Accessibility Applies to All Sites

Search engine optimization needs to grow up and move beyond juvenile tactics to inflate rankings. True optimization creates a website that is an accessible, valuable site to users on all platforms, browsers and user-agents. Ensuring that a web site is able to communicate to all users, regardless of disability and access is part of marketing a web presence.
 
Disabled users are growing in number, especially as assistive technology continues to improve and become more affordable. Disabled users need to be recognized and understood. According to the US Center for the Blind, there are over 1.3 million Americans that are legally blind, and over 10 million are visually impaired and can benefit from assistive technology.
 
There are other reasons for using Handicap Accessible Optimization. HOA will also make your site easier for people using mobile devices to access. Handhelds work best on sites with small images and limited amounts of Flash and JavaScript. Users with older hardware and test browsers, or computers set to view text-only will also benefit. The fact is the same HAO techniques that make a page accessible to the visually impared also helps your site's visibility in other platforms.