In this blog post, I will discuss five of the usual SEO practices we perform and how they contribute to website accessibility, and I will add five more practices you can adopt to make your website accessible to everyone. Note: I made use of assistive technology to ensure the accuracy of this article. Optimizing title tags The title tag is your webpage title. users and the search engines. This helps with website accessibility since for visually impaired users, the title tag is read by the screen reader as the page loads, making it their introduction to your website. Optimizing title tags for website accessibility For example, the photo above shows the SEO Hacker title tag.
Aside from the title tag containing a
keyword we want to rank for, it also signals to visually impaired individuals that they are in a Philippine SEO agency website. Editing the URL slug to be descriptive and accurate A URL slug that is unoptimized or confusing will be difficult not just for search engines to understand, but also people. First, it will be very difficult to remember. Second, they could be gibberish and as a result, frustrating to listen to. Check out this Forbes article URL: Editing Forbes URL slug for website accessibility Now, imagine that you are using a screen reader. It will read the entire URL to you, so before and after you listen to the important part of the URL slug, you will also have to listen to the unhelpful portions.
On the other hand, there are descriptive URLs
that are still unhelpful because they are inaccurate. As a rule, ensure your URL slug is descriptive and accurate to help your user know they are on the correct page of your website. Check out this example from the Leadership Stack blog post: Optimized Leadership Stack URL slug for website accessibility Based on the URL above, you know exactly what webpage you will be accessing. This helps with website accessibility as it gives quick and accurate information to the users, and they can move on to other areas of the page quickly. Adding alt text to images The alt text is what users encounter when the image does not load properly.
The alt text is also read by screen readers, so
this helps visually impaired people know that there is an image and what it’s about. Not putting an image alt text removes your chances of having your image rank in image search, and it becomes a barrier for visually impaired users to understand your content better. For example, in the photo below the image has an alt text that says “Know The Signs Of Employee Burnout.” Leadership stack image alt text for website accessibility This means that alt texts should be descriptive not just for SEO but also website accessibility, as it helps the visually impaired understand the image itself.
Adding proper headings to content The headers
of your page structure content for t belize phone number library he search engine and the users. This practice is not just good for rankings, but it helps with website accessibility. Putting proper headers on your page ensures website accessibility for the visually impaired because the screen readers will be able to interpret the page more accurately. Hence, it will help them not just to understand the organization of your content, but to navigate it easier as well. For example, in the photo below you will see two highlighted headers. The header saying “Before you begin” is in H2, while the “Create your findings document first” heading is in H3.
A visually impaired user utilizing a screen reader
and a keyboard will hear these texts read as “H2, before you begin” and “H3, create your findings document first.” Adding proper headings to content for website accessibility Rule of thumb: Your main header must be in H1, then the sub-headers must be in H2, H3, and so on. Limiting intrusive interstitials Interstitials are the annoying interruption marketing tactic where ads pop up on the page. Some intrusive interstitials can negatively affect your SEO, pulling your rankings down. But that is not the only reason why you should be limiting these pop-ups. Aside from the obvious downsides, they also restrict website accessibility.
Pop-ups that cover a page, YouTube videos automatically
playing in the sidebar—these can when to get ready for christmas shopping make your page a nightmare for users with developmental disabilities and even anxiety. If you get stressed when you have all these “noisy” elements on and around a webpage, what more users who have to navigate a page through sound, have trouble with sudden sounds, or those who have to take extra steps to close the pop-ups? One of my team members, for example, feels physically ill whenever they access a website that has multiple interstitials because they trigger sensory overload. As a result, they avoid those sites as much as possible to avoid triggering their anxiety.
Limiting interstitials can help with website
accessibility because all kinds of users uk data will have an easy time accessing and staying in your website. Making your website screen reader-friendly There are instances in which the content layout of our webpage suddenly shifts due to ads and other elements of our page. This is called a Cumulative Layout Shift or CLS. These layout shifts can be frustrating for visually impaired users. Since they are reliant on screen readers, these layout shifts can cause them toreading. Screen readers such as NVDA don’t just read the contents of the page, they also read specifically what the user’s cursor is pointing at.