Every successful digital marketing strategy relies on a combination of tactics—including social media, email campaigns, and influencer collaborations—to attract, engage, and convert. And for any business looking to increase online awareness, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an integral part of this mix.
After all, Google—the world’s most popular search engine—is users’ primary gateway to information, products, and services. If your website isn’t optimised for Google, you’re limiting the reach and impact of your digital content.
But ranking on Google involves more than incorporating the right keywords and links. There’s one crucial piece of the SEO playbook that many marketers overlook: web accessibility.
It’s estimated that 1.3 billion people worldwide live with various disabilities—and web accessibility barriers can make it difficult, if not impossible, for these users to navigate your content. Ensuring your website is accessible to people with disabilities is not only a pillar of inclusive marketing, but also a best practice for SEO.
So, how do you make sure everyone, no matter their ability, can easily navigate your site while also improving your SEO performance?
Focus on the user
“Focus on the user, and all else will follow.” – Google
Google has made it clear that user experience is a key factor in determining search rankings, with the algorithm rewarding sites that prioritise “people-first content.”
Neglecting accessibility can lead to broken or frustrating user experiences. Barriers like inaccessible form fields, missing alt text, or a poorly designed navigation menu may disrupt—or even completely derail—a user’s journey. And by negatively impacting users, these issues negatively impact your search performance.
As Google’s Senior Search Analyst John Mueller points out, if a website is hard to use, people will leave and find a more user-friendly alternative—and the search engine notices when that happens. Yet even for website owners committed to SEO, accessibility often remains an afterthought. According to WebAIM, 96% of the top one million home pages contain accessibility issues.
WCAG: Your web accessibility roadmap
We’ve established that, in the race for top search rankings, accessibility is your competitive edge. But to make your site usable for everyone, you’ll need a roadmap. Enter the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)—the global gold standard for creating accessible digital spaces. WCAG outlines clear, technical criteria that websites, mobile apps, and other digital content should meet to be accessible to all users.
Conforming with these guidelines can help your SEO strategy soar. Aligning with WCAG standards sharpens your website’s structure, enhances readability, and improves navigability. These are exactly the qualities search engines like Google love, helping your site rank higher and earn more traffic.
It’s no surprise that, according to Gartner, digital products that conform with WCAG are expected to have a 50% higher market performance than their non-compliant competition.
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5 accessibility essentials to boost your SEO
Making your website accessible (and reaping those SEO rewards!) doesn’t have to require a massive overhaul. Small changes can make a significant impact. Here are five accessibility best practices that can boost your rankings:
- Add alt text to images
Google has called alt text a fundamental tool for SEO and accessibility. By adding descriptive alt text to every image, you’re helping screen reader users interpret visual elements and giving search engines valuable context about your content. Well-written alt text is clear, concise, and relevant.
- Organise your headings
A clear heading structure does wonders for both accessibility and SEO. Make sure each page has a single H1 that sums up the main topic, and then use H2s, H3s, and so on to break down sections logically. Not only do screen readers rely on this structure, but search engines do, too. A well-organised heading hierarchy makes your content easier to understand for users and more digestible for search algorithms.
- Use descriptive anchor text
Vague link text like “Click here” is a missed opportunity, both for your site’s usability and for its SEO. Instead, use descriptive link text that gives users (and search engines) a clear idea of a link’s destination. For instance, if you’re linking to a blog on SEO best practices, say “Explore our top SEO tips” instead of “Read more.” This makes navigating easier for people using screen readers and helps Google understand the relevance of your links.
- Include captions and transcripts for video content
If your website includes video content with audio, captions and transcripts aren’t just optional extras—they’re essential for making it accessible and SEO-friendly. People who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may require captions and / or transcripts in order to engage with your videos. Captions also help users in noisy settings or places where sound needs to be off, ultimately resulting in more views—and, in turn, stronger search performance.
- Take advantage of accessibility tools
Web accessibility may feel complex at first—but software tools can help you find and fix many accessibility errors on your website, improving usability and giving your SEO a boost. For example, UserWay’s Accessibility Widget automatically scans your site for common issues and addresses them for end users. The Widget also contains optional personalisation tools that allow visitors to customise their experience by making adjustments like increasing text size and enhancing colour contrast. It’s an easy way to start making immediate improvements to users’ experience—and your website’s performance.
In fact, by strengthening Natural Intelligence’s accessibility efforts, the Accessibility Widget helped them hit their marketing goals. Their bounce rates dropped by 0.5%, earnings per click increased by 2.4%, and earnings per visitor jumped 3.5%.
Elevate your SEO with accessibility
By taking thoughtful steps toward accessibility, you’re improving its usability and strengthening your SEO—but the benefits don’t stop there.
Providing an inclusive user experience can also mitigate legal risks and enhance your brand’s reputation at a time when values are an important factor in consumers’ buying decisions. It’s a clear win-win for users and for your business.
