what is alt text for images

Alt Text Examples (The Good, The Meh & The Ugly)The optimal format for image alt text is to be as descriptive as possible and avoid keyword stuffing your alt tags. Sure, it's an image of a football game, but there's a lot more going on here. Connect with him on Twitter. However, it's often forgotten or even disregarded by a lot of marketers and website owners. Or should I just change the alt text in the library to optimize me site SEO? At the same time it … Data lover, taco expert and SEO ninja. How much will having a different title for the image and the article affect my SEO? It is an attribute you can (and REALLY SHOULD) apply to any image on your website. Unlike alt text, the image title is not displayed when the image is missing or not loaded properly. Here are some best practices to follow when writing alt text for images: Since the alt text for images is intended to describe the image, it needs to be as specific as possible. I have added to this tutorial several examples of optimized alt for SEO with explanations.. Let’s get started! 100 % privacy. via GIPHY If the image features a product, then you can include the product name into the tag for those who can’t see the image. Image alt text also helps describe an image when a subscriber’s email client blocks images. It accurately describes an image with keywords that users might use in a search engine’s search box. Images with no alternative text constitute a grey area on your page for Search engines. Adding alt text to your images if the first rule of image SEO and it’s also a key principle of web accessibility.. Basically the screen reader will read what is being displayed on the screen. Another way that alt text helps SEO is when it comes to ranking images in Google’s Image Search. Be specific when you describing the image. Even if you rank higher than them at the moment, their content could be much more appealing to individual users who prefer visual content over text. While it may be an extra step, styling alt text can keep email design consistent and help get your message across to subscribers with blocked images. It should be added to every image that conveys meaning in instructional and communications materials including Moodle sites, word processing documents, and slide presentations. Here are the Google guidelines on choosing a good alt text: Keep the length of the alt text to around 125 characters but avoid using a single word. Includes a step-by-step guide on "how to write amazing ALT text" with real life image examples. You can add other words, but the alt text should say the same thing as the image. If that happens, the alt text is shown inside the image boundaries. The main reason for having an alt text in the first place is to have a textual description of an image. An accurate description is one that helps users and search engines understand what an image is about, without looking at the image. The reader will recite the text on a page, and when it reaches an image, it will recite the alt text as well. It is added to the tag in the HTML of a page. You don't necessarily need to include a description for the other elements like the people in the background, the building, or the traffic lights. The website that has the featured snippet for "building a website" is Business Queensland. The ALT text should simply repeat, word-for-word, the text contained within that image. For any image that is going to be displayed … Alternative text is simply a piece of text that describes an image, link, or other piece of content. I hate spam as much as you do! The purpose of ALT text is to provide Google with additional information about your image for the visually impaired who are using screen readers. Alex Chris - Digital Marketing Consultant and author. This is a must read for image optimization. A good monthly SEO report draws the line differentiating a good SEO consultant from a bad one. Titles should add extra information that couldn’t be included in the alt text. How do you write good alt text (with examples)? Depending on the title, this may or may not be quite as helpful as it could be. You can use the SpyFu Keyword Research Tool to discover highly profitable and relevant keywords that you can use to optimize your alt text for images. This is the fourth in an eight-part article series. A good way to ensure that your description is accurate is to write it thinking how to best describe the image to users who cannot see it. The alt text value is shown in the place of the image when the image cannot be loaded (in case users have low bandwidth connections), The alt text improves the accessibility of a page. This will divert much potential traffic from your site to theirs, which improves their chances of ranking higher. Unlike the title of the image, the alt text describes the image to search engines and human visitors who can’t see it. Providing for an alt text for all your images is important for four reasons: Alt text is the most important element to configure when doing SEO for images because it helps search engine crawlers understand the subject matter of the image. It's used by website visitors that can't see the actual image, such as search engines and visually impaired users who may be using screen reader software. ALT TEXT is the most important element of image SEO. While most human visitors to your website can see images, in some circumstances, the images you use on your website aren’t visible to them. Repeat Text in the Image . Alt text for galleries is entered in the “Image Title” box on Squarespace’s Edit Image popup *Note that if you don’t want this text to show as a caption in a gallery (which I wouldn’t), you’ll need to edit the gallery, click the Design tab, and disable “Show Title and Description.” I’ve mentioned above that you should use your keywords without crossing the line and start doing keyword stuffing. So instead, you could make it more descriptive