Many have asked the question: Does web accessibility positively impact SEO?
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To date, there have been no conclusive answers.
So, to see what impact (if any) accessibility has on SEO, we created an independent study.
We discovered some intriguing answers along the way.
And now, we’re sharing our results.
You may find this article HERE in its entirety on Accessibility Checker’s website
Summary of Our Findings
If you’re short on time and don’t wish to go through the entire study, here’s the main findings:
One sentence summary of our findings
Our analysis revealed a 12% average increase in overall traffic across the domains examined.
And now, let’s delve deeper into the process that led us to these findings.
The Assumption
Search engines seek the best results for their guests. They’re like internet concierges.
So if accessible websites are the easiest to understand and use, the claim that search engines should recommend accessible pages over inaccessible ones isn’t a big stretch.
Many believe that web accessibility and SEO go hand in hand. This isn’t news.
But there’s no hard evidence.
And even though we don’t really need empirical proof to point out all the ways making your website more accessible is a must-do, backing it up with hard numbers can help you gain the executive buy-in you might need to make it happen.
Why we dug into accessibility as SEO rocket fuel
SEO is a way for your website to become visible to millions of users.
A website can have top-notch content, but most web users won’t see it if Google doesn’t pick it up.
That’s why web providers do everything possible to help their domain rank higher in Google’s search engine.
We know accessibility can make a difference for the disabled community. However, does it have value for SEO and Google ranking?
The Purpose of the Study
The invitation to follow web accessibility guidelines often arrives as a lawsuit. Not fun.
Maybe it’s harder to imagine the accessibility challenges of a digital environment.
Or rather, how little effort it takes to accommodate differently-abled users.
Either way, we can do better to put ourselves in others’ shoes.
We already do it for our marketing campaigns—as we seek to understand our audience and use that knowledge to create compelling copy.
But even the best marketing comes across as hopelessly ignorant if visitors can’t actually get to it.
That’s not all.
Rumour has it that responsible, kind, considerate websites win more traffic.
Go figure! (And figure we did.)
Because, in a data-driven culture, numbers influence decisions.
These findings should nudge website owners to adopt accessibility practices without hesitation.
Our Study at a Glance
In partnership with Semrush and Builtwith, we decided to bridge that numerical gap by conducting an independent study.
We analyzed the organic traffic of 847 web domains before and after plugging into accessibility software.
What did we find?
Why is website accessibility so important?
Website accessibility provides equal access to those with disabilities, improves the overall user experience for everyone, and helps businesses comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Accessibility and SEO: The story so far
- Accessible websites are easier for search engine crawlers to index, meaning that your site is more likely to appear in search results.
- Accessible websites provide a better user experience, which can lead to higher engagement rates and longer time on site. These are both factors that search engines take into account when ranking websites.
- Accessible websites are more likely to be shared since…
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