Alt text

Alt text (alternative text) refers to the descriptive text that is assigned to images on web pages. This text describes the contents and purpose of the image and is displayed in situations where the image cannot be rendered, such as for visually impaired users who rely on screen readers, or when there are issues with image loading.

Alt text affects search engine rankings in the following ways:

1. Image Accessibility: Search engines prioritize websites that are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Providing descriptive alt text for images improves the accessibility of your website, which can positively impact your search rankings.
2. Image Understanding: Search engines cannot “see” images in the same way humans do. Alt text provides context and describes the image to search engine crawlers, helping them better understand the content and relevance of the image to the page.
3. Keyword Optimization: While alt text should primarily describe the image accurately, including relevant keywords in a natural way can help search engines associate the image with the page’s topic and potentially improve rankings for those keywords.
4. Image Search Optimization: Descriptive and keyword-rich alt text can help your images rank better in image search results, driving additional traffic to your website.

Best practices for using alt text to improve SEO:

1. Be descriptive and accurate: Alt text should accurately and concisely describe the contents of the image.
2. Include relevant keywords: While not overstuffing, incorporate relevant keywords into the alt text where appropriate and natural.
3. Keep it concise: Alt text should be brief, typically no more than a few words or a short phrase.
4. Avoid redundancy: Don’t repeat text that is already present in the surrounding content or captions.
5. Use alt text for decorative images: Even decorative images should have appropriate alt text, such as “decorative line” or “spacer image.”
6. Optimize for context: The alt text should be relevant to the image’s purpose and the page’s overall content.

While not a direct ranking factor, well-crafted alt text improves the user experience, accessibility, and search engine understanding of your website’s images, which can contribute to better overall search engine rankings.