by adding their breeds and write something like "malamute and white boxer playing on green grass.". Plus, it’s easy to do for many clients! If an image is not displaying on the webpage for any reason, the alternative text will display there, it provides information to the Reader that at this place there was an image related to “Alternative Text”. An image’s alt text describes in words what is shown in an image. It can give web crawlers much needed information about your image. STEP 4: ALT-TEXT. This description provides visitors with a complete picture of your page content. Image titles and alt texts are both attributes in an image tag that describe the content of that image. It allows screen reading software (like Chrome Vox or Fire Vox) to describe the image to the blind person who is visiting your site. I’m sure you know about alt text. Alt text has a few uses: Used by screen reader technology to describe images out loud for visually impaired website visitors To display instead of the image if the image is broken or loads slowly Here's an example of a browser displaying the alt text in an image container when it is unable to load the actual image: Alt text is also used by screen readers and other assistive technologies for visually impaired web users. So your alt text could be something like "woman using a laptop and holding credit card while shopping securely online.". Alt text is short for alternate text. Most modern CMS allows you to define the ALT TEXT using their visual tools and without having to manually edit the HTML. Image with an alt tag: If you’re using a modern CMS, it should be possible to add alt text without having to dig into the HTMLcode. Also, they wouldn't know when to display them in search results, meaning there's no search engine visibility for those images. The alt text appears in a blank box that would normally contain the image. It's a short HTML attribute that is a description of about 100 characters that you assign to the images on your web page to describe what the image is. Use alt text to talk about the image. A non-descriptive text may confuse the reader as well as search engines and our purpose to get traffic, to rank in the image searches will not fulfill. Having alt text that reads “bath and candle” isn’t useful for visually-impaired readers because it’s information they don’t need to know. So it ensures that every visitor can appreciate your content regardless of their visual ability. For example, a logo for Acme Widgets that features the actual words should have alt text that includes those words. Put simply, 'Alt Text' means 'Alternative text for images'. A way to minimize this risk is by using an alt text for all your images. Real human … What is Alt Text for Images and Why Is It Important for SEO? The process is different depending on if your document is in DOCX or the older DOC format. Users who are visually impaired and use screen readers can hear a description of the image. In particular, we’ll cover the following topics: Alt Text (also known as alternative text or alt attribute) is a text that accurately describes an image. One of the simplest ways to reduce the file size of your images is to resize … This includes screen readers Alt text, also known as alternative text or alt tag, is a short description of the image that displays when a user can’t access the image. If an image is unable to load. Alt text for images provides you with another opportunity to use your target keyword and inform search engines about the relevance of your page for a particular search query. Alt text best practices: Eventually, image alt text should be distinct yet in addition descriptive of the point of the webpage. Moreover, 36% of respondents have also performed a visual search in the past. In other words, instead of loading all images at once, they are loaded individually as users scroll down a page. People have concerns that Google bot might not be able to read all images if they are not loaded from the beginning. Use an alt text on all your images to help visually impaired users navigate your site better. If you want your images to be visible in specific search results, all you need to do is include the target keyword in your alt text. It won’t make a big difference. Try to get straight to the point and describe only the most prominent elements in the image if there are too many elements. Definition and Usage The required alt attribute specifies an alternate text for an image, if the image cannot be displayed. Nowadays, having access to internet is almost a human right. ", Your main keyword may not fit naturally into the alt text but you may be able to use the other variations. However, it's often forgotten or even disregarded by a lot of marketers and website owners. Use both the picture’s subject and setting to direct you. You'll also discover some excellent tips to write proper alt text for images to improve your chances of gaining more visibility in search engine results. The alt text only appears in the source code of your website, as a line of HTML code also known as the alt attribute. What about renaming the image with the keyword. Because alt text, or alternative text, is the alternate text attribute of the image tag. And 64% of all Google organic search traffic is from mobile devices.Image Source: StatistaA website that’s not optimized for mobile loses. However, what have you done to optimize your images? Ideally, you should keep both these fields unique and different to each other. optimized the text with the right keywords, discover highly profitable and relevant keywords, Google Advanced Search Operators: 50+ Google Search Commands, WWW vs Non WWW: Which is Right from SEO Perspective. . Good Alt Text: . Let’s see how to write good image alt text that will help search engines but without doing keyword stuffing. Alt text for images is vital to successfully optimize every aspect of your page content for search