Google webmaster centeral provides tips for accessible content

Submitted by SEOFortLauderdale on January 15, 2011 - 2:10pm

It is fairly standard stuff for those us in the web design business, but many times things that appear to be common sense are sometimes not so easy for others to see. Accessible content assists with the user experience and thus also assists with SEO.

Google writes that, logically, easily accessible content on your site can make a big difference. Users will have a better experience when a site helps them achieve their goals, find and understand its content. Having an accessible site not only empowers users, it also helps the search engines get a clear understanding of the content on your site and what your site is really about.

So if you are committed to enhancing your websites user experience, improving your content accessibility is a great way to start. There are many features you can add to make your site more accessible.

Google indicates 3 of them:

Intuitive navigation
Concise, descriptive anchor text for links
Unique, accurate page titles throughout the site

Intuitive Navigation - Don't Make Me Think
The title of a great book by Steve Krug, it really applies to all website usability, but navigation in general should be easy to follow and just make sense.

Three features you can implement:

Navigational menu: Having a consistent menu with links to the site’s most important pages is the fastest, easiest way to show users where to click next. Keep the primary links the same on every page if possible
Text-based links: Stay with readable text (vs. images) whenever possible. Drop-down menus, image-based links, and animation-based links can be appealing, keep in mind that users on text-only devices and some search engines may not be able to see or understand these links (mobile devices included). Thus, many users prefer text-based links, which are also easier for search engines to crawl and interpret.
User-viewable site map: Have a single page that shows all of the pages on your site and how they are structured and interlinked. By providing this information, you display the structure of your site and give the user easy one-click navigation. If users are having trouble finding specific pages on your site, a site map can help them find their way.

Concise, descriptive anchor text for links

Anchor text -- the clickable text of a link -- can help users easily decide which links they want to click on and find out more about. Meaningful anchor text makes it easier for users to navigate around your site and also helps the search engines understand what the destination page is about.

When writing anchor text, keep two things in mind:

Be descriptive: Use words that are relevant to the destination page, avoiding generic phrases like “click here” or “article.” Make sure the user can get a snapshot of the destination page’s overall content and functionality by reading the anchor text.
Keep it concise: Anchor text that contains a few words or a short phrase is more attractive and convenient for users to read than a sentence or paragraph-long link.

Unique, accurate page titles throughout the site

Each page on your site is different, make sure you use a unique title on each page to accurately describe it. Giving each page a unique title lets search engines know how that page is distinct from others within your site. Unique page titles can improve the overall quality of your website.