The Complete Guide to Alt Text: Boosting SEO and Accessibility in One Simple Step
Have you ever wondered why some websites consistently rank higher in search results, even though they seem to have similar content as yours? Or why certain sites are praised for their accessibility while others face criticism? The answer might be simpler than you think, and it often comes down to small details like alt text.
In today’s digital landscape, where visuals dominate content strategies, properly implementing alt text isn’t just a technical checkbox—it’s a powerful tool that simultaneously enhances your SEO performance and makes your content accessible to all users. Yet, surprisingly, this simple HTML attribute remains one of the most overlooked aspects of content optimization.
Whether you’re a marketing manager looking to improve your website’s search visibility or a business owner trying to ensure your online presence reaches the widest possible audience, understanding alt text is essential in your digital marketing toolkit.
Need help optimizing your website images? Schedule a free consultation with Daniel Digital today!
Table of Contents
What Is Alt Text and Why Does It Matter?
Alt text (alternative text), sometimes called alt attributes or alt descriptions, is an HTML attribute added to image tags to provide a text alternative for images on a website. This text serves as a replacement when an image cannot be displayed or viewed. Simply put, alt text tells both search engines and users what an image is about when they can’t see it.
The basic HTML structure looks like this:
<img src="example-image.jpg" alt="Description of the image goes here">While this may seem like a minor technical detail, alt text serves several critical functions:
- Provides context for visually impaired users who use screen readers to navigate websites
- Displays as a replacement when images fail to load due to slow connections or broken links
- Helps search engines understand and properly index your images
- Improves your website’s overall SEO performance by providing additional context about your content
| Alt Text Application | How It Works | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Website Content | Added to HTML image tags to describe visual content | Improves SEO, enhances accessibility, provides context when images don’t load |
| Email Marketing | Added to images in email campaigns | Ensures message delivery even when images are blocked, improves accessibility |
| Social Media | Added to platform-specific image descriptions | Increases content reach, improves accessibility, potentially boosts engagement |
Many businesses underestimate the importance of alt text, treating it as an afterthought or technical requirement rather than a valuable marketing asset. This oversight can significantly impact both your search ranking potential and your ability to reach all possible customers.
The SEO Benefits of Optimized Alt Text
Search engines can’t “see” images the way humans do. While image recognition technology has improved, search engines still heavily rely on alt text to understand what images contain and how they relate to the surrounding content. Properly optimized alt text can significantly boost your SEO efforts in several ways:
Improved Image Search Visibility
With the growing popularity of Google Images and other image search features, optimizing alt text helps your images appear in relevant image searches. This creates an additional pathway for potential customers to discover your website.
Enhanced Keyword Relevance
Strategic inclusion of target keywords in your alt text (when they genuinely describe the image) provides additional keyword relevance signals to search engines. This helps search engines better understand what your page is about.
Lower Bounce Rates
When images fail to load, good alt text keeps users engaged by explaining what they’re missing, potentially reducing bounce rates and improving other user engagement metrics that search engines value.
| SEO Element | How Alt Text Contributes | Implementation Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword Optimization | Provides additional opportunities for relevant keyword placement | Naturally incorporate target keywords when they accurately describe the image |
| Image Search Ranking | Helps images rank in Google Images and other image search engines | Use descriptive, specific alt text that accurately represents the image content |
| Content Relevance | Signals to search engines what your content is about | Ensure alt text reinforces the main topic of your page without keyword stuffing |
Consider this real-world example: An e-commerce client of mine was struggling with product visibility in search results. After implementing descriptive alt text that included product names, key features, and appropriate search terms for all product images, they saw a 28% increase in organic traffic to their product pages within three months.
Alt Text and Web Accessibility: What You Need to Know
Beyond SEO benefits, alt text is a fundamental component of web accessibility. As digital marketers, ensuring our content reaches every potential customer should be a priority, not just a compliance checkbox.
