20 March 2007

Websites must be compatible with accessibility standards in order to be recognised by search spiders, one expert has claimed.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) specialist Mike Valentine, writing on WebProNews, said that spiders are "blind and can't hear" - logically determining that designing for these user requirements would impact directly on search performance.

Mr Valentine said that the issues of accessibility and SEO success, which have historically been regarded as wholly separate design challenges, "are true soul-mates and should never be separated".

"Profitability is related to accessibility, which is now married to SEO," he asserted.

This ultimately means that accessibility and its positive impact upon search engine rankings will help to ensure that a commercial online portal fulfils its required role of generating profit for an enterprise, he concluded.

Furthermore, he noted that designing to accessibility standards will avoid a lawsuit, such as that currently faced by US retail giant Target.

The National Federation of the Blind brought the case, which alleges that Target's online offering is not accessible for disabled persons, therefore violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has similar requirements to the UK's Disability Discrimination Act.

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