What is Alt Text & Why Does it Matter for SEO?

Have you ever wondered what ALT texts were?

Well, in this article, I will cover exactly what ALT texts are and why it matters so you don’t have to read or watch anything else on ALT texts.

ALT texts will change your SEO game.

Let’s dive right in.

What is ALT Text?

Have you ever wondered what ALT text is and why it’s important for SEO?

The ALT text definition is a text that is used to describe the appearance and purpose of an image on a page within the HTML code.

Why is it Important?

You can add ALT text to images to get Google to show your image on an image search. Adding ALT text to images is all about web accessibility.

For example, those that are visually impaired can have the ALT text be read to them. If an image file cannot be loaded, ALT text will be shown in its place.

ALT text gives search engine crawlers better image context and descriptions, assisting with effective image indexing.

Accessibility

One principle of accessible web design is ALT text. Its original (and still current) main objective is to provide visitors who are blind with descriptions of photographs.

Users who are blind or otherwise unable to visually recognize an image are also included in this, as are screen readers and browsers that block images.

All users, regardless of visual ability, may understand and enjoy the material on your website by including ALT text with each of your photographs.

The Role ALT Texts Play in SEO

Search engines need good ALT text to return search results because it gives an image semantic meaning and serves as a description of the image.

Another way to look at it is that effective alt text provides search engines with more and better information to rate your website with, resulting in a higher ranking.

The easier it is for search engine robots to grasp all of your material, the more deliberately and helpfully you should describe it to users.

In addition to improving user experience, using ALT text for your photos may also boost your SEO, both explicitly and implicitly.

Including ALT text may help with picture SEO in addition to following standard practices for image titles and file names.

ALT text and SEO go together hand in hand. Adding ALT text to images allows the image to be searched by Google because the ALT text is in the HTML code.

It’s not a good idea to put the interpretation entirely in the hands of search crawlers, even though picture recognition technology for search engines has significantly improved over time.

It’s possible that you might either rank for unwanted keywords or fail to rank at all if they don’t comprehend it or get it wrong.

How ALT Text Affects SEO

According to Google, ALT text is used to interpret the subject matter of photographs in conjunction with computer vision algorithms and the page’s contents.

Thus, alt text aids Google in comprehending the webpage’s overall theme as well as the subject matter of the photos.

This can enhance the likelihood that your photographs will appear in image search results. When writing material on a subject, consider how your target audience might prefer to research answers to their questions.

Google searchers often prefer the image itself, integrated on your website, rather than the standard blue, hyperlinked search result.

A visitor looking up how to delete duplicates in Excel, for instance, might prefer a screenshot so they can quickly comprehend how to finish the work.

Tips for Writing ALT Text

Describe the picture as precisely as you can. The primary purpose of ALT text is to offer text descriptions of images for viewers who cannot see them. If an image is only decorative and serves no functional purpose, it belongs in the CSS rather than the HTML.
Keep it short, about 125 characters. Most screen readers cut the text off at 125 characters.
Use keywords. If you can intelligently include one or two top keywords in your description of an image, that’s wonderful. Your SEO will benefit from this. However, only when done sparingly and honestly. Although contextually ‘poor’ (i.e., useless) alt text cannot be detected by search engines. Keyword stuffing may result in a ranking penalty. Google can detect it! Therefore, describing any photos that need alt text concisely and precisely must be your main priority.
Be as descriptive as possible. Consider writing your alt text to image like it is a short story. For example, the image below shows a trampoline but writing just the word trampoline is a bad alt text, whereas three kids jumping on a trampoline is better.

Examples of ALT Text on Images

Adding ALT text to images can be tricky if you do not know how to write an ALT tag. For example, write your ALT text like this:

In a Nutshell

Therefore, ALT text is essential for search engines to help them comprehend a website and give users the best results when they search online. Make it a practice to add an alt tag whenever you upload a picture.

To guarantee that your website is search engine optimized, it is crucial to add alt text to your photographs.

If you are aware that you have not been adding alt tags to your images, set aside some time to go through them and add pertinent, illustrative alt text to every image on your website.