting a more holistic and user-focused approach to SEO. That's not to say there isn't much importance to things like technical SEO or links, etc. Obviously, ensuring the technical health of a site is of paramount importance. Rather, and as Michel Fortin points out, the ultimate goal of a site and the work an SEO does isn't around technical SEO, it's to bring in users and new resources of revenue and growth.
Even things like Core Web Vitals, as Michel said so well, "they're metrics." It's not about the score or whatnot, it's about the experience the user has on a website. To Michel, SEO is about two things: the quality of your content and the quality of the experience on your website - that's it. It's a really good point and a great way to boil down SEO. Your focus shouldn't be ranking for "X" (obviously there are going to be moments where you should try to rank for "X" - I mean as an overall approach to a site, content, and SEO). Rather, your approach should focus on offering your target audience the best possible content while providing the best possible experience to access that content.
At the end of the day, people aren't looking for your site because it's fast or whatnot. People are looking for your site because they need something - some form of content whether it be a product or blog post or whatever. Content is the reason why people come to websites. The other aspects, UX, UI, etc. should best facilitate the user consuming that content.
Resources
For more of the SEO Rant Podcast check out our previous episode on the problem with getting an SEO job.