Adam Spencer Uses Alternative Methods to Gain SEO and Accessibility

Adam Spencer
4 min readMar 15, 2021

The internet can create a level playing field. By granting access to information for millions of people, the web is a major tool in personal and professional life. Adam Spencer, the Founder of AbleDocs, is transforming how individuals with print disabilities access information daily.

What Is Document Accessibility?

Online content works best when it is accessible to all. Individuals who have low vision or print disabilities can have difficulties with certain forms of inaccessible content. Providing accessible documents that those with print disabilities can easily read and interact with results in more people visiting websites, gaining insight, and interacting with the provider of the content.

Without document accessibility, students and employees may struggle to succeed. Simple tasks such as contacting a professor or employer may be time-consuming. For businesses, this can mean losing potential clients due to a lack of easy interaction.

A document’s level of accessibility starts to form at the beginning of writing the content. This process involves entering document properties that rely on search words, language, and subject matter. Specific keywords can be strategically placed within the document resulting in a higher search engine rank. The practice of SEO and document accessibility can be done simultaneously if performed correctly.

Why Is Document Accessibility Good for Online Marketing?

A website should attract as many potential people as possible. For businesses and brand awareness, the quantity of individuals drawn to a site is especially important. By not accounting for accessibility, entire demographics can hinder a business’s future.

There are roughly 3,000,000 Canadians who have print disabilities. By understanding the need for document accessibility, Adam Spencer created a business that incorporates their needs so that they can access online documents with ease. By blending specific visibility techniques with online marketing, a wider audience can reach accessible content.

SEO + ALT-Text = Document Accessibility

Scrabble  blocks spelling out “SEO” on a wooden table
Adam Spencer from Oakville, Ontario, Discusses SEO and Document Accessibility

Specific keywords can be placed within a variety of text options to promote a website. While many individuals are aware of blog posts with specific keywords, images also have text options.

Including a description to visual content can produce results from a search engine. This can be provided for the individual reader, or it can be for screen-reading tools.

When developing SEO, using what is known as “ALT-Text” can benefit SEO practices and document accessibility. ALT-Text can be designed explicitly for images so that every aspect of a webpage can be ranked in a search engine. When visual images are overlooked, competitors can rank significantly higher.

ALT-Text is used in conjunction with all digital formats. By assigning this text description to the image, words can be successfully categorized. Individuals with print disabilities can rely on this text to provide additional information about the content. With this information, they are more likely to understand the context of the photograph and content.

Adam Spencer and AbleDocs have created a suite of products and services to make document accessibility easy. This involves a secure solution to creating document accessibility for the needs of multiple document types.

Words Matter

Using keywords and ALT-Text to describe an image is not always as easy as it sounds. Poorly written image descriptions can create confusion or have little to no effect for SEO purposes. Furthermore, descriptions that are used too often can also be considered problematic for online marketing.

Professionals that are interested in document accessibility understand the importance of proper ALT-Text application. Adam Spencer has experience developing applications and can pinpoint specific areas that may be problematic for people with print disabilities. With extensive experience in the field, his assessment of readability provides accuracy and awareness.

Online marketing involves many different aspects of technology and psychology. Understanding how people think is imperative when understanding what service or product is necessary. Writing blog posts and publishing photos online are two efficient ways to create worthwhile content. Optimizing it so that everyone can understand what’s on the page is the foundation of additional marketing.

Adding ALT-Text can not only translate images into words, but it can also guide individuals with visual impairment to a site that fits their needs. By describing an image in words, a picture that may not have been visually processed on its own can now have meaning. This is a crucial part of content creation and business inclusivity.

Without the proper experience, document accessibility can be challenging to achieve. Although there are extra steps to take, the rewards are beneficial for both those with print disabilities and businesses.

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Adam Spencer

Adam Spencer from Oakville, Ontario, is the CEO and Founder of Able Docs. AbleDocs specializes in digital accessibility.