Supporting Screen Reader Technology
For users with visual impairments who rely on screen readers, alt text provides crucial information about images. Without proper alt text, these users miss out on important visual content that might be essential to understanding your message.
Legal and Compliance Considerations
Web accessibility is increasingly becoming a legal requirement in many jurisdictions. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) specifically mention appropriate alt text as a requirement, and many organizations have faced legal challenges for failing to provide accessible websites.
Brand Reputation and Inclusive Marketing
Brands that prioritize accessibility demonstrate their commitment to inclusion, potentially strengthening their reputation and broadening their customer base. Accessible marketing is simply good marketing.
| Accessibility Aspect | Role of Alt Text | Best Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Screen Reader Compatibility | Provides image descriptions for visually impaired users | Create descriptive text that conveys the purpose and content of the image |
| WCAG Compliance | Helps meet Success Criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content) | Ensure all non-decorative images have appropriate alt text |
| Situational Limitations | Assists users with poor connectivity or those who disable images | Write alt text that provides value even when images cannot be seen |
I recently worked with a healthcare client who was concerned about potential accessibility issues on their website. After implementing proper alt text throughout their site, not only did they become compliant with accessibility standards, but they also received positive feedback from patients with disabilities who appreciated being able to fully access their information.
Alt Text Best Practices for Marketing Professionals
Creating effective alt text requires balancing SEO objectives with accessibility needs. Here are key practices to follow when writing alt text for your marketing materials:
Be Specific and Descriptive
Generic descriptions like “image” or “photo” provide little value. Instead, be specific about what the image shows and why it matters to the content. Compare these examples:
- Poor: “image1.jpg”
- Better: “dog”
- Best: “Golden retriever puppy playing with a red ball in the park”
Keep It Concise
While descriptions should be thorough, they should also be concise. Many screen readers cut off alt text after about 125 characters, so aim to keep descriptions under this limit while still conveying essential information.
Include Keywords Naturally
When relevant keywords accurately describe the image, include them in your alt text. However, never force keywords where they don’t belong or engage in keyword stuffing. Search engines can penalize this behavior.
Know When to Use Empty Alt Text
Not all images require descriptive alt text. Purely decorative images that don’t add meaningful content to the page should use empty alt text (alt=””) to indicate to screen readers that they should be skipped.
| Image Type | Alt Text Approach | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Product Images | Include product name, model, key features | alt=”Apple iPhone 13 Pro in Sierra Blue with triple camera system” |
| Informational Graphics | Summarize the key information conveyed | alt=”Graph showing 45% increase in organic traffic from 2020-2022″ |
| Decorative Images | Use empty alt text | alt=”” |
| CTAs and Buttons | Describe the action, not just the visual | alt=”Download free SEO checklist button” |
Common Alt Text Mistakes to Avoid
Even when marketers try to implement alt text, they often fall into these common pitfalls:
Keyword Stuffing
One of the most egregious alt text mistakes is cramming keywords unnaturally into descriptions. This not only fails to help SEO but can actively harm your rankings and makes content inaccessible.
Example of keyword stuffing: “SEO services digital marketing SEO expert best SEO company affordable SEO services”
Using File Names as Alt Text
Leaving the default image filename (like “IMG_4567.jpg” or even “product-image-blue.jpg”) as alt text provides little to no value for users or search engines.
Over-describing or Under-describing
Finding the right balance in description length is crucial. Too brief, and you fail to convey important information; too verbose, and you overwhelm users with unnecessary details that may get cut off by screen readers.
Ignoring Context
Alt text should consider how the image functions within the broader content. An image serving as a chart needs different alt text than the same visual used decoratively.
| Common Mistake | Why It’s Problematic | Better Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Using generic descriptions | Provides no value to users or search engines | Be specific about what the image shows and its purpose |
| Redundant information | Wastes opportunity when describing images already explained in text | Reference the explanation or provide complementary information |
| Including “image of” or “picture of” | Unnecessarily uses characters; screen readers already announce it’s an image | Start directly with the description of what’s shown |
| Missing alt text completely | Creates accessibility barriers and misses SEO opportunities | Implement a process to ensure all images have appropriate alt text |
I once audited a website for a retail client who had implemented alt text on all their product images, but they had simply used the product SKU numbers as the descriptions. By changing these to include product names, colors, and key features, they saw both an improvement in image search results and a decrease in their site’s bounce rate.
