Every image on your website is missing a crucial piece of code that could boost your SEO rankings and make your site accessible to millions of users. Alt text isn’t just another technical checkbox—it’s your direct line of communication with search engines and assistive technologies that help people with disabilities navigate the web. Master this simple HTML attribute, and you’ll simultaneously improve your search visibility while creating an inclusive experience for all visitors.
What Is Alt Text and Why Does It Matter?
Alt text (alternative text) is a short description added to an image’s HTML code that serves two critical purposes: helping search engines understand your visual content and providing context for users who can’t see images. Alt text is descriptive content added to an image’s HTML tag that helps search engines understand the content of an image, contributing to improved accessibility and search engine rankings[1].
Here’s what makes alt text so powerful: Images with optimized alt text are more likely to populate in image search queries[2]. When someone searches Google Images for terms related to your business, properly optimized alt text increases your chances of appearing in those results, driving valuable traffic back to your site.
The Hidden Users Who Depend on Alt Text
While alt text might seem invisible to most website visitors, it’s essential for a significant portion of your audience. More than 2.2 billion people worldwide have visual impairments, which means over 27% of the global population can benefit from using screen readers to navigate the web[3]. Additionally, about 92% of people with disabilities use a mobile screen reader[4], making mobile accessibility more critical than ever.
Alt text benefits several groups of users:
Blind and visually impaired users rely on screen readers that convert text to speech or braille. When a screen reader encounters an image without alt text, it either skips the image entirely or reads the filename, which is rarely helpful.
Users with cognitive disabilities may have difficulty processing visual information and benefit from descriptive text that explains what an image contains.
Users with slow internet connections who have images disabled to save bandwidth can still understand your content through alt text descriptions.
Users in situations where images won’t load due to technical issues, network problems, or outdated browsers can rely on alt text to understand missing visual content.
Alt Text vs. Other Image Attributes: Understanding the Complete Picture
Many website owners confuse alt text with other image attributes. Understanding the difference is crucial for creating the most accessible and SEO-friendly experience possible.
Alt Text: The Foundation
Alt text appears in the HTML as alt="description here" and serves as the primary alternative to your image. Keep your alt text fewer than 125 characters, as screen-reading tools typically stop reading alt text at this point[5]. This attribute is read by screen readers and used by search engines as the primary signal for understanding image content.
Image Title Attribute
The title attribute (title="additional info") appears as a tooltip when users hover over an image with their mouse. Unlike alt text, it’s visible to sighted users and should provide supplementary information rather than duplicate the alt text description.
Image Caption
Captions are visible text that appears below or near an image, providing context or additional information for all users. Captions should complement, not replace, alt text and can include details like photo credits, dates, or explanatory information.
Image File Name
Your image file name (like “team-meeting-conference-room.jpg” instead of “IMG_2847.jpg”) also contributes to SEO and accessibility. Descriptive file names help search engines understand content even before they process the alt text.
How Alt Text Impacts Your SEO Rankings
Alt text is a confirmed ranking factor for image search[6], making it essential for businesses wanting to capture traffic from Google Images and other visual search platforms. When you optimize alt text properly, you’re essentially providing search engines with a detailed explanation of your visual content, helping them match your images to relevant search queries.
Image SEO Ranking Factors
Several factors work together to improve your image SEO performance:
Descriptive Alt Text: Use specific, relevant descriptions that naturally incorporate your target keywords without keyword stuffing.
Contextual Relevance: Alt text provides contextual relevance about the page where the image resides[2], helping search engines understand how your images relate to your overall content.
File Optimization: Combine descriptive file names with appropriate alt text for maximum SEO impact.
Image Placement: Images positioned near relevant text content perform better in search results.
Technical Performance: Fast-loading, properly sized images with good alt text outperform slow, oversized images.
The Accessibility-SEO Connection
Websites built with accessibility in mind, prioritizing the use of alt tags, often see benefits in search rankings[7]. This connection isn’t coincidental—search engines favor websites that provide better user experiences, and accessibility is a key component of user experience quality.
Writing Effective Alt Text: Best Practices and Examples
Great alt text balances SEO optimization with genuine accessibility needs. Here’s how to write descriptions that serve both purposes effectively.
The Essential Rules
Don’t start alt text with “picture of…” or “Image of…”[5] since screen readers already announce that the element is an image. Instead, jump straight into the description.
Be specific and descriptive: Instead of “dog,” write “golden retriever playing fetch in a sunny park.”
Include relevant context: If the image supports your content, mention details that relate to your topic.
Consider your audience: Think about what information someone who can’t see the image would need to understand its purpose in your content.
Real-World Alt Text Examples
E-commerce Product Image:
Poor: “Product image”
Better: “Red leather handbag with gold hardware and adjustable strap”
Team Photo:
Poor: “Our team”
Better: “Five marketing professionals collaborating around a conference table in a modern office”
Infographic:
Poor: “Statistics chart”
Better: “Bar chart showing 65% increase in mobile commerce sales from 2022 to 2024”
Decorative Image:
For purely decorative images that don’t add information, use empty alt text: alt="". This tells screen readers to skip the image entirely.
