What is alt text?
Alt text is an HTML attribute that can be added to images on websites to describe what the image contains.
Alt text serves several different purposes:
- Alt texts can be used by visually impaired users who use screen readers. Through the alt text, they can be informed about what a given image contains.
- If the image cannot be loaded on the website for any reason, the alt text is displayed instead, so visitors can still know what the image contains.
- Last but not least, alt texts are used by search engines to identify what images contain. This is particularly important for image SEO, as search engines cannot yet identify the content of images and only understand text content.
In pure HTML, alt text looks like this:
Image without alt text
<img src="/image.jpg"/>
Image with alt text
<img src="image" alt="Dog jumping"/>
In the above example, the image is a picture of a dog jumping, which is why the alt text is defined as "Dog jumping"
How do I create alt texts?
Most common CMS systems have built-in features for defining alt texts on images. In WordPress, for example, you can find all your images under "Media" in the left-hand menu, and assign alt texts to them under the "Alternative Text" field.
What should alt texts contain?
In terms of SEO best practice, your alt texts should simply contain a short and precise description of the image content.
If, for example, you were to write an alt text for the image below, it could be "Black bicycle in forest"
Where possible, you should also try to incorporate keywords in the alt texts of images that also function as links, as the alt text will in that case serve as the link's anchor text.
Alt texts and SEO
In