Web accessibility affects far more people than most ever realize. Real people, millions of them, use the internet differently due to a disability. A screen reader might be someone’s eyes, captions someone else’s ears. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) even considers websites to be public spaces because, at this point, they are.
A website that is easy for people to use is also easier for search engines to understand. Search engines read a site much like a visitor does. They follow links, look at headings, read alt text, and observe how pages connect. Search engines' comprehension of your website is often reflected in how easily users can navigate it.
Here are ten ways accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO) go hand-in-hand, and how concentrating on one will inevitably benefit the other.
1. Accessible Navigation Enhances Crawlability
Navigation is one of the first things accessibility touches. Visitors are most satisfied with sites where they can rarely get lost, sites with menus in logical order, labeled clearly, and consistent page-to-page. People using screen readers or keyboards rely on that structure to get around the site.
Search engines benefit from that same clarity. A crawler follows links the same way a user does. Organized navigation creates a clear path, and a clear path is what gets indexed.
2. Readable Content Boosts Engagement
People usually don’t read everything you write. They scan. They slow down when something interests them. Accessibility leans on that reality; it calls for content that is easy to follow for anyone. Contrast matters too. Text should sit against the background with enough difference in color that it actually looks readable, around a 4.5:1 contrast ratio for most or 3:1 for larger text, per W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Strong contrast also keeps people reading. People stay longer when the page feels easy on the eyes and the layout leaves room to breathe. Search engines pick up on that. Time on page and reduced bounce rates are the byproducts of writing and design choices that serve the reader.
3. Proper Use of Headings Improves Structure
Headings set the rhythm of a page. They separate ideas and help readers understand how content fits together. Web accessibility depends on that structure, as screen readers use headings to jump between sections, and users scanning by sight use them to understand where they are.
Search engines read pages in much the same way. One clear H1 for the main topic, subtopics organized under H2s and H3, helps both readers and crawlers follow what’s important and how ideas connect.
4. Descriptive Alt Text Increases Image SEO
Alt text is just a short description of what’s in the image. It exists so people who cannot see the image still know what’s there. Screen readers read it out loud; search engines use it to make sense of visual content.
The only rule is to keep it true to the image and clear, written so someone hearing it would understand what’s shown.
5. Accurate Captions and Transcripts Enrich Keyword Data
A video without captions assumes everyone can hear and understand it the same way, but that is rarely the case. Captions make it accessible to more people, such as those with hearing loss, those watching on mute.
Transcripts convert sound into text a crawler can index and a user can search. The video stops being a closed box and becomes a visible part of the page. Search engines read the text the same way a person skims through an article to get the main idea.
6. Semantic HTML Makes Content Easier to Understand
Semantic HTML gives meaning to structure. Tags like <header>, <nav>, and <article> inform both users and search engines about the purpose of each part of a page. Screen readers trace these markers to make sense of what’s on the screen. Search engines follow that same trail.
Bad markup breaks that sense of place. The code stops matching what’s actually there, and both people and crawlers start guessing. Pages like that feel incomplete, as if the surface doesn’t match the framework beneath.
7. Descriptive Anchor Text Strengthens Internal Linking
Links are part of how people move through a page. Screen readers read them aloud, so a vague “click here” can read like a dead end. A link should make sense on its own and hint at what’s waiting on the other side. Search engines follow those same paths and read the wording to see how each page connects to the next.
Descriptive link text gives both people and crawlers direction that carries meaning. Accessibility makes the links readable; good writing makes them worth following. Together they turn plain navigation into structure that holds.
8. Fast and Accessible Performance Improves Rankings
A site that drags is a site that drives people away. Sometimes the page never fully opens, and anyone using assistive tech will hit a wall. Website accessibility begins in the first second, in how quickly a page answers.
Most of what causes this is self-inflicted. Extra code. Tracking scripts. Oversized images. All of it adds delay. Cut it back until the page loads clean and nothing gets in the way. Faster sites get crawled and ranked more often.
9. Mobile Accessibility Aligns with Mobile-First Indexing
Mobile is where most people meet a site for the first time, and often the only place they ever will. On a phone, space is limited, attention even more so. Pages that can’t adapt shut people out before anything even loads. Responsive, accessible design prevents that collapse and lets the content stay clear no matter how it’s reached.
Search engines read those same signals. Mobile-first indexing prioritizes the version of the site people actually use. A page that functions cleanly on a phone is the one that gets seen, crawled, and ranked.
10. Inclusive Design Expands Audience and Engagement
Accessibility broadens the reach of a site in ways that metrics only hint at. It lets people take part who were once pushed aside by design choices that favored ease of build over ease of use.
Search engines notice the signals of life that appear when a site is genuinely usable. Those signals only emerge on a website that actually works for everyone.
Is Your Website Accessible?
Website accessibility helps people before anything else; that’s always been the point. But it also makes everything about your site work better. Pages load faster. Content makes sense. Search engines can finally see what visitors already value.
An accessible website shows care for the people using it and respect for how they experience the web. This consideration manifests in the outcomes.
We built a free tool that checks your site for ADA compliance issues. Run your site through it here.
Foremost Media can help you improve accessibility and SEO so your site reaches everyone who’s looking for you and more. Contact our team today.