SEO and Accessibility

Christian Heilmann, February 2008, London, UKchris.heilmann@gmail.com / http://wait-till-i.com

SEO and Accessibility

Finding common ground

What are things that both search engine robots and people

like?

✓ Good page titles

✓ Headings

✓ Links to follow

✓ Data, Data, Data

Robots

✓ Information upfront

✓ Easy to take in chunks of information

✓ Things that work

✓ No confusionHumans

✓ No superfluous animations!

What do we think humans want?

BIG SHINY THINGS!

So this is how we build web sites.

✓ Make them pretty

✓ Make them engaging

✓ Big buttons, possibly animated

✓ Make them “something new”

✓ Social, oh yes!

✓ We got your social right here: “send to friend”!

✓ Set up a marketing plan, talk to the right people about them!

This is also how we make them

inaccessible and a pain to maintain.

The first thing we should think about is environment and

availability.

Titles: the first impression.

<title>The business case for web standards | Main / Home Page</title>

<title>The business case for web standards | Main / Home Page</title>

<title>The business case for web standards | Main / Home Page</title>

<title>The business case for web standards | Main / Home Page</title>

<title>The business case for web standards | Main / Home Page</title>

Keywords & Descriptions?

How is all of this accessibility?

Even if the rest of your site is

inaccessible...

... this information and mashups can

make the data accessible!

What about headings?

Steps to a better developer life Getting rid of existing problems Click the start button on your Windows Select "Shut Down" Replace with a Mac Taking your first steps into a larger world Start Mac Get Textmate Get VirtueDesktops Get Quicksilver Linking back to the days or olde Get Parallels, test on Windows

Steps to a better developer life

Getting rid of existing problems

• Click the start button on your windows

• Select "Shut Down"

• Replace with a Mac

Taking your first steps into a larger world

• Start Mac

• Get Textmate

• Get VirtueDesktops

• Get Quicksilver

Linking back to the days of olde

• Get Parallels, test on Windows

Provide hooks and milestones.

Do not overpromise, it causes grief.

<a href=”javascript:boo()”>

is not a link.

<script src=”magicbadge.js”></script>

is not a link.

Do not expect scripting to work.

It might not!

Avoid confusion.

Don’t understand an icon?

Not sure if it’ll load?

Alternative text to the rescue!

Accessibility =

SEO =

Common Sense

Questions?

Flickr Thnks

Robot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uberculture/1385828839/

Powers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/esparta/482348262/

Shiny thing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/restlessglobetrotter/2004524018/

Sheep: http://flickr.com/photos/gi/95023423

Kids:http://flickr.com/photos/yogi/58372577/