The Connection Between Web Accessibility and SEO: How Accessibility Can Boost Your Rankings and Drive Traffic
Web accessibility is not just about making websites usable for individuals with disabilities, it can also have a significant impact on your website’s search engine optimization (SEO). In fact, ensuring that your website is accessible to everyone can help improve your rankings and drive more traffic to your site.
A recent study conducted by SEMRUSH in collaboration with AccessibilityChecker.org has shed new light on the connection between web accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO). The study analyzed over 800 websites and uncovered some compelling findings that suggest that web accessibility can have a positive impact on SEO.
Here are the study’s main findings:
- 847 web domains researched
- 12% overall traffic increased on average
- 73.4% of domains saw growth in organic traffic
Why is this the case? Well, search engines like Google strive to provide the best possible user experience for their users. As such, they prioritize websites that are easy to use and navigate, and that provide a positive experience for all users. By making your website accessible, you’re not only helping users with disabilities navigate your site, you’re also creating a better overall user experience that can improve your search engine rankings.
For example, if your website has proper alt tags for images and videos, it can improve the accessibility of your site for visually impaired users who rely on screen readers to navigate the web. At the same time, these alt tags can also provide search engines with valuable information about the content on your site, which can help improve your rankings for relevant search queries.
Likewise, providing closed captions and transcripts for videos not only helps individuals with hearing impairments to understand the content, but it also makes the content more accessible to search engines. With captions and transcripts, search engines can better understand the context and relevance of your videos, which can improve your rankings for related keywords.
Overall, there are many ways in which web accessibility and SEO are closely linked. By prioritizing accessibility on your website, you can create a better user experience for all users, improve your search engine rankings, and drive more traffic to your site. So, if you haven’t already, it’s time to start thinking about how you can make your website more accessible and inclusive for everyone.
