Page is a not externally linkable
- WebmasterWorld
-- Accessibility and Usability
---- Are Accessibility and Usability Synonymous with SEO?
mep00 - 11:35 pm on Feb 5, 2008 (gmt 0)
Accessibility, Usability, and SEO are three different things, each with separate goals:
Accessibility's goal is for users to be able to access the content via multiple platforms, but says nothing about how easy it is to access, nor if search engines index the pages.
Usability's goal if for the site to be easy to use, but doesn't preclude limiting access to but a single platform, nor does it speak of how to get to the site.
SEO's goal is only to get you to the site, but what happens next is irrelevant.
That said, it takes effort to get them to work against oneanother, and when done correctly, Accessibility, Usability, and SEO all complement eachother:
Accessible content forms a good basis for usability for it's hard to use what you can't access. It is also good for SEO because if search engines can access the content, they can index and weigh it.
A useable site will include usefull content, which means more content for a search engine to index, and therefor, weigh more accurately.
One of the most effective methods of SEO is to provide lots of content for the search engine, and the content which is best for the spider is usually also very good for people. And if a search engine can access it, people probably can, too.
It should be noted, just because they each enhance oneanother, with little effort, "little effort" isn't the same as "no effort." Furthermore, to get the most out of each of the three usually takes a lot of effort.
If I were to know nothing about SEO, never heard of it, and I needed to build a site that appealed to a certain audience. If I followed the guidelines above at the WAI, how do you think I would do out of the gate?
It would be a very good start, but races aren't won by starts allone.
Would I have covered 100% of my onsite SEO just by making sure that my users were able to access and use everything?
No; not if the desired search terms are even slightly competitive. Good SEO is a continuous process of adding more and more fresh content. Yes, fresh content, as search engines tend to favor newer content over older content.
