Visually impaired individuals, like Amber, are able to use the Internet to manage money, shop and perform a variety of other tasks by installing “screen reader” software on their computers that searches for codes embedded on Web sites. These codes enable text and graphics to be read or described audibly. The software also lets the blind navigate sites by using keystrokes instead of a mouse. However, not all Web sites are optimally designed for use by Internet consumers who have visual impairments.
In a quest to make Web sites more accessible to the visually impaired, SEO Inc.’s Grant, along with the National Federation of the Blind and other advocacy organizations, is encouraging retailers to make the necessary changes that will allow users with “screen reader software” and other technology to navigate and listen to the text throughout their Web sites.
“I just don’t think the awareness and knowledge to become Section 508 compliant or to have a site that is at least navigable for adaptive technologies is quite clear,” says Grant, whose SEO, Inc. professional search engine marketing firm assists businesses in making theirs sites more visible in the major search properties as well as making their Web sites and more accessible to the visually impaired. Making a Web site more accessible, he notes, can include tagging images with word descriptions, allowing the software to “read” those images aloud. There are also many other factors that are often overlooked that helps the adaptive technologies work correctly
Source: Seoinc
