Does installing an ADA Compliance widget for web accessibility provide any SEO value?

[dotgal]

Ideally, it would be great to have a site follow WCAG guidelines to ensure web accessibility which also helps with SEO. However, some clients may not want to implement everything in the guidelines. In that case, if they want to have an ADA Compliance widget installed to help with web accessibility, would the widget add any SEO value? My initial thought is no, but want to confirm this.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

That is a great question! Our liability insurance policy requires that our client website agreements include a paragraph that excludes ADA compliance of website development as part of our services. However, when the client reviews the agreement, it starts a conversation about ADA compliance. We have a handful of subscription ADA plugins that we suggest to our clients to review, and if they purchase the subscription, we assist with the installation. Our initial concerns were about how it might impact SEO, positive or negative. What we did find out is that it doesn't hurt but does have the potential to help SEO.

Here are a couple of good articles:

The SEO Benefits of Web Accessibility | accessiBe - accessiBe

In this article, we discuss 11 ways web accessibility and SEO work together to improve the experience of your users, enhance your web visibility, convert more...

accessibe.com

[Study] Is Web Accessibility Key to Driving Organic Traffic?

Many marketers operate on the assumption that web accessibility increases SEO. In collaboration with AccessibilityChecker.org and BuiltWith, we set out to prove the claim by analyzing over 800 websites.

www.semrush.com

 

[Jim Froling]

Ideally, it would be great to have a site follow WCAG guidelines to ensure web accessibility which also helps with SEO. However, some clients may not want to implement everything in the guidelines. In that case, if they want to have an ADA Compliance widget installed to help with web accessibility, would the widget add any SEO value? My initial thought is no, but want to confirm this.

This issue with ADA compliance has literally awakened me at night, with a cold sweat. An "ambulance chasing lawyer" can troll websites and sue them (on behalf of an aggrieved client, probably their brother in law). Then sue the business and demand a five figure settlement. Which they usually get because "the law (state and federal), is the law.

It reminds me of a joke:
If you come upon a traffic accident where there are two victims, a dog and a lawyer. How can you tell which is the dog and which is the lawyer?

There are skid marks in front of the dog.

The problem has been that the WordPress plugins are pretty weak. But I came upon one recently that

JeffClevelandTN mentioned. Accessibe.com. ​

It doesn't mess up the look/feel of the site. It simply displays an icon for users to discreetly enter their affliction (vision, motor, etc.), and the site displays to their unique needs. Fabulous UX.

And it kicks those ambulance chasers to the curb.