Giraffe Web owner and founder, Judy Benedict, presented at the top SEO conference in Las Vegas in November 2021, SEO Rockstars. SEO Rockstars pulls the best, most elite search engine optimization experts from around the world. The 2021 conference was a hybrid of in person and virtual presentations. In its 10th year, founder and organizer of SEO Rockstars, SEO Nitro and SEO Intelligence Agency, Dori Friend, has a rich history of successfully working with public blog networks, and extensive knowledge of the search engine algorithms and how to optimize the potential of a website for maximum visibility.
The topic Judy Benedict presented gave a history of accessibility for websites, the rise of accessibility “Title III” or “Surf-by” lawsuits, the US and world-wide disability statistics, the tools attorneys are using to sue companies whose websites are not in compliance, the up-to-date tools to use for accessibility and how on-page SEO can take care of a lot of accessibility issues as well as push a website up a few levels in ranking in the search engines.
The COVID pandemic exacerbated the need for accessibility because the Section 508, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers governments and companies that have received federal funding. During the pandemic, almost $800 billion of PPP loans were awarded by the SBA, not to mention CARES Act grant money, which puts a lot more small business in jeopardy if their website is not in accessibility compliance. For example, for a small website that has 10 errors, the fine can be at least $40k, plus attorney fees and sometimes restitution. This can cripple a small business.
The name of Judy’s presentation is “Does Your Website Have a Handicap Ramp.” She has been presenting this topic to local networking groups for the past 15 years and the presentation can be tailored the audience, whether it is business owners or web designers and she is available for presentations to any organization that may want to educate their industry about why accessibility for a website matters in today’s world more than ever.
If your company would like an accessibility assessment, please contact Giraffe Web.