The document discusses the intersection between search engine optimization (SEO) and digital accessibility. It covers that digital accessibility is about making websites easy for all users, including those using assistive technologies like screen readers. Some key areas where SEO and accessibility intersect include internal linking, page titles, headings, and alt text. While there are similarities in best practices, there are also some divergences. The document concludes that search engines are starting to measure accessibility and there is still progress to be made, but following principles in both areas can help websites.

1. The intersection
between SEO and
accessibility
Slideshare.Net/JessMackereth
@JessMackereth
Jess Mackereth
Torchbox

5. What I’ll cover
What is digital accessibility?

6. What I’ll cover
What is digital accessibility?
Why is digital accessibility important?

7. What I’ll cover
What is digital accessibility?
Why is digital accessibility important?
How do SEO and accessibility intersect?

8. What I’ll cover
What is digital accessibility?
Why is digital accessibility important?
How do SEO and accessibility intersect?
The future of SEO and accessibility

9. Digital accessibility is about making
your website easy for everyone to use

10. £17
billion
£274
billion
The spending power
of disabled people
per year
Lost revenue due to
accessibility
barriers

11. Why is digital
accessibility
important?
NHS Accessibility Guidance

12. Accessibility
technology

13. What is a
screen reader?

14. Search engines and
screen readers are
similar

15. SEO best practices are
similar to accessibility
best practices

16. Features which intersect
(and diverge)
Internal links
Page titles
Headings
Alt text

17. Internal linking

18. Internal linking - intersection
Avoid ambiguous
phrases
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

19. Internal linking - intersection
Don't use URL as
anchor text
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

20. Internal linking - intersection
Avoid using the same
anchor text for two
different pages
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

21. Page title

22. Page titles - intersection
Unique
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

23. Page titles - intersection
Concise and
descriptive
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

24. Page titles - intersection
Description of the
page followed by the
brand name
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

25. Page titles - divergence
Google crawls
entire title tag
SEO ACCESSIBILITY
Screen readers
only read out
what is displayed
on the SERP

26. Headings

27. H1 - intersection
Every page
should have
one H1
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

28. H1 - intersection
Should clearly explain
what the content of
the page is
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

29. H1 - divergence
H1 and title tag
do not need to
be exactly the
same
SEO ACCESSIBILITY
H1 must
match part of
the title tag

30. Headings - intersection
Headings should be
nested
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

31. Alt text

32. Alt text - intersection
Every image
should have
an alt
attribute
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

33. If the image were deleted,
would important content be
lost?

34. Alt text - intersection
Alt text should be
used on images
which are functional
to the page
SEO ACCESSIBILITY
Web Accessibility
Initiative's alt
Decision Tree

35. Alt text - intersection
Context is key
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

36. Alt text - intersection
Don't start with
"picture of..." or
"image of..."
SEO ACCESSIBILITY

37. Alt text - divergence
Google will read
up to 16 words
SEO ACCESSIBILITY
Fewer than 125
characters

38. The future of SEO
and accessibility

39. Google is
already
measuring
accessibility…

40. We’re talking about
the same thing

41. There is still a long way to go
20% of homepages have
more than one <h1>

42. There is still a long way to go
23% of homepage
images had
missing
alternative text

43. There is still a long way to go
18% of pages had
ambiguous link
text
WebAIM Million 2022

44. What next?
If you want to know more about
accessibility, here are some
resources:
● WCAG Accessibility Fundamentals
● Why Accessibility Matters for SEO
● Accessibility Checklist

45. SEO for Charities, Nonprofits & the Public Sector
Jess Mackereth
Torchbox
Slideshare.Net/JessMackereth
@JessMackereth @torchbox