In this guide, you’ll learn more about alt-text: what it is, why it’s important for SEO, how to use it correctly, and more. The tips below will help you apply them to improve image optimization and website accessibility.
What is Alt-Text and Why it is Needed
Alt-text, or alt-text, is an alt attribute that is a fragment of text describing an image in HTML code.
Initially, alt-text served only a descriptive function. Many years ago, when the Internet was much slower, alt-text helped to understand the contents of the image, which is not loaded in the browser. Today, this is rare, but if it happens, you’ll see alternative text instead of an image.
Today, alt-text is important for search engine robots and people using screen readers because:
- helps people with disabilities – such as those using screen readers – learn about the content of an image;
- helps search engine crawlers understand image content and context.
Of course, like any element of SEO, it can be misused, and in some cases it is even abused.
Why Alt-Test is So Important
The Internet and websites are heavily dependent on visuals. It’s hard to find a site without images or graphic elements. That’s why alt-text is very important.
Alt-text helps translate images into text form, making it accessible to a wider audience, including people with disabilities and search engine crawlers who are not yet able to understand what the picture depicts, in what context and meaning it is used.
Importance for SEO
Proper alt-text optimization increases a site’s chances of ranking high in Google’s image search. Yes, alt-text is a ranking factor in this output.
Depending on the niche and specifics of the site, traffic from image search can play a big role in overall popularity. For example, in e-commerce, users often search for products based on images than they would in a regular search.
Google and other search engines may display fewer (or no) product images from your site if you don’t optimize the alt-text. This can lead to a loss of potential traffic and customers.
Importance to accessibility
Visibility in search results for images is important, but accessibility is even more important. In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to accessibility. This ensures that everyone, including people with disabilities, can interact with the Internet.
If the alternative text in the images actually describes the images, rather than being a set of keywords, you’ll help people understand what’s shown on the page, as well as get into its context.
Let’s say you’ve written an SEO audit guide containing screenshots from various crawling tools. Wouldn’t it be better to describe the content of each screenshot instead of the brief “SEO audit”? Let’s look at some examples.
Examples of alt-text
Let’s start with some good examples. Suppose the SEO guide uses screenshots from tools such as Google Search Console and Screaming Frog. In that case, the alternative text might look like this:
<img src=”google-search-console-coverage-report.jpg” alt=”Google Search Console indexing report shows number of indexed and excluded pages”>
<img src=”google-search-console.jpg” alt=”Google’s Google Search Console tool”>
<img src=”screaming-frog-html-pages.jpg” alt=”List of HTMdL pages in Screaming Frog”>
<img src=”screaming-frog” alt=”Screaming Frog in progress”>
It’s also worth thinking about the file name. Using descriptive titles is not a ranking factor, but it is good SEO practice.
There are quite a few examples of incorrect alt-text, including too many keywords and spam.
Here’s how to turn the good examples above into bad examples:
<img src=”google-search-console-coverage-report.jpg “alt=”free seo audit, cheap seo audit, seo audit specialist, seo audit, seo audits”>
<img src=”google-search-console.jpg” alt=”google seo, seo google, google, seo, google search console seo”>
<img src=”screaming-frog-html-pages.jpg” alt=”seo auditor, seo audit, seo audits”>
<img src=”screaming-frog” alt=”seo audit”>
The above examples do not really give any information about what is shown in the picture.
Typical Mistakes With Alt-Text
Stuffing alternative text with keywords isn’t the only mistake you can make. Here are a few examples of common alt-text mistakes:
- Unable to use alternative text or use blank text.
- Using the same alt-text for different images.
- Using very generic alt-text that doesn’t really describe the image. For example, “dog” to a photo of a dog instead of a more detailed description of the dog with color, breed, what the animal does.
- Automatic use of the filename as alternative text. For example, googleseachconsole or google-search-console or photo2323. It is unlikely to be clear from this text what is shown in the picture.
Tips for Writing Alt-Text
- Do not put a lot of keywords in the alternative text. It won’t help the page ranking.
- Describe the image in detail, but keep it short. Avoid adding multiple sentences to the alternative text.
- Use keywords, but put them in naturally. If your keyword doesn’t fit the description of the image, don’t use it.
- Don’t use text on images. It should be added as HTML code.
- Don’t write “this image is…”. Google and users know it’s an image. Just describe its content.
- Make sure you can visualize the images by reading alternative text. This is the best exercise to make sure you make the right caption.
Bottom line
Writing quality content is a priority for most. But images are also an important component. By selecting beautiful images and providing them with the right alt-text, you increase your chances of getting promoted quickly.
Alt-text makes it easier to perceive the content not only by users of the site, but also by search robots. And the easier it is for them to understand the essence of what is published, the better for your position in search results.