Accessibility Can Be Profitable

By Aaron Shear, Search Engine Watch, Mar 10, 2009

In today's competitive market, one of the questions I often hear is, "Is someone or some company trying to take over my market?" This can be very hard to answer. It takes several factors for a large company to take over a market.

One way, which is the most common, is paid search marketing. Such an approach is commonly used within very competitive spaces and, in some cases, could be used in a very unprofitable manner, with a goal of controlling the space at any cost.

As the economy has changed over the past six months, funding of normal forms of marketing and PR have been cut significantly. Marketing within the top 500 companies is typically targeted toward advertising, excessive radio usage, and magazine and newspaper ads. These forms of marketing are impossible to track. If you see an increase in traffic, it's impossible to tell if you sold anything due to your overly expensive ad.

Thus, a change in overall spending has occurred. Most of these companies already have a Web site and a way to sell or provide enough data for a prospect to make a phone call to start the lead or sales process. However, these sites lack the overall ability to be accessible to most browsers, including browsers for the blind and disabled.

This key feature is incredibly important if a company wishes to appear in the search engines naturally. This also provided a level of access to disabled users who may need your services or products.

Especially in the blind community, the Internet has opened up a door to a very special group of users who rely heavily on their hearing and sense of touch to fit in. Search engines such as Google employ engineers who are visually impaired. These engineers provide an incredible level of detail to a very valuable engine, while also providing a unique perspective for visually impaired users.

More than ever, it's so very important that a Web site be created for everyone, including those who are blind or disabled. To understand more about these issues, visit the Americans with Disabilities Act Web site, in order to gain a larger perspective on issues and ways you can help.

Actually, other than myself, the only firm that has firsthand experience with this type of optimization is SEO Inc. The owner's daughter is blind and she has provided experience and insight that no other search firm can offer.

No matter the service or product, you can't ignore this market. Many of these magnificent people are able to drive cars, ski, surf, and other incredible feats. However, without the use of the Web, they likely won't have the chance to learn about these incredible programs.

So to any company large or small, please take some extra time and make sure that your sites are browseable for everyone. Not only will you get more search engine traffic, you'll gain users that may be a valuable part of your revenue stream.

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