The Benefits of Accessibility for Website SEO

Search engines (like Google, Yahoo, or Bing) are like concierges for the internet. They search for the best search results based on guests' queries and present them. But if they can’t easily understand what a website is about and whether it fulfills their search criteria, they won’t recommend it to guests. 

It makes sense that search engines recommend websites that first answer users’ questions and second are easy to understand and use. This is where digital accessibility enters the picture. 

Creating an accessible website can actually have a huge impact on your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) rankings. We’ll explore this connection in more detail below.

SEO and Accessibility: The Connection

SEO and digital accessibility go hand-in-hand. SEO is about getting your site to rank higher in search results and attract more visitors. Digital accessibility focuses on creating website content that’s accessible and user-friendly for everyone, including those with disabilities. Both are critical factors in creating websites that are easy to find online and welcoming and usable for everyone. 

Think about it this way: The goal of SEO is to get your digital content on the first page of search results so it can reach as many people as possible. By enhancing accessibility, you allow a user group of roughly 1.3 billion people to use and access your content, opening the door for numerous opportunities. 

If you’re looking for new ways to expand the reach of your audience, website accessibility just might be the missing piece.

Strategies for Better SEO and Accessibility

Here’s the good news: improving SEO and digital accessibility involve a lot of the same strategies. Following SEO best practices helps you improve your search engine rankings while simultaneously creating a better user experience for those with disabilities.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the strategies that can improve both Google search results and accessibility.

Descriptive Page Titles

Page titles give both your users and search engines an understanding of what a web page is about. And because they’re displayed so prominently in search results, they have a major influence on click-through rates. 

To optimize page titles and title tags for SEO, you’ll want to ensure they’re clear, descriptive, and contain necessary keywords. This helps search engine bots or crawlers better understand the topic of the page and whether it’s relevant to searcher’s queries. 

Similarly, clear and descriptive page titles benefit those who use assistive technologies such as screen readers. These users typically navigate websites by skimming through headings and page titles to understand the relevance and structure of the content. So with more informative page titles, they can quickly understand what each page is about and whether or not it's useful.

Headings

Similar to page titles, headings also tell users and search engines what a particular section on a page is about. Additionally, headings that follow a hierarchical structure (e.g., H1, H2, H3, etc.) improves content readability and page navigation. This is especially helpful for screen reader users as they rely on properly structured headings to understand content and navigate web pages easily.

Sitemaps

The use of sitemaps serves a dual purpose in improving both SEO and accessibility. From an SEO perspective, an XML sitemap (also called an HTML sitemap) helps search engines crawl and index all the pages on your website more efficiently. Additionally, any time you publish or update your content, an XML sitemap reflects that, giving it a higher chance of appearing in search engine results.

For accessibility, an XML sitemap gives users a clear overview of how your site is structured, helping them understand how to navigate it more effectively. For example, users who may have difficulty navigating through complex menus can use your sitemap to find the content they’re looking for more quickly. 

Put simply, a sitemap helps simplify navigation and ensures all users can find and access the information they need.

Descriptive Anchor Text

Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink and is a valuable SEO tool as it indicates the relevance of the linked page to search engines. Descriptive link text that includes high-ranking keywords helps search engines understand the context of linked content which helps to improve rankings.

From an accessibility standpoint, descriptive anchor text helps users relying on screen readers understand where the link is going to take them. This helps them better determine which links are relevant to their interests and whether or not they want to follow the link.

Breadcrumb Links

Breadcrumb links show users exactly where they are within your website’s hierarchy and include links back to each previous level. For example, NASA’s breadcrumb navigation looks something like this: Solar System and Beyond > Overview > Images > Videos > Media Resources. Each breadcrumb is clickable and takes users back to the previous page, ensuring they don’t get lost in a sea of content. From an accessibility perspective, this is incredibly beneficial. Users with cognitive disabilities especially benefit from this clear navigation aid as it reduces confusion and helps them understand the relationship between different sections of the website. 

For SEO, breadcrumbs help improve your internal linking structure, site structure, and user navigation — all of which improves the overall usability of the page and boosts your SEO rankings

Alt Text

Also known as alternative text, alt text is used in HTML code to describe non-text content, such as images, charts, or graphs. Without alt text, search engines — and users with disabilities — may not be able to understand this content which can impact their understanding of the page.

Adding alt text helps search engines “see” these non-text elements and index it appropriately. For users with disabilities, alt text is critical as it helps those with visual disabilities such as blindness or low vision understand web content. For example, users with visual impairments rely on screen readers to understand web content. Alt text can be read aloud by screen readers, conveying to the user what information is in the image or non-text content, ensuring they don’t miss out on valuable information.

Navigation

As we’ve mentioned above, navigation plays a key role in both accessibility and SEO. By ensuring your navigation is intuitive and well-organized, search engines can more easily crawl and understand your pages and rank them accordingly. For accessibility, clear, consistent navigation enhances keyboard and assistive technology compatibility, allowing users with disabilities to move seamlessly through your website.

Readability

Web content that’s clear, well-structured, and easy to read performs better with both search engines and users. For SEO, content that is more readable is more likely to engage users, lower bounce rates, and improve rankings. Plus, it helps search engines more quickly understand the context of your page and if it matches search queries. 

For accessibility, readability helps those with cognitive disabilities or those who struggle with reading comprehension find and understand information. Using plain language, breaking content into digestible chunks, using readable fonts and colors, and ensuring content is grammatically correct, not only improves the user experience but also ensures content is inclusive for a broader audience

Interactive Elements

Interactive elements — like forms, buttons, menus, etc. — that are designed to be accessible can help improve user engagement, reduce bounce rates, and keep frustration levels low. For example, descriptive buttons and anchor links or error messages that clearly explain where an error occurred on a form improve the overall experience.

Captions and Transcripts

Including captions for videos and transcripts for audio content gives you another opportunity to implement high-performing keywords into your site. Additionally, these methodologies make video content searchable for search engines which can help boost your website’s rankings.

For people with auditory disabilities or hearing impairments, captions and transcripts are essential as they give access to audio content. They also benefit users with situational disabilities like being in a noisy environment.

Optimize Your Website for Accessibility with AudioEye

Expanding the reach of your audience starts with improving your SEO — an easy way to boost your ranking is by enhancing digital accessibility. The best place to start on your accessibility journey? AudioEye.

AudioEye simplifies your path to accessibility with our comprehensive suite of tools. From our free Accessibility Scanner that finds common accessibility issues and our Color Contrast Checker to our Expert Services overseen by our team of human testers, AudioEye enhances the accessibility and inclusivity of your content. With a more accessible, inclusive, and optimized site, you increase your SEO rankings and the overall reach of your digital content. 

Take the first step towards a more accessible and SEO-friendly website with a free accessibility scan. Or schedule a demo to learn more about AudioEye.