Tools to Help You Optimize Alt Text
Manually reviewing and optimizing alt text across an entire website can be overwhelming. Fortunately, several tools can help streamline this process:
CMS Built-in Features
Most content management systems like WordPress, Shopify, and Wix have built-in fields for adding alt text when uploading images. Make sure your team is trained to use these features consistently.
Accessibility Checkers
Tools like WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) and axe can scan your website and identify missing or problematic alt text, along with other accessibility issues.
SEO Analysis Tools
Comprehensive SEO platforms like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Screaming Frog can crawl your website and identify images missing alt text as part of broader technical SEO audits.
| Tool Category | Popular Options | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| CMS Plugins | Yoast SEO, Rank Math, SEO by Squarespace | Provide reminders and analysis of alt text as you create content |
| Accessibility Testing | WAVE, axe, Google Lighthouse | Identify missing or inadequate alt text and other accessibility issues |
| Bulk Editing Tools | WordPress media library, spreadsheet exports | Edit multiple images’ alt text efficiently |
| AI Assistants | Various content optimization tools | Generate initial alt text suggestions that can be reviewed and refined |
Frequently Asked Questions About Alt Text
Is alt text the same as title text?
No. Alt text (the alt attribute) provides alternative information for an image if it cannot be viewed. Title text (the title attribute) provides additional information about an element when users hover their mouse over it. For accessibility purposes, alt text is far more important.
Do all images need alt text?
Not all images need descriptive alt text. Purely decorative images that don’t add content value should have empty alt text (alt=””) to indicate to screen readers that they should be skipped. However, any image that conveys information or serves a function should have descriptive alt text.
How long should alt text be?
Most screen readers cut off alt text at around 125 characters, so it’s best to keep descriptions concise while still being descriptive. Focus on conveying the most important information about the image.
Should I include keywords in all my alt text?
Only include keywords when they naturally and accurately describe the image. Forcing keywords into alt text where they don’t belong can harm both accessibility and potentially your SEO efforts if search engines perceive it as keyword stuffing.
What about alt text for social media images?
Most major social media platforms now support some form of alt text or image descriptions. The same principles apply: be descriptive, concise, and focus on conveying what’s in the image. Each platform has slightly different implementations, so familiarize yourself with the specific options available.
Can alt text help with local SEO?
Yes, particularly for location-specific businesses. Including relevant location information in alt text for location-specific images (like “Downtown Portland storefront of John’s Bakery”) can help with local search visibility.
Conclusion: Making Alt Text a Priority in Your Digital Marketing Strategy
Alt text might seem like a minor technical detail in the vast landscape of digital marketing, but its impact on both SEO performance and accessibility makes it worthy of special attention from marketing professionals and business owners alike.
By implementing descriptive, accurate alt text across your website and digital assets, you’re not just improving your search engine visibility; you’re also creating a more inclusive experience that reaches all potential customers, regardless of their abilities or technological constraints.
Remember these key takeaways:
- Alt text simultaneously serves SEO and accessibility purposes
- Descriptive, concise, and accurate alt text provides the most value
- Include keywords naturally, never force them
- Use empty alt text for purely decorative images
- Leverage tools to identify and fix alt text issues at scale
With these practices in place, you’ll enhance your website’s performance while demonstrating your commitment to an inclusive web experience that values every visitor.
Ready to Optimize Your Website Images for Both SEO and Accessibility?
At Daniel Digital, we specialize in helping businesses implement effective alt text strategies as part of comprehensive SEO and accessibility solutions. Our team can audit your current implementation, provide customized recommendations, and help implement best practices across your digital presence.