SEO
March 16, 2023
Alt text(alternative text), also known as “alt tags” or “alt descriptions,” is the text that is associated with an image on a web page.
Alt texts in SEO are used to describe the content of an image to search engines and to users who are unable to view the image, either because they are using a screen reader or because the image is not yet loaded on the page.
In the context of search engine optimization (SEO), alt text is used to help search engines understand the relevance of the page to a particular search query.
By using relevant and descriptive alt text, you can help improve the ranking of your web page in search results.
Alt texts in SEO are also important for accessibility, as it provides a way for people who are using screen readers to access the content of an image.
By providing a brief and accurate description of the image, you can help ensure that users with visual impairments can understand the content of the image.
To add alt text to an image, you can use the “alt” attribute in the HTML code for the image. For example:
<img decoding="async" src="Eg_Alt_images_1.webp" alt="A description of the image" title="What are Alt Texts in SEO? | Serpple">
It is important to note that alt text should be concise and descriptive, but not too long. A good rule of thumb is to keep the alt text to around 125 characters or less.
Alt tags can have an impact on image SEO in several ways. Here are a few ways in which alt tags can help improve the ranking of images in search results:
Alt tags help search engines relate the content of an image: When search engines crawl web pages, they rely on it to understand the abouts’ of an image.
By providing a descriptive alt tag for an image, you can help search engines understand what the image is about and how it relates to the content of the page.
Alt tags can help images rank for relevant keywords:
If you include relevant keywords in your alt tags, it can help your images rank for those keywords in search results.
This can be especially useful for images that are part of a blog post or article, as it can help the page rank for those keywords which you put in alt tags as well.
Alt tags can improve the accessibility of images:
As mentioned earlier, they provide a way for people to use screen readers to understand the content of an image.
By writing alt tags, you can help ensure that users with visual impairments can access and understand the context.
It’s worth noting that while alt tags can be an important factor in image SEO, they are just one of many factors that search engines consider when ranking images in search results.
To rank an image in search engines other factors include the file name of the image, the title and caption of the image, and the overall context in which the image appears on the page.
Alt text is important for a number of reasons, including:
Improved accessibility: Alt text provides a way for people using screen readers to understand the content of an image.
This can be especially important for users with visual impairments, as it allows them to access the content of the image and understand what it is about.
Improved SEO: Alt text helps search engines understand the content of an image and how it relates to the content of the page.
By using relevant and descriptive alt text, you can improve the ranking of your page in search results for relevant keywords.
Improved user experience: Alt text can be useful for users who are unable to view the image.
By providing a descriptive alt tag, you can help ensure that users are able to understand the content of the image and how it relates to the rest of the page.
Here are a few examples of alt text in SEO:
In general, the good alt text should be concise and descriptive, and should accurately reflect the content of the image. It should also include relevant keywords when appropriate.
It is important to avoid using generic alt texts, as it does not help search engines understand the content of the image or how it relates to the content of the page.
It’s also worth noting that alt text should not be used to stuff keywords or spam the image with irrelevant keywords.
This can be seen as “keyword stuffing” and can actually hurt the ranking of your page in search results.
Instead, focus on using descriptive and relevant alt text that accurately reflects the content of the image.
There are a few different ways you can find and fix issues with alt text in images on your website:
It’s worth noting that fixing issues with alt text in images on your website can be time-consuming, especially if you have a large website with a lot of images.
However, it is an important step in improving the SEO of your website, so it is worth taking the time to ensure that your alt text is accurate and descriptive.
Serpple Keyword rank tracker has an important module in the roadmap which will do the entire audit for your web pages. Keep connected with us for more upcoming updates.
