A screen reader and a search engine have one thing in common: neither can see your design. Both read your code. When that code is clear, both understand your page.
1. Headings that make sense
Screen reader users jump from heading to heading to find what they need. Search engines use the same headings to understand what a page is about. One clear H1, then H2s and H3s in order, helps both.
2. Alt text on images
Alt text tells a blind visitor what a photo shows. It also tells Google and Google Images. A photo named IMG_4471.jpg with no alt text says nothing to either one.
3. Link text that says where it goes
A screen reader can list every link on a page. Ten links that all say "click here" are useless. Link text like "See our event calendar" helps that visitor, and tells search engines what the linked page is about.
4. Speed and clean code
Hand-coded pages carry no page-builder bloat or extra scripts, so they load fast. Page speed and mobile use are part of how Google judges a page. Clean, semantic HTML is also what AI answer engines read when deciding which sites to cite.
5. Trust, reviews and fewer bounces
About 1 in 4 US adults lives with a disability. When they can use your site, they stay, call and come back. A site people can actually use earns more of the signals search engines watch.
Every Web Chick site is built to WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 AA from the first line of code and tested with JAWS and VoiceOver, at no extra charge.
The short version
Accessibility is not a direct ranking score, but clear headings, alt text, descriptive links, fast clean code and real text serve screen readers and search engines alike. An accessible site is easier to find and easier to use.