Incorporating Keywords Naturally
While alt text should be descriptive first, you can naturally incorporate relevant keywords when they genuinely describe the image content. For a local bakery’s website, “freshly baked sourdough bread cooling on wooden racks” works better than “bread” while including valuable local SEO terms.
Common Alt Text Mistakes That Hurt Your SEO
Avoid these frequent errors that can damage both your accessibility and search engine performance:
Keyword Stuffing: Cramming multiple keywords into alt text sounds unnatural and provides poor user experience for screen reader users.
Duplicate Alt Text: Using identical descriptions for different images confuses search engines and provides no value to users.
Missing Alt Text: Not every single image needs to have an alt text[8], but functional and informative images should always include descriptions.
Overly Long Descriptions: Alt text should be concise while remaining descriptive. Save longer explanations for captions or surrounding content.
Generic Descriptions: Vague descriptions like “image” or “photo” provide no value to anyone.
Platform-Specific Alt Text Implementation
Different website platforms handle alt text in various ways. Here’s how to add alt text on popular platforms:
WordPress
When uploading images in WordPress, you’ll see an “Alt Text” field in the media library. You can also add alt text when inserting images into posts by clicking the image and selecting the alt text option in the block settings.
Wix
In Wix, click on any image, select “Settings,” then “Alt Text” to add your description. Wix also provides SEO suggestions to help optimize your alt text.
Shopify
For Shopify stores, edit product images by going to the product page, clicking on the image, and adding alt text in the image details section. This is particularly important for e-commerce SEO.
Pro tip: Many content management systems now offer built-in SEO auditing tools that can identify images missing alt text, making optimization easier.
Advanced Alt Text Strategies for Competitive Advantage
Once you’ve mastered basic alt text, consider these advanced strategies to outperform competitors:
Schema Markup Integration
Combine alt text with structured data markup to provide even more context to search engines about your images and their relationship to your content.
Responsive Alt Text
Consider how your alt text works across different devices. Mobile users might need more concise descriptions, while desktop users can handle slightly longer explanations.
Multilingual Alt Text
If your site serves multiple languages, ensure alt text is properly translated and culturally appropriate for each audience.
A/B Testing Alt Text
Test different alt text approaches to see which generate better engagement and search performance for your specific audience and industry.
Measuring Alt Text Success
Track these metrics to understand how your alt text optimization impacts performance:
Google Images Traffic: Monitor organic traffic from image search results in Google Analytics.
Accessibility Scores: Use tools like WAVE or axe to measure accessibility improvements.
Overall SEO Performance: Track how pages with optimized images perform compared to those without proper alt text.
User Engagement: Monitor bounce rates and time on page for users who arrive via image search.
Key Takeaways
- Alt text serves dual purposes: improving accessibility for users with disabilities while helping search engines understand your visual content
- Over 2.2 billion people worldwide have visual impairments and benefit from properly written alt text descriptions
- Alt text is a confirmed ranking factor for image search results and can drive significant traffic to your website
- Keep descriptions under 125 characters to ensure screen readers can read the full description
- Be specific and descriptive rather than using generic terms like “image” or “photo”
- Don’t start with “picture of” or “image of” since screen readers already identify the element as an image
- Different image attributes serve different purposes: alt text for accessibility and SEO, titles for additional information, captions for visible context
- Combine alt text with descriptive file names for maximum SEO impact
- Avoid keyword stuffing while naturally incorporating relevant terms when they genuinely describe the image
- Decorative images should use empty alt text (alt=””) to allow screen readers to skip them
Start Optimizing Your Images Today
Proper alt text isn’t just about checking an SEO box—it’s about creating an inclusive web experience while improving your search visibility. Start by auditing your existing images and adding descriptive alt text to your most important pages and products.
Ready to take your SEO to the next level? Get a free SEO audit to identify all the images on your site that need alt text optimization, or explore our comprehensive image SEO optimization guide for advanced strategies.
Remember: every image is an opportunity to communicate with both search engines and users who experience the web differently than you do. Make every image count.
References
[1] Amasty. “Is Image Alt Text Still Important for SEO in 2024?” Amasty Blog, 2024.
[2] Directom. “Image SEO: Does Alt Text Still Matter? (Updated June 2024).” Directom, 2020.
[3] Accessibly. “30 Key Web Accessibility Statistics.” Accessibly Blog, July 2024.
[4] ThemeIsle. “50+ Web Accessibility Statistics: Trends & Challenges.” ThemeIsle Blog, February 2024.
[5] HubSpot. “Image Alt Text: What It Is, How to Write It, and Why It Matters to SEO.” HubSpot Marketing Blog, September 2022.
[6] Search Engine Journal. “Is Alt Text A Ranking Factor For Google Image Search?” Search Engine Journal, November 2023.
[7] Alli AI. “Alt Tag (for Image Links) and SEO: What You Need to Know.” Alli AI, 2024.
[8] Yoast. “Image SEO: How to optimize your alt text and title text.” Yoast SEO Blog, April 2025.
