How to Write ALT Text for Images for SEO

When it comes to optimizing your website for search engines, there’s more to it than just text. Images play a crucial role in enhancing the user experience, but they can also be valuable assets for on-page SEO when used correctly. In this article, we’ll delve into the world of ALT text, exploring what it is, why it’s important, and how to write ALT text for images that can boost your website’s SEO.

What Are Alt Tags and Title Tags in Image SEO?

Alt tags and title tags in image SEO are HTML attributes used to provide textual descriptions and context to images, helping search engines understand their content and purpose, and contributing to web accessibility for users, particularly those with disabilities.

Alt Tags and title tags are HTML attributes used to describe images. They serve several key purposes:

1. Accessibility

Accessibility is a fundamental principle in web design and development, ensuring that digital content is usable by all individuals, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. Alt tags, also known as alt text, play a crucial role in making the web more accessible, and this is especially important for users with disabilities who rely on screen readers to access web content.

Screen Readers

Screen readers are software applications or devices that convert digital text into synthesized speech or braille output for visually impaired individuals. They allow these users to “read” and navigate websites by interpreting the content and presenting it audibly or tactually. However, screen readers face a significant challenge when encountering images on web pages because they cannot “see” or interpret images as sighted individuals can. This is where alt text becomes invaluable.

Alt text, short for “alternative text,” is a brief but descriptive text associated with an image. It serves as a textual representation of the image’s content and purpose. When a screen reader encounters an image on a web page, it relies on the alt text to describe the image to the user. Here’s why alt text is so critical for web accessibility:

1. Equal Access: Alt text ensures that visually impaired users have equal access to the information and context provided by images on a webpage. Without alt text, these users would be left in the dark, missing out on vital content and visual cues that sighted users take for granted.
2. Understanding Content: Alt text helps screen reader users understand the meaning and context of an image, such as whether it’s a photograph, an illustration, a chart, or any other type of visual content. This information is vital for comprehending the content and purpose of a web page.
3. Navigational Aids: Alt text also assists in navigating the web page. When a screen reader encounters an image with alt text, it announces the description, enabling the user to decide if they want to interact with that image or skip it, based on their needs and interests.
4. Enhanced User Experience: Providing accurate and descriptive alt text contributes to a more enjoyable and informative user experience. It fosters inclusivity and ensures that all users can engage with the content as intended.
5. Legal and Ethical Considerations: Many countries and regions have laws and regulations, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States, that require websites to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Non-compliance with these regulations can result in legal consequences.

In summary, alt text is not just a matter of convenience or good practice; it’s an ethical and legal requirement to make digital content accessible to everyone. It ensures that individuals with disabilities can participate in the online world, access information, and interact with websites on an equal footing with their sighted peers. By taking the time to write informative and accurate alt text for your website’s images, you contribute to a more inclusive and equitable online experience for all users.

2. SEO Impact

Both alt and title tags are used by search engines to understand the content of an image, which can impact your site’s SEO. They also provide context to visually impaired users, contributing to a positive user experience.

• Keyword Relevance: Search engines like Google use various factors to determine the relevance and ranking of a webpage in response to a user’s search query. While they can analyze text, they struggle with images. Alt tags provide a textual description of the image, which helps search engines understand what the image represents. If your alt text contains relevant keywords related to the image and the page’s content, it can positively impact your website’s SEO. For example, if you have an image of a “red convertible car” on a page about luxury cars, using an alt tag like “Luxury red convertible car” enhances the image’s SEO relevance to the page’s topic.
• Image Search Ranking: Alt tags are particularly significant for image search results. When users search for specific images, search engines rely heavily on the alt text to match their queries with the content of images. Properly optimized alt text can boost your image’s visibility in image search results, driving additional traffic to your website.
• Enhancing User Experience: An improved user experience is a vital element of SEO. When you make your website accessible and user-friendly for all visitors, it can indirectly boost your SEO performance. Search engines favor websites that provide a positive and accessible experience because it aligns with their goal of delivering high-quality search results to users.

From our experience, Google likes websites that offer an inclusive, and positive user experience. Alt tags and title tags for images have a dual role in enhancing your website’s SEO. They improve your website’s chances of ranking well in search results, especially in image search, by providing textual context to search engines. Simultaneously, they contribute to web accessibility, making your site more welcoming and informative to visually impaired users. As search engines increasingly focus on user experience, ensuring your website is accessible and that your images are optimized with descriptive alt tags becomes more critical than ever in achieving and maintaining high search engine rankings.

Is ALT Text Important for SEO Anymore?

Some may wonder if alt text is still relevant for SEO in today’s digital landscape. The answer is a resounding yes. While search engines have become more sophisticated, they still heavily rely on textual cues to understand the content of images. Moreover, alt text contributes to accessibility and a better user experience, both of which search engines value. Neglecting alt text can result in missed SEO opportunities and accessibility issues.

How to Write ALT Text for Images for SEO:

1. Come in Under 125 Characters: Maintaining alt text within a 125-character limit is a prudent practice. In the past, common screen readers typically truncated alt text after approximately 125 characters. Although this isn’t an absolute rule anymore, it continues to serve as a helpful guideline for content creators and SEO professionals. For intricate images necessitating lengthier descriptions, please refer to point 7 below for best practices concerning complex images.
2. Be as Descriptive – and Specific – as Possible: When crafting alt text, be descriptive and specific about the image’s content. Avoid vague or generic descriptions. For example, instead of “A person at the beach,” go for “A woman surfing at sunset on a California beach.”
3. Contextualize the Page Topic: Ensure that your alt text aligns with the overall topic of the webpage. This helps search engines understand the context of the image and its relevance to the content.
4. Lightly Sprinkle Keywords into ALT Text: Incorporate relevant keywords into your alt text naturally, but don’t overdo it. The primary focus should be on providing accurate descriptions.
5. Use Descriptive Filenames, Titles, and Alt Text: Prior to uploading an image, give it a descriptive filename and title. These attributes should complement your alt text, offering a consistent and clear image description.
6. Avoid substituting images for text: This principle extends beyond the realm of alt text best practices and is a fundamental guideline for SEO-friendly web development. Given that search engines cannot interpret text contained within images, it is advisable not to employ images as a direct replacement for textual content. In cases where you find it necessary to use images in this manner, ensure that your alt text provides a descriptive account of the textual information conveyed by the image.

Conclusion:

In the ever-evolving landscape of SEO, optimizing your website’s images with well-crafted ALT text is a practice that continues to be vital for success. ALT text not only bolsters your website’s search engine rankings but also fosters inclusivity, accessibility, and a superior user experience. By adhering to the best practices we’ve discussed, you can navigate the intricacies of ALT text effectively.

Remember, ALT text plays a dual role: it boosts your SEO and ensures that your website is accessible to a broader audience, including those with disabilities. In the competitive online arena, creating a positive user experience is not just a good practice; it’s an essential component of SEO success. So, don’t underestimate the power of ALT text in your journey to enhance your website’s visibility, accessibility, and overall quality. By implementing these best practices, you’ll be well on your way to optimizing your images and creating a more inclusive and user-friendly web presence.