View accessibility as a ranking factor

Heike says: “You need to see accessibility as a ranking factor because that will be more and more important in the coming year – and the years to come.”

Why will accessibility be a ranking factor?

“If we look at society, people have different needs, different abilities, etc. We need to have a look at how we can make that more accessible with our SEO: how your content can be found better, and how it can be processed more easily for everybody.

I’m a strong believer that Google and other search engines will make catering to a wider range of people a priority. Instead of search engine optimization, I like to refer to search experience optimization, so that we improve the search experience for people.

That way, even people who have visual impairments, or any other disabilities, can also find all of the information that they need online.”

How significant of a ranking factor will this be?

“In the beginning, it might not be something major but, in the years to come, it will become increasingly important. For example, more and more people are being diagnosed and finding out that they have autism, ADHD, etc. We are also becoming more aware of other disabilities.

It’s the same thing with screen readers, image IDs, etc. There’s a lot more information that needs to be shared, and the ways that things are being looked up will change. The way that you can look at an image with AI technology is changing how that’s been read, so that’s quite important.

Also, you need to be clearer on the information that you give in search and feed to the system – and much more besides.”

Why does accessibility seem to be more important now than it used to be?

“It is catering for a public that was not catered for before. In the beginning, SEO was invented to make sure that the internet is accessible to everybody. Technically, we are going back to what we used to be before, by making sure that everything is accessible and can be found properly.

We are also seeing, with the recent updates from Google, that the focus is more on how well the user is served. It’s not just what is written, but is it relevant, is it correct, and is it really what people are looking for?”

Do you think we’ll see a sudden shift in rankings or is this a subtle change that will happen over the next few years?

“To be honest, with Google, you never know. We have seen algorithm updates where they say it will be a subtle change and then everything crashes down.

With all of the technology changes, the plan seems to be that it will be a subtle change over the coming years. However, it is something that many SEO agencies and companies need to start looking into – especially in the European Union with the new laws coming in regarding accessibility.

The fact that this is going to be law in the EU is a good indicator that these things will be picked up by other organisations, and it will play a pivotal role in how you’re being found online.

Under the European Accessibility Act, you need to make your website more accessible for a wider range of users – including those with visual impairments, limited capabilities, and many other disabilities. People with dyslexia need to be able to increase the font size of the text and change the colour of the background. With your images, you want to really explain what each image is about.

People with visual impairments need to have the capability of reading what’s on the screen. That’s one of the reasons why it is important that you have a good description alongside your images.

However, another part of it is accessible branding. Accessible branding means that a user can recognise everything around your branding and tools like screen readers will not have issues with that.

It is quite a wide and important legislation that will be introduced in Europe – and will come over to the United Kingdom over time. If you trade in the European Union, start sooner rather than later, because the proposed fines for non-compliance are not small.”

Can you become compliant with all of this legislation just by using a modern CMS or are there elements that SEOs and UX designers have to check themselves?

“There’s always a human aspect to it. You always need to make sure that you check whether everything is up to scratch. In the age we live in now, with the rapid development of technology, there will be CMS systems that can do part of it.

There will be automatic checks but, at the end of the day, it is important to have that human aspect to it – doing proper audits on the system and getting outside information on it also.”

How are those audits conducted and how do you know that your accessibility has actually improved?

“I always advise working with accessibility specialists that use lived experience peer groups, stakeholder conversations, and user conversations. They can have a look at how it is now, what needs to be improved, and make checklists. It can be very beneficial to have conversations, consultations, etc, with another party.

It can be quite an in-depth and detailed report, or it can be a smaller report with smaller details in it, but it is useful to set up a company to at least help you with certain things. Accessibility specialists will produce that report, then you have the opportunity to implement the findings. Sometimes there are smaller solutions to an issue than what they might suggest.

You don’t need to do an audit every few months but, as with anything in SEO, it is good to have a regular MOT. Check if everything is still working and up to date. Just like in SEO, everything changes all the time.

It’s always good to get feedback from the end user on how they experience it. What are they doing on the website? What are the steps they’re going through? Is it working? Are you reaching the right audience?”

Is there software that you would recommend for monitoring a site’s accessibility performance?

“I work with people who do these audits, and there is not a single piece of software specifically for it at the moment. You have different parts of software that can help check on certain things. Some can look at what colours you use, and how accessible that is. Others can check on fonts, and some will combine different bits and pieces.

Over the next year, we will see more and more of this software coming on the market, and other new developments as well.”

When you look at a big brand’s website for the first time, what are the most prominent accessibility issues that you tend to find?

“The biggest one I normally see is a lack of image IDs – where an image has no explanation to it, and no alt text. You need to use image IDs to describe what’s in a picture in more detail.

Also, brands often use fonts on pictures and backgrounds, which makes it harder to read. That can also block certain software, like screen readers, from interpreting that text and communicating it to the user. Brands often have images and other things that are more built into the website, which is not accessible.

There are quite a few things that can be an issue, but normally it is the images themselves, not using proper colour contrast, and incorporating colours in the design that make it harder to read.”

Are screen readers and search engines becoming clever enough to make sense of content, whether it’s marked up correctly or not?

“Technology is getting better at reading websites, but you also need to make sure it is correct for the end user: the person who will look something up, go onto the website, and then read the information on there.

In SEO, you can send anybody to a website, but if the website is not up to scratch with what they expect then they will not convert. There are always things that you can do. If you use image IDs, that will also help your SEO. It gives people a better idea of what it is about when they are going to the website.”

If an organisation is not prioritising accessibility, do you simply tell them about the upcoming legislation or do you attempt to put financial value on it?

“Both. First, you give them the urgency of the legislation, especially if they are trading with any countries in the European Union. If they don’t become compliant, they are liable to fines.

However, you should also explain how large a chunk of possible income they are missing out within their service area. If your information is not accessible to the people that you want to reach, you will miss out on that audience, and it can be quite big.

If you’re selling products and you use a lot of images to describe your products, but you don’t have an image description or name attached, how would someone with a visual impairment know what the product is about? There is a good chunk of people who will say, ‘Okay, this is not for me then’ and go to your competitor.”

If an SEO is struggling for time, what should they stop doing right now so they can spend more time doing what you suggest in 2025?

“Make sure that you use correct image IDs, alt tags, and proper descriptions. Stop using ‘Picture number 5’, ‘Homepage picture’, and descriptions like that.

Some of that can be automated using AI. Personally, I am from a generation that grew up with old computers, but I think that AI is a great tool to have. It helps people. I have dyslexia, and it’s a great tool to help me with certain types of writing, but it will not replace good, quality text.

As it is at the moment, it will not replace everything.”

Heike Knip is Founder at The Good SEO Company, and you can find him over at TheGoodSEOCompany.com.