WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

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Re: SEO and accessibility

for

From: Elizabeth J. Pyatt
Date: Oct 30, 2013 7:14AM

To add to what Patrick and Ryan have said, as long as you use headings properly (unique & concise headings, no keyword stuffing), then SEO and accessibility usually go together

An interesting point I saw was that search engine 'bots have the same experience as a screen reader user in that they can only process text. Therefore properly structured headings give the 'bots a good scan of the contents and properly descriptive ALT tags (again no keyword stuffing) also add context for the 'bots. Other accessibility accommodations like unique page titles for Web pages and caption text files for videos are also 'bot friendly.

So...optimizing for accessibility can also add a lot of SEO value.

My two cents

Elizabeth




On Oct 22, 2013, at 2:00 PM, <EMAIL REMOVED> wrote:

> From: Jan Heck < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Subject: [WebAIM] SEO and accessibility
> Date: October 21, 2013 5:56:31 PM EDT
> To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Reply-To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
>
>
> Is anyone aware of specific conflicts between SEO considerations and
> accessibility considerations when it comes to HTML headings (h1 through
> h6)? I'm working with a group putting together a WordPress site, and they
> seem to be under the impression that SEO and accessibility are at odds
> over the appropriate use of headings. I can't find anything that confirms
> that in my searching so far, so I thought I'd ask here.
>
> Thanks,
> Jan

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D.
Instructional Designer
Teaching and Learning with Technology
Penn State University
<EMAIL REMOVED> , (814) 865-0805 or (814) 865-2030 (Main Office)

210 Rider Building (formerly Rider II)
227 W. Beaver Avenue
State College, PA 16801-4819
http://www.personal.psu.edu/ejp10/psu
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