A website owner today often feels unlucky, almost like a student sitting in front of two teachers at once. One of them is Google. The other is the user. And both are shouting in their head: “You have to please me first.”
The result is a constant conflict. The website owner doesn’t know what to do.
On one side, you see someone deeply focused on writing content for the user, completely forgetting, or being careless about, basic SEO principles. On the other side, you see someone obsessively stuffing keywords into every line, chasing rankings, and forgetting that real humans are the ones reading the content.
And this is exactly our topic today.
Our case today is simple but critical:
Should we design and write websites to please Google, or to please the user?
Do we focus on the algorithm, or on human beings?
Many people still believe there is an unavoidable conflict between the two, as if focusing on one automatically means sacrificing the other. Meanwhile, others believe there is no conflict at all. They see pleasing the user and pleasing Google as two sides of the same coin.
That raises an important question:
Does Google independently decide that your website is good, or is it simply reflecting the behavior of millions of users?
To answer this, we have to start from reality.
Because, honestly, there used to be one.
A long time ago, SEO practices were very different. People focused heavily on keywords, stuffed them into content, chased the largest possible number of external links, and applied techniques that served search engines far more than users.
And they did it because it worked.
But what happened to users? They landed on pages filled with long introductions, fluffy filler text, and unnecessary paragraphs, without finding a fast, clear answer to their question. So they clicked back and moved on to another website.
On the opposite side, there were people who said, “I’ll focus only on the user. I don’t care about SEO, keywords, or optimized headings.” And here, another problem appeared.
This approach also doesn’t work.
When we ignore search engine requirements completely, visibility becomes a serious issue. The website may not appear in search results at all. And even if the content is excellent for users, no one benefits from it if no one finds it.
So the reality is clear:
Focusing only on Google sacrifices user experience.
Focusing only on the user sacrifices visibility.
Let’s be clear about something important.
Pleasing Google is necessary, but not in the sense of deceiving it.
We please Google by following the basic rules correctly. Why? Because Google is the intent gateway. Most users start their journey through search engines. They have a problem, a need, a service they’re looking for, or something they want to buy.
If we don’t give Google clear signals about what our pages are about, who they are for, what language they’re in, and which country they target, Google simply can’t match user queries with our pages.
SEO also allows users to find us in the first place. Focusing on the user is meaningless if the user can’t reach the content. What’s the benefit of having the best content in the world if no one sees it?
SEO is not against the user.
SEO exists to help users find the right content.
And there’s another key point: Google monitors user behavior. It watches where users click, how long they stay on a page, and whether they search again for the same question. Pleasing the user sends positive signals to Google, in the form of data.
The relationship works both ways.
Pleasing Google ultimately serves the user. Even Google’s updates are designed to push creators toward better user experiences. Why? Because the user is the main goal.
When we optimize for Google, we do it to appear more in search results, so users can find us. And to complete this cycle, the user must be satisfied upon arrival.
Content that doesn’t serve the user has a short lifespan.
Even if it ranks well initially, it weakens over time if users don’t engage with it, share it, return to it, or find value in it. Google sees these signals and eventually considers the content weak, causing it to lose ranking.
So the real question is no longer Google or the user.
The question becomes:
How do we please both, in the right order?
We start with technical foundations such as robots.txt and LLMS.txt. These help search engines and AI tools access the site, read the content, understand it, and index it. Even the best content remains invisible if search engines can’t see it.
At the same time, clarity for the user is essential. We should always ask ourselves:
Can a person, within seconds of landing on the page, understand what it is about?
Is it an article, a service, or a product?
Who is it for?
And what is the benefit?
This leads to an important concept known as FLUX questions, the unspoken questions users think about without asking:
Where am I?
Why this page?
What will I benefit from?
What’s the next step?
If a page doesn’t answer these questions, no SEO strategy in the world can compensate for the confusion the user feels.
There are also shared factors that matter to both Google and users: site speed, content structure, and content quality. These are SEO factors, yes, but more importantly, they directly improve user experience.
And of course, we must monitor behavior, analyze data, and continuously improve. We look at high bounce rates, headlines that don’t get clicks, and pages where users drop off, and adjust accordingly.
Consider a travel website where each destination page contains more than 1,000 words and over 10 FAQs. This content serves neither Google nor the user.
Now imagine a guide for small restaurant owners, explaining, step by step, how to appear on Google Maps, using simple language and clear instructions. This puts the user first, while still sending smart signals to Google.
Compare that to generic statements like:
“We are a leading company seeking excellence and innovation and providing the best solutions across various fields.”
This serves neither party.
On the other hand, a statement such as:
“We help small online stores in Saudi Arabia increase their organic sales by improving product pages and mobile shopping experiences”.
is a clear example of pleasing both.
The judgment is clear.
Not Google before the user.
Not the user against Google.
The key is order.
We build, write, and design for the user first, while ensuring our message is clear to search engines.
When that happens, Google is satisfied, users are satisfied, and the website grows.
That was our case for today.
If you feel your website is written either only for algorithms or randomly without SEO foundations, send us the link and ask:
“Who am I with, Google or the user?”
And we’ll answer you.
See you in the next case.
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