A text description added to images to improve accessibility and help search engines understand visual content.
Why Alt Text Matters Today
While it may seem like a minor detail, alt text is a critical component of modern SEO and web accessibility. From an SEO standpoint, it helps search engines understand the content of your images, which can lead to better rankings in both web and image search results. For a search algorithm, an image without alt text is just an unreadable piece of data. With it, the image becomes a valuable part of the page’s content, reinforcing the topic and adding semantic relevance. On the user experience front, alt text is essential for accessibility. It allows screen readers to describe images to users with visual impairments, making your website usable for a wider audience. This commitment to accessibility is a strong signal of quality to search engines.
Across Different CMS Platforms
The process for adding alt text is straightforward across all content management systems, but the specific user interface may vary.
WordPress
WordPress makes adding alt text simple. When you upload an image to your media library, you’ll find a dedicated field for “Alt Text.” It’s a best practice to fill this out for every image you upload, from blog post graphics to product photos.
Shopify
For e-commerce, alt text is incredibly important for product images. In Shopify, you can add alt text to your images directly from the product page editor. This helps your products rank in Google Image Search, which can be a significant source of traffic for online stores.
Wix
Wix has a user-friendly interface for adding alt text. When you select an image, a settings panel will appear where you can enter a description. The platform’s built-in SEO tools often provide reminders or checks to ensure you haven’t missed any.
Webflow
Webflow provides a clean and intuitive way to add alt text to images. When you drag and drop an image element onto your canvas, you’ll see a field in the settings panel to add the alt attribute. This is an easy but crucial step in the web design process.
Custom CMS
In a custom CMS, the ability to add alt text is built into the content entry fields. You can create a dedicated field for the image alt attribute, ensuring that your content creators always have a clear place to add the description. This level of control allows for a robust and consistent SEO strategy.
Across Different Industries
The way a business uses alt text should be tailored to their industry and target audience.
E-commerce
For an e-commerce site, alt text for product images should be descriptive and include the product’s name and model number. For example, instead of just “sneakers,” use “Black Nike Air Force 1 sneakers.” This helps customers find your products through both web and image search.
Local Businesses
Local businesses can use alt text to reinforce their location. An image of a bakery storefront could have alt text that reads, “Front view of The Daily Crumb bakery in downtown Sialkot.” This adds local relevance and can improve local SEO.
SaaS Companies
SaaS companies often use screenshots and diagrams to explain their software. The alt text for these images should describe the functionality shown. For example, an image showing a dashboard could have alt text like, “Screenshot of the sales analytics dashboard showing Q4 revenue trends.”
Blogs
For blogs, alt text should describe the image’s content while also supporting the main topic of the article. An image in a blog post about dog training might have alt text like, “A golden retriever sitting politely on command.” This reinforces the article’s theme.
Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Alt Text
Writing effective alt text is a simple but important skill.
Do’s
- Be descriptive. The goal is to paint a clear picture of the image for someone who cannot see it.
- Be concise. While it should be descriptive, it shouldn’t be a paragraph. Get to the point.
- Include relevant keywords naturally. If a keyword fits, use it, but do not force it. The primary goal is to describe the image accurately.
Don’ts
- Don’t use keyword stuffing. Repeatedly using the same keyword in every alt text on a page is a dated tactic that can lead to penalties.
- Don’t use “image of,” “picture of,” or “photo of.” This is redundant. Screen readers already announce that it is an image.
- Don’t leave it blank. Every non-decorative image should have alt text. Leaving it blank is a missed opportunity for both SEO and accessibility.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Based on years of website audits, these are the most common alt text mistakes I see.
- Forgetting alt text on new images. This is the most common mistake. Make it a part of your content creation workflow to fill in the alt text for every image.
- Using identical alt text for all images on a page. Each image is unique, and its alt text should be, too.
- Using generic or vague descriptions. An alt text of “car” is not as helpful as “vintage red sports car on a winding mountain road.”
FAQs
How long should my alt text be?
There is no official character limit, but it’s best to aim for around 125 characters. This is a good length to be descriptive without being too long for screen readers.
Does alt text help my website rank?
Yes. While it’s not a primary ranking factor, alt text helps search engines understand the context of your images and your overall page content. This can contribute to higher rankings in both web and image search.
What about decorative images? Do they need alt text?
No, decorative images that do not add any meaning to the content should have a blank alt attribute (alt=””). This tells screen readers to skip the image and not announce it to the user.
Is alt text the same as a caption?
No. Alt text is a description for search engines and screen readers. A caption is a text that appears below an image on the page for all users to read. They serve different purposes, but both are important for a good user experience.
Can alt text be used to optimize for a specific keyword?
Yes. If the keyword is relevant to the image, you should include it naturally. However, do not force a keyword into the alt text if it does not accurately describe the image.