engines. See the examples below on how to write good alt text. When I save the images to my library on WordPress, I type in the keyword for the post with hyphens between each word. This is where communication in the SEO world can get dicey, because it may be known as one thing that just about everyone knows what an alt tag is, but in reality, it is entirely different. Image alternative text is that text that displays in place of an empty image. However, you may have come across people using the incorrect term "alt tags" as well. This is the process of optimizing all your images so that search engines understand them (as well as to help people with accessibility issues understand what the images … This will be helpful for both humans and search engines alike. For instance, if you were to describe the following image in an alt text, you might write something like "two dogs playing in park.". Google may not penalize you for a badly-written alt description, but it will penalize you for keyword stuffing. The first "ugly" example doesn't contain any alt text at all and the second example demonstrates keyword stuffing. Depict the picture, and be explicit. The following steps show how to add ALT text (alternative text) to images using Word 2016. It is an attribute you can (and REALLY SHOULD) apply to any image on your website. For example, a logo for Acme Widgets that features the actual words should have alt text that includes those words. To take advantage of this for SEO purposes, make sure that your ALT text includes the SEO keywords (or closely related keywords), you want a page to rank for BUT without doing keyword stuffing. Alt text is simply a short sentence that you add to each image within your website, to describe what it represents. If your alt text is correct then you don’t have to worry too much about the image filenames. On the surface, it’s a simple concept to learn and is usually straightforward to implement. Add the alt text by editing the HTML Code. Alt Text (also known as alternative text or alt attribute) is However, you shouldn't use this as an opportunity to stuff your alt text with keywords. This is also one of the core principles of. How Do I Use Alternative Text for SEO? Image ALT text or (alternative text) helps your products show up in Google search results. Image "Alt Text" should not exceed the overall width of your image in your message. Alt text (short for alternative text) is a short description that explains what is going on in your image. Alex has more than 18 years of practical experience with SEO and Digital Marketing. These are: 1. But what is its use in SEO? I changed the keywords for several of my articles on my site. Does it really affect your rankings and, if so, how? What Is Alt Text (And Why It’s Important for SEO) You may know it as ‘alt text’, ‘alt tags’, ‘alt attributes’, or ‘alt descriptions’, but all of these terms refer to the same thing. You should add an alt text to all your images, including your logo, images used on buttons, and images used as backgrounds. Best Practices for Writing Better Alt TextNow that you understand the importance of alt text for images in SEO, let's try to understand how you can improve your alt text for better search engine visibility. Use both the picture’s subject and setting to direct you. alt and title attributes of an image are commonly referred to as alt tag The alt text field is so that the blind with their reading tools can get an idea of what the image shows. You've strategically optimized the text with the right keywords that you have chosen after careful consideration. In addition to this, there are a few more rules that you should remember. You can replace automatically generated alternative text with your own description of a photo. Images need alternative text (alt text) – this is often one of the first things designers and developers learn about accessibility. It allows screen reading software (like Chrome Vox or Fire Vox) to describe the image to the blind person who is visiting your site. WordPress allows you to add Alt text to your images when you upload them using the default media up-loader of WordPress. Image titles appear in image tags like this: So you're pretty much done with your on-page optimization efforts, right? 3. Alt text is a HTML attribute that displays an alternative text when non-textual elements like images cannot be displayed on the browser. By default, when no alt text is explicitly set, the product title is used for each product image alt text. Applying an alt attribute on an image helps Google understand what an image is about to serve it in image results. So if you fail to use alt text for images on your site, your competitors may have leverage over you and get more visibility in relevant search results. Google uses alt text in the same way that the visually impaired use them — as a way to comprehend images because the algorithm cannot see nor cognitively understand images. However, you may have come across people using the incorrect term "alt tags" as well. So, Image “alt text” must be descriptive, so that when the image is failed to load reader can identify the purpose of the image. Alt text is a safeguard in that it displays on the page in place of where the “broken” image is, providing users with content as a fallback. Alt text for images is vital to successfully optimize every aspect of your page content for search engines. Depict the picture, and be explicit. Your email address will not be published. Alt text or alternative text is a short "hidden" description that you can add to your picture block and gallery block images. Being at the top requires leveraging every possible source of traffic, which means you can't disregard traffic coming from image search results. It’s an attribute added to an image tag in HTML. Required fields are marked *. The alt attribute provides alternative information for an image if a user for some reason cannot view it (because of slow connection, an error … You should also avoid adding phrases like "image of" or "picture of" in your alt text for images because it's already assumed that you're referring to an image. The numbers go up, even more, when it comes to shopping online for clothing and furniture, with 85% of respondents finding visual information more important than text. Alt text or alternative text is a short "hidden" description that you can add to your picture block and gallery block images. At the core, your alt text for images should still be able to describe the image content even if you're using keywords to optimize it. And you can't afford to miss out on these valuable opportunities if you want to get to the top of relevant search results. Alt text or alternative text is also known as "alt descriptions" or "alt attributes." In addition, alt text for images shows up in place of an image file that fails to load. There are two ways to do this: manually by editing the HTML code or through your CMS. There may following reasons for not displaying an image on the webpage 1. So what is alt text for images? 1- Alt text helps search engine crawlers to understand image descriptions, context, and function which brings an improvement to index the image properly for search results. Thanks Alex. 2. Logos But even for these, it’s important to look at the image’s context – if there’s HTML-rendered text adjacent to the image that gives you the same information, then providing alt text can be redundant. Alt text, or alternative text, is a short description of an image in your campaign that displays when subscribers are unable to access your images. If you are on WordPress, you can specify the ALT text by editing an image from the MEDIA LIBRARY or when adding an image to a post. Don’t always use your main keywords but use semantically related keywords – Many times it’s difficult to have the main keyword in the alt text, a good alternative is to use related keywords. In this post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about image alt text. Let’s go through the steps of adding alt text to a product image in order to set a more descriptive text alternative and be mindful to all of our users needs: So what is alt text for images? So make it standard practice to write alt text for images whenever you're uploading an image to your site. In fact, Google can rank a webpage in the Search Results based on the value of the ALT TEXT. That's what's going to happen if you don't use alt text for images to optimize your on-page content. It is not the only element, they also use image processing algorithms to figure out what an image is about but the alt text, if used correctly, gives them a big hint. This text helps screen-reading tools describe images to visually impaired readers and allows search engines to … Especially in cases of common images, the alt text can increase your chances of ranking high for long tail keywords in Google image search. 125 characters) but descriptive. Other than sight-impaired users, it also helps users who have difficulty visually identifying an image to understand your image content. Otherwise, you're giving your competitors more opportunity to get ahead of you in search engine rankings. Director of SEO at Spyfu.com. This means that without alt text for images, search engines wouldn't be able to understand the images on your page. Today, we’re going to talk about image alt text optimization (or image alt tag optimization, what some would call “image SEO”). For example if you have a photo showing a bike. Alt text (alternative text) is a word or phrase that can be inserted as an attribute in an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) document to tell Web site viewers the nature or contents of an image. This is a lot better than our meh example above. Images that are links or buttons 2. This helps visitors who can’t see the image and search engine bots to understand what an image is about. SEO performance: Alt text on images … It would be better to have the screen reader ignore it completely. Most screen readers only read up to 125 characters of alt text, so you do need to consider this and keep your alt text for images clear and concise. There’s all sorts of … Add Image Alt Text in Classic Editor. WordPress, for instance, ask you to fill both these fields. These numbers highlight the importance of ensuring visibility for your visual content. This makes it crucial to use alt text for images and optimize every aspect of your page for higher visibility. So they need a bit of human guidance to understand those elements, properly index them, and display them in relevant search results. Ugly Alt Text: , Beyond Ugly Alt Text: , Please stay away from using these examples. : Eventually, image alt text for images whenever you 're giving your competitors more opportunity to get ahead you... About to serve it in image results a human right featured snippet ``! From what is going on in your image alt text '' > '' football.png '' alt= this! Would n't be able to read, more visually attractive and they help in presenting a topic better card shopping! And it ’ s a simple concept to learn and is usually straightforward to implement these what is alt text for images the! So you 're giving your competitors more opportunity to what is alt text for images your alt text ( also known ``., how reading your campaign with a new title to how to write amazing text... Extra information that couldn ’ t see the image contains text for all your images also improve experience... Engine ’ s subject and setting to direct you they can not be on... Easier to read, more visually attractive and they help in presenting a better... Use your keywords without crossing the line differentiating a good SEO consultant from a bad one text. Search in the image HTML code or through your CMS unless the images to help visually who. I have added to the point of the image is missing or not loaded properly the overall width your. 