How to improve the SEO of your website with accessibility

Web accessibility is booming among companies and users. Getting anyone to discover our space is key to reach the maximum number of potential customers. This implies a need to adapt without reducing the SEO work done. We can even improve this aspect at the same time.

The concept of accessibility

We define accessibility of a website as the ability to make content available to all people regardless of their abilities or limitations. That is, we create an inclusive space in which everyone can navigate and interact.

This means more complexity, it is necessary to cover a wide range of possibilities and to offer solutions adapted to each need. For example, we will have to provide a solution for a blind person to understand what is shown in the image of our space online.

Improving access to information for everyone is at the heart of this concept. But, in doing so, we are applying changes to the website that may affect its positioning. This implies the need to do them in the right way and get them to benefit us in terms of SEO.

The relationship between SEO and web accessibility

The changes made to the website with the aim of improving SEO have a direct relationship with accessibility. By improving visibility to increase organic traffic, we can create an accessible, barrier-free site.

By making the appropriate changes, we will be optimising the user experience regardless of their capabilities. The various optimisation processes lead to an increase in potential visitors. Only in Spain there are four million people with disabilities, a figure that rises to more than one billion worldwide.

But the point where we see a stronger connection between the two elements is in search engine algorithms. They are blind, they do not have the ability to see our website. It is necessary to show it in text and explain its structure.

In conclusion, this relationship extends further and further every day. The weight of user experience in organic positioning continues to grow. This implies the need to facilitate navigation at all levels, improving access to our content for all people.

The key points for improving SEO and web accessibility

Having understood the relationship between both factors, it is time to offer the most efficient solution to achieve success. There are several elements of the website that can be optimized to achieve this dual functionality.

HTML structure

One of the key aspects is the HTML code we use on our site. The different labels that compose it make it possible to create a hierarchical structure that can be understood by those who are not visually impaired.

Proper use <header>, <main> o <nav> among others allows you to read the structure of our website. As we have said, a search engine is blind and these structures make it understand how our content is organised.

Description of images

Image attributes known as alt text are designed to describe the image. This makes it possible to read and understand what it shows. This allows for improved indexing. In addition, we can include keywords in it to get a good positioning in the search for visual content.

Links

“Click here” or “click” as anchor text have no value. The words on which a link is positioned must reflect the destination of the link. As a result, users understand where they are going and the driving force behind the relationship between the two sites. This increases web accessibility for users who use screen readers.

Responsive design

The navigation device is becoming increasingly important. It is essential that our website is adapted and works on both computers and mobiles or tablets. This ability is highly valued by search engines to give a good positioning, more than half of users use smartphone for surfing the web. In this case, the aim is to provide access to the user regardless of the device used.

Use of the keyboard

Many web users cannot use the mouse to navigate, so they use the keyboard instead. Enabling navigation using this element will have a positive impact on user metrics that ultimately impact SEO. This adaptation is one of the most complex, but is cost-effective in the long term.

Contrast design

The choice of background and text colours is key. Achieving a good contrast that is pleasing to the eye allows our website to be read by people with visual difficulties such as colour blindness. It also helps to prevent fatigue for other users. This is another factor that can reduce the bounce rate and improve the user experience.

Video caption

If we have a high level of audiovisual content in our space, it is essential to pay attention to it. Including subtitles allows us to provide a solution for people with hearing difficulties and to provide a description of the content. In addition, they can be incorporated in several languages to break down language barriers and increase our audience.

Quality increase

Browsers allow you to zoom in up to 500% on web pages. It is important to make sure that no quality is lost in the text or images when doing this.

Of course, there are more actions that can be taken to further exploit these concepts. In our Ebook on digital accessibility we show 10 specific actions with which to reach that 15% of the world’s population that suffers from a disability.

Web accessibility is key to reaching a wider audience and inclusive social work. In addition, it can be perfectly complemented by SEO. To carry it out in an efficient way it is necessary a company with experience in this field as Pasiona. Our consulting service will carry out an analysis of the web and offer the most optimal solutions to achieve growth in both concepts.

It’s time to grow up and leave no one behind!