Site accessibility ‘can be linked to SEO’
A lack of consideration for disabled internet users could hold implications for how well a website does in search engine rankings, an expert has claimed.
E-consultancy researcher Graham Charlton said that poor site accessibility could be a reflection of an equally poor search engine marketing strategy.
He also highlighted that businesses could be overlooking lucrative markets by failing to make their sites accessible for the 8.5 million people in the UK who are disabled - with 3.5 million of these unable to use a traditional keyboard at all.
"If your website is not accessible to these people, you are missing out on a vast potential market," Mr Charlton commented, adding: "The other thing is that if your website’s not accessible for disabled users, the chances are that your search engine optimisation is not that great either."
According to E-consultancy’s Usability and Accessibility Buyer’s Guide 2008, the market for web accessibility services is set to expand partly as a result of the growing number of businesses becoming more aware of the importance of usability for online marketing purposes.
