Web accessibility and search engine optimisation might seem like different things, but they’re powerful allies working towards the same goal: creating websites that everyone can use and understand. When you make your site more accessible, you’re simultaneously improving its SEO performance and the data backs this up.
Recent research by Semrush analysed 10,000 websites found that sites with higher accessibility scores enjoyed 23% more organic traffic, ranked for 27% more keywords, and showed 19% stronger authority scores. This isn’t just correlation, it’s proof that accessibility and SEO strategies reinforce each other in meaningful ways.
Understanding Web Accessibility
Web accessibility ensures that websites work for everyone, including people with disabilities. This includes users with visual, auditory, cognitive, physical, and neurological impairments, as well as those facing temporary or situational challenges like someone with a broken arm or trying to browse in bright sunlight.
The practice follows four key principles, known as POUR:
Perceivable: Content must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive, such as providing text alternatives for images.
Operable: Interface components must be operable by all users, including those who navigate by keyboard only.
Understandable: Information and UI operation must be understandable, with clear navigation and consistent functionality.
Robust: Content must be robust enough to work with various assistive technologies, including screen readers and voice recognition software.
These principles align closely with what search engines need to properly crawl, understand, and rank websites. When you make content perceivable to screen readers through proper heading structure and alt text in images, you’re also making it easier for search engine crawlers to understand your content.
How SEO Best Practices Enhance Accessibility
Many established SEO techniques directly improve accessibility without additional effort:
Descriptive Page Titles
Well-crafted page titles serve dual purposes. They help users quickly understand what a page contains: crucial for screen reader users navigating between tabs, whilst also providing search engines with clear signals about page content. Instead of generic titles like “Products | Company Name,” descriptive titles like “Ergonomic Office Chairs for Remote Workers | Company Name” benefit both audiences.
Descriptive Anchor Text
Both search engines and assistive technologies rely on anchor text to understand link destinations. Generic phrases like “click here” or “read more” provide no context, whereas descriptive text like “download our accessibility checklist” clearly indicates what users will find when they follow the link.
Breadcrumb Navigation
Breadcrumbs help users understand their location within a site and provide an easy way to navigate back to parent pages. They also create additional internal linking opportunities that help search engines understand site structure and page relationships.
Alternative Text for Images
Screen readers rely on alt text to describe images to visually impaired users, whilst search engines use it to understand image content for ranking purposes. The key is writing descriptive, contextual alt text rather than keyword-stuffed descriptions that help neither audience.
For decorative images that don’t add informational value, use empty alt attributes (alt=””) to signal that screen readers should skip them, whilst avoiding the SEO penalty that missing alt attributes can incur.
Clear Navigation Menus
Accessible navigation benefits everyone by being logical, consistent, and easy to use. This means:
- Using descriptive menu labels instead of creative but unclear terms
- Maintaining consistent navigation placement across pages
- Ensuring all navigation elements are keyboard accessible
- Providing multiple ways to find content (menus, search, sitemaps)
These practices reduce bounce rates and improve user engagement signals that search engines keep an eye on.
Legible Fonts and Appropriate Colour Contrasts
Readable content hits both accessibility and SEO goals. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines recommend a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text, ensuring content remains readable for users with visual impairments or colour blindness.
From an SEO perspective, readable content reduces bounce rates and increases time on site, both positive ranking signals. Choose fonts that are easy to read across devices and ensure sufficient contrast between text and background colours.
The Business Case for Accessibility-Focused SEO
Beyond the moral reasoning of accessible design, there are compelling business reasons to prioritise accessibility in your SEO strategy:
Legal Compliance: Accessibility laws exist in many countries, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the US, the European Accessibility Act, and the UK Equality Act. High-profile lawsuits against companies like Domino’s and Nike have highlighted the legal risks of inaccessible websites.
Expanded Market Reach: The global disability market represents over one billion people with significant purchasing power. Making your site accessible opens it to this substantial audience whilst improving the experience for all users.
Competitive Advantage: With research showing that 98% of websites have detectable accessibility issues, prioritising both accessibility and SEO puts you ahead of competitors who neglect either discipline.
Futureproofing: As voice search and AI-driven search features become more prevalent, the structured, semantic approach required for accessibility becomes increasingly valuable for SEO success.
You can check your accessibility using free checkers such as the Accessibility Checker to ensure your website meets the high standards set by your government.
Building an Inclusive Future
The coming together of SEO and accessibility represents more than just technical best practices; it reflects a shift towards user-centred web design. When you optimise for screen readers, you’re also optimising for voice search. When you structure content clearly for cognitive accessibility, you’re also making it easier for search engines to understand.
This alignment means you don’t need to choose between inclusive design and search visibility. Instead, by implementing accessibility best practices, you’re building websites that work better for everyone whilst performing better in search results.
The path forward is clear: prioritise accessibility in your SEO strategy, test regularly, and remember that good SEO has always been about creating the best possible experience for all your users.
