Here’s the deal… bad UX hurts both your SEO and your RPMs. It hurts conversions. No matter what metric matters to you, bad UX hurts it.
My friend Nina Clapperton sent out a really awesome email. It was all about User Experience (UX) on your website. Big topic, especially of late.
She audited a bunch of websites for TBEX (a conference both her and I have spoken at in the past). In those audits, she noticed some common UX trends…
I look at a lot of websites at my agency, and I was struck by the fact that I’ve seen some of these mistakes myself over and over, and Nina’s breakdown inspired me to dive deeper into this topic with you.
I took my favorite ones that Nina shared, added my thoughts to them, and then surfaced a few additional trending UX issues I see.
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1. Intrusive Ads
One of the biggest issues Nina pointed out, and one of my favorites to focus on, is the aggressive use of ads.
YES, ads are important to monetize your site. And, there’s a line where they become intrusive.
When ads cause cumulative layout shift (CLS), block content, or are impossible to close—like Nina mentioned about SheMedia—it can push users to leave your site faster than they arrived.
We see ad density issues and CLS issues a lot when we do our Site Audits.
My Take:
There’s a balancing act between monetization and maintaining a smooth, enjoyable reading experience. When you compromise the latter, you’re also limiting the long-term trust and engagement your audience will have with your content.
Also… more ads does not necessarily equal more revenue. Test the optimal density!
Quick fix:
- Limit ads above the fold, and ensure they don’t slow down the loading of your page too much.
- Make all ads easy to close, and avoid them blocking important content or CTAs.
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2. Massive Paragraphs That Overwhelm Your Readers
The human attention span has dropped year over year.
Intimidating walls of text that make readers immediately want to click away. Long paragraphs kill readability—especially on mobile—and overwhelm readers before they even get started.
People want short digestible paragraphs. Bullet points. Single sentences. Etc.
My Take:
In today’s fast-paced world, users are skimmers, not readers. You need to design your paragraphs in a way that’s scannable—think 1-2 sentences per paragraph, max. This keeps the content digestible, so your readers actually consume what you’re sharing.
Quick fix:
- Use short paragraphs, and hit enter every few sentences.
- Incorporate varying paragraph lengths to maintain engagement. This visual variety keeps users’ eyes moving through the text effortlessly.
A confusing navigation structure is a major UX issue. If it takes me more than 2-3 clicks to find what I’m looking for, I’m gone.
Your website’s navigation should be intuitive, helping users quickly find what they’re searching for without frustration.
My Take:
Poor navigation leads to increased bounce rates, lower user retention, and missed opportunities to keep your audience reading.
Understand your user and what they want. Try using heat mapping software like Microsoft Clarity if you need more insights.
Structure your content utilizing silos. I show you how HERE.
Quick fix:
- Create content silos to group related content together.
- Ensure that your top-level navigation is simple, with no more than 3-4 levels of clicks to access any post.
4. Too Many Tags and Categories
This was another great point Nina raised—having more tags than actual posts is a mistake I see constantly.
Categories and tags are meant to organize your content, not confuse your readers (or Google).
My Take:
I prefer that every post only has one category, but I understand that sometimes it belongs in multiple categories. But not more than 2, please!
Tags. Unless you have to use them for a specific use case, just don’t For example, on one client website, we use them to surface different ConvertKit popups. And, we noindex those tags!
Quick fix:
- Use categories to clearly group posts—no more than 1-2 categories per post preferred.
- Limit tags usage whenever possible.
Bonus UX Issues I’ve Noticed
1. No About Page, or a Basic, Generic One
It’s shocking how many websites have either a non-existent About page or one that’s generic and offers no real value to the reader.
Your About page is often one of the most visited pages on your site, so it needs to connect with your audience.
This is your chance to share your story, establish your brand’s credibility, and turn casual visitors into loyal followers.
Quick fix:
- Write an authentic, personalized About page that tells your story and makes a genuine connection with your audience.
- Include professional photos and social proof to build trust.
Related: How to set up AboutPage schema properly
2. Limited or Poor Internal Linking Structure
If you’re not leveraging internal links strategically, you’re missing a huge opportunity to guide your readers to more valuable content and improve SEO.
Many sites I review have either no internal links or use generic anchor text like “click here”—which does nothing for SEO or user engagement.
Here’s a video showing you how to do internal linking properly.
Quick fix:
- Do an internal link audit to get the lay of the land
- Use descriptive anchor text that tells the reader exactly what they’ll find on the other side of the link.
- Add 3-5 internal links in every blog post, linking to related content to keep readers on your site longer.
3. Lack of Schema Markup
Schema is crucial for helping search engines understand your content, but so many blogs skip it entirely.
Adding proper schema markup can help boost your SEO, improve your click-through rate, and ensure that search engines know how to index and categorize your content properly.
I show you exactly how to do all of this here in my video.
Quick fix:
- Add schema markup to your site using tools like Yoast SEO or RankMath. Here’s my tutorial on how to do it with RankMath.
- Use relevant schema types (such as Article, FAQ, or How-to) to improve your site’s visibility in search results.
Wrapping Up
At the end of the day, user experience is all about clarity. Can a visitor easily navigate your content without being distracted or frustrated? Can they find what they’re looking for without confusion?
These might sound like small things, but little adjustments add up to huge improvements in engagement, SEO, RPM, and ultimately your bottom line.
