How can accessibility changes to your website improve SEO?

The difference between paid search (PPC) and SEO
06
Jan

Usability and function is often the most important aspect of any website design. Functionality and practicality is essential for driving traffic to your website, and for increasing sales and sign ups, once people have clicked through to your website. This functionality also needs to be in line with your aesthetic design, for a cohesive and effective website. As part of the functionality of your website, you should consider accessibility and accessible design. But what does this involve? And how can accessibility changes to your website improve SEO?

What is accessible web design?

Accessibility refers to making digital content usable for individuals with various disabilities, including visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor impairments. As such, accessibility improvements might include adding alternative text for images, providing keyboard navigation, or ensuring clear, readable typography. As you can see, these changes will also have a significantly beneficial impact for all website users, making your website easy to read, use and understand.

When making accessibility changes to your website you may notice that this also improves your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This is because the principles of accessibility and SEO overlap significantly, with both aiming to create a better user experience and make information more discoverable.

So how can accessibility changes to your website improve SEO?

Altering your website with accessibility changes in mind can bring a number of unexpected benefits to your SEO. These benefits include:

  • Improving website structure
  • Alternative text for images
  • Video and audio content accessibility
  • Faster page load time
  • Mobile friendly design
  • Readable content

Accessibility changes can improve website structure

As part of accessibility in web design, clear, logical navigation is essential. This means designing features like well-structured menus, consistent headings, and using relevant and effective internal linking. All of these changes can make it easier for users to find what they need.

Search engine crawlers, like Googlebot, also rely on structured navigation to index pages effectively. As a result, by implementing accessibility improvements such as semantic HTML and proper use of header tags (<h1>, <h2>, etc.), you can make it easier for search engines to understand your content and rank it appropriately.

Accessibility changes involve alternative text for images

Adding descriptive alternative (alt) text to images is a core accessibility practice that helps visually impaired users understand the context of visual content using screen readers. It also benefits SEO, as search engines use alt text to understand what an image depicts. This can lead to the images used on your website ranking in the image result pages, ultimately driving more traffic to your website.

Video and audio content accessibility

Multimedia content like videos and podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, but ensuring this content is accessible is crucial. Adding captions and transcripts allows people with hearing impairments to engage with your content. This can make your website relevant and useful for all of your users

From an SEO perspective, transcripts also provide search engines with text to index, and this can be very beneficial for improving your site’s relevance for certain keywords. These keywords will be used throughout your video, and so will be part of the written transcript, allowing this to be indexed by search engines, improving your websites visibility and rank.

Faster page load times

Page speed is an essential aspect of web accessibility, as slow-loading pages can frustrate users, especially those with limited bandwidth or using older devices. Accessibility improvements like optimising images, using clean code, and minimising unnecessary elements can drastically improve load times.

These accessibility changes can also help to improve your SEO, as search engines, particularly Google, prioritise fast-loading websites in their rankings. Websites that load quickly also experience reduced bounce rates, which is one indicator that shows the quality of your website to search engines, again helping to improve ranking.

Mobile friendly design

Making accessibility changes means ensuring that your website is optimised for various screen sizes and devices. This allows everyone to access and use your website easily.

Currently, a significant portion of internet users access websites via mobile devices. As a result, Google has adopted mobile-first indexing. This is an algorithm change that considers the mobile version of a website the primary version for ranking. As such, changes made for accessibility on all devices can have a positive impact on your SEO, allowing your website to rank highly and driving more traffic to your site.

Readable content and clear typography

Finally, accessible websites also prioritise legible fonts, sufficient colour contrast, and easy to read text. These factors benefit users with visual impairments, such as colour blindness, while also improving general usability.

From an SEO perspective, clear and concise content helps search engines understand your site’s purpose and can improve the amount of time users spend on your page. This indicates a greater user satisfaction and can help your website rank higher.

What are the wider benefits of accessibility for SEO?

There are a number of wider benefits to your SEO strategy when designing for accessibility. These include:

  • Increased reach and engagement- Improving accessibility can help you reach a wider audience, including individuals with disabilities, older adults, and those using assistive technologies. As more people access and engage with your site, positive user signals (e.g. lower bounce rates, longer session durations) are sent to search engines, improving rankings.
  • Enhanced brand reputation- Websites that prioritise accessibility demonstrate a commitment to quality and care, and this can help to improve your brand’s reputation online.
  • Better user experience- Ultimately, accessibility changes create a better experience for all users, not just those with disabilities. By focusing on universal design principles, you can attract repeat visitors and create consumer loyalty, both of which are crucial for SEO.

Here at Pumpkin Web Design, we are Preston’s leading web design and web marketing experts. From SEO to content, we are the team you can count on for your businesses online success. Why not get in touch today to find out more?

Pumpkin Web Design Ltd is a small and highly results driven digital agency working for like minded clients in Preston, Chorley, Southport, Blackburn, Burnley, Morecambe,Wigan, Manchester, London, Warrington, Blackpool, Lancaster, Leyland, Lytham St Annes, Bolton, Chester and the UK. Our services include web design, SEO, content marketing, video production, brand design and much more.