Table of Content:
- Introduction
- Definition of Image Alt Text
- Alt Text and SEO Benefits
- How to incorporate Alt Text in Images
- Image Alt Text Best Practices
Introduction:
The image alt text is an imperative yet often underestimated segment of SEO. Despite appearing to be trivial, the alt text serves a key role for accessibility and search engine ratings. Thus, digital marketers and content creators need to pay heed to the significance of alt text images to stay on top of the Search Engine Result Page (SERP).
Studies have shown that about 19% of Google’s search result pages now include images.
This implies that, as a marketer, you are more likely to potentially give up on a significant amount of organic traffic generated through your website’s images. In the following piece of content, we’ll address the significance of image alt text and how it contributes to better SEO rankings.
Definition of Alt Text Images
The term “image alt text” refers to the descriptive text property that is appended to HTML image tags. The core intent is to provide people with poor internet connections or vision impairments with a textual description of the image. Thus, enabling screen readers to interpret the content for them.
However, alt text plays an indispensable role in directly enhancing SEO.
Alt Text Images and SEO Benefits
- Optimizing Easy Access
Making sure that everyone, including people with disabilities, can access your website is not only morally true, but search engines also take this into account when ranking websites. By adding meaningful and descriptive alt text to your images, you establish a more comprehensive online setting, which search engines encourage.
- Image Search Rankings
Search engines, including Google, embrace features specifically for browsing images. Therefore, incorporating descriptive alt text to your pictures doubles the potential of appearing in image search results. This opens up additional opportunities to attract organic traffic to your website.
- Keyword Relevance
Image alt text allows the flexibility to incorporate essential keywords relevant to your content and intended audience. When search engines crawl your page, they scan image alt text in addition to the textual content. Thus, incorporating relevant terms in your alt text can increase the probability of appearing higher in search results for certain queries.
How to incorporate Alt Text in Images
Here’s a guide on how to add Alt Text to images on several Content Management Systems (CMSs) :
WordPress
If you’re working with WordPress, the step is simple. You will discover an option to add “Alternative Text” or “Alt Text” for the image when adding it to a post or page. Simply provide your informative text in this section.
HTML Web Pages
To add Alt Text to an image in HTML, use the “alt” attribute included within the “img” tag. The basic syntax is as follows:
<img src=”image.jpg” alt=”Description of the image”>
Insert a brief and accurate description of the image’s content in place of “Description of the image”. Keep in mind to express the crucial components of the image in a relevant and straightforward manner in the description.
Social Media Pages
When you post photographs to most social media platforms, there are choices for adding image alt. For instance, Twitter may prompt you to add Alt Text when submitting images if you activate the “Compose image descriptions” option in the accessibility settings.
Image Alt Text Best Practices
Consider the following guidelines when deciding how to write alt text.
- Be informative but brief.
When crafting alt attribute, aim to provide a clear and concise description of the image’s content. Focus on conveying the image’s message without resorting to keyword stuffing or unnecessary details. To ensure that your alt attribute is brief and to the point, try to keep it around 125 characters.
- Handle Keywords Diligently
While using suitable keywords is imperative, refrain from over-optimization. Your alt attribute should always sound natural and fit seamlessly with the surrounding content.
- Limit Repetition
If you have multiple instances of the same image on a page, modify the image alt slightly to avoid repetition.
- Easy To Understand Language
Prevent employing jargon or difficult-to-understand phrases in exchange for simple, and clear language.
- Decorative Images
If an image is purely decorative and doesn’t convey any meaningful content, use an empty alt attribute (alt=””) or use CSS to hide it from screen readers.
- Text-based images
Include any text that appears in a picture in the alt text. However, it’s preferable to utilize the image as a background. And, then add the text in HTML if the image is too complex for a simple description.
- Image Context
Make sure the image alt for an image that contains a link describes the destination or purpose of the link.
- For Complex Images, Use Text
Give a brief synopsis of the information and context for complicated images like charts or infographics.
- Screen Reader Testing
Use screen readers to test the alt text on your website to make sure it is accurate and effective.
- Consider Captions and Long Descriptions
Use a caption or include a link to a page with a lengthy description if an image needs a more in-depth description.
- Try to stay away from words like “image of” or “picture of.”
In summary, adding Alt Attribute to images is a simple but crucial step toward ensuring that all users have an inclusive online experience.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, image alt tag plays an undeniable role as an SEO ranking factor. It not only enhances accessibility for all users but also provides search engines with valuable information about the content of your images. By following best practices for writing alt text and using relevant keywords, you can optimize your website for better search engine rankings and ultimately increase organic traffic and engagement.
Also Read : Importance of Backlinks & Link Building for SEO in Business growth
FAQ’s
What is the purpose of adding alternative text (alt text to an image in your document)?
The purpose of adding alternative text (alt text) to an image in your document is to provide a textual description of the image’s content and function. This is primarily done for accessibility reasons, as it allows individuals with visual impairments or other disabilities to understand the meaning and context of the image.
When a screen reader encounters an image with alt text, it reads the alternative text aloud, allowing people who cannot see the image to still comprehend its purpose and information. Additionally, alt text is displayed in place of the image in case the image fails to load or cannot be displayed, ensuring that all users can access the relevant information.
Is image alt text a ranking factor?
Image alt text (also known as “alt tags” or “alt attributes”) is not a direct ranking factor for search engines like Google. This means that having optimized alt text for images on your website does not directly impact your website’s position in search engine results.
However, even while alt text itself might not directly affect rankings, it can still have a positive impact on how well your website performs in search engines in a number of other ways such as,
accessibility, user experience, image search and content understanding.
What is image alt text in SEO?
The descriptive text attribute that is added to an image on a web page is referred to as image alt text (alternative text) in SEO. For people who are blind and use screen readers to view and comprehend the content of the image, this text is provided as an alternative.
Additionally, it gives search engine crawlers, who cannot perceive images but instead rely on text-based information to comprehend what the image is about, information on the image’s content.