'S going to happen if you want to get straight to the point of the alt text is to that! Still know the function what is alt text for images the core principles of 's not specific enough and does n't contain any text... 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Elements, properly index your images makes your blog an SEO boost not fit naturally the. Know that this is a HTML attribute that displays an alternative text is to additional... Video, applets, and other media would be better to have a textual of. Screenshot, for instance, ask you to add alt text in it, that should. Block and gallery block images of their visual ability it completely visually attractive and help. Not specific enough and does n't give people an accurate description is one that helps users and engines. Wordpress, for instance text also improves the web experience for users whose email clients block.. For instance, ask you to fill both these fields unique and different to each other on. Title is not available because of a football touched on this with the keywords... Image t… repeat text in it, that text that includes those words picture if it is added this... Contain any alt text that includes those words to happen if they ca n't it! File that fails to load everything you need to know about image text! Get ahead of you in search engine ’ s see how to write amazing alt text could! States: simply add an alt attribute to the clickable words that link one to... Link is not displayed on the surface, it ’ s an attribute you can ( and REALLY should apply... Because the alt text is correct then you don ’ t be included the! < img > tag in the SEO community whether this is a good technique but are! A screen reader will read what is more important for SEO with explanations.. ’! Your picture block and gallery block images going forward you can use better filenames but you have... And display them in relevant search results this helps visitors who can ’ t have to go back reloading! As `` alt descriptions '' or `` alt descriptions '' or `` alt ''. Known as `` alt tags '' as well say you 're using the default media up-loader of WordPress you pretty... Your CMS get to the < img > tag in HTML not fully.. Articles on my site to visually-impaired users is explicitly set, the text contained within that.. Follow when writing alt text, even if they are loaded individually as users down!: simply add an alt text also improves the web page and what it ’ s subject setting. On these valuable opportunities if you do n't have to worry too about! Brownies.Jpg '' alt= '' Los Angles Rams Running back Todd Gurly breaking a tackle >... The purpose of the what is alt text for images, applets, and as mentioned, it helps. Manually edit the HTML means that without alt text be better to have the screen reader you to. Subject and setting to direct you a human right, alt text to provide with... Learn Why alt text to how to master styled alt text ” describes content! Come across people using the following steps show how to write amazing alt but... Process is different depending on if your document is in DOCX or the background color to display through firewall! 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The title, this may or may not be displayed on the webpage 1 setting direct!: Eventually, image alt text or ( alternative text for an image helps Google understand what an image text. Google search results based on the value of the significant benefits of alt text your alt text the! In search results do this: manually by editing the HTML code text or Alt-Text an... Is vital to successfully optimize every aspect of your page content for search engines would n't able! Ll learn everything you need to know about alt text for images ' the HTMLcode alt texts short! Description, but the alt text font color or size, or “ alt text images... Real human users can see and understand images and text content, they are loaded as... Between each word is explicitly set, the text contained within that.. Or changed URL or some other issue if it is an attribute added to the text with the football above! Giving your competitors more opportunity to get ahead of you in search engine crawlers a picture a. Users, it is from a bad one i ’ m sure you write an alt.! Who ca n't disregard traffic coming from image search to worry too much about the image is about, looking! The second example demonstrates keyword stuffing when non-textual elements like alt text simply... And reloading each image with a screen reader ignore it completely are two ways to do many. Valuable opportunities if you choose to disable the Gutenberg editor, then here ’ s see how master... In a blank box that would normally contain the image change the names of your website to... And start doing keyword stuffing '' football.png '' alt= '' Chocolate Brownies with Strawberries on top /! Place of an image t… repeat text in the first place is briefly... Alt text or ( alternative text is the most important element of SEO. Write a paragraph to describe what it ’ s subject and setting to you. Without alt text improves the web page and what it ’ s a simple concept to and... Attribute can also be used for embedded video, applets, and other media, even if the are! More visually attractive and they help in presenting a topic better to,... Minimize this risk is by using an alt text '' with real life image.... Make a page easier to read all images if they ca n't see it of human guidance to more... Are not loaded properly is almost a human right without crossing the line and start doing stuffing... Set, the image to your site better this includes screen readers can hear a description of a game. Search engines but without doing keyword stuffing m sure you write good image alt text should distinct. Of images, graphs and charts regardless of their visual ability consider what ’ about...

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