Session Title
Accessible Content Strategy Improves SEO and Usability
Presenter
Charlene Zvolanek, MRM Worldwide
Session Type: Demonstration
Starting with a demonstration of what a screen reader provides to a vision impaired or mobility impaired user, (and what a search engine would spider) on two different sites, we will shock the audience with examples of how inaccessible a site can truly be.
We will briefly discuss the Target and Oracle accessibility lawsuits in conjunction with planning for accessibility, even when it is not a client requirement. This will lead into an overview of the similarities between Section 508 requirements, and best practices for coding sites with SEO in mind.
The remainder of the 40 minutes will include a panel discussion with SEO, Accessibility and Content Strategist professionals, on how to plan early to create accessible and SEO friendly content as part of your process. Since this touches different parts of a web project process, developers, copywriters, planners and designers must be educated on the whys and hows of how their contribution can build an inherently accessible (or inaccessible) site.
Biography
An accessibility evangelist since working with the late Dr. John Slatin at the University of Texas at Austin Accessibility Institute, Charlene now spends her days developing content strategy and planning user experiences as part of an integrated in-house UX team for the MRM Worldwide San Francisco office.
Still perplexed that semantic page coding has not been more widely adopted due to the positive impacts to SEO and accessibility, my goals are to inform and influence to drive adoption of universal design.
One Comment
Accessibility, SEO and Usability all in one demo…where do I sign up. This is something that nobody wants to jump into themselves or bother with until they see the results you can actually get from doing it right. “Still perplexed that semantic page coding has not been more widely adopted due to the positive impacts to SEO and accessibility”. Like I said, sign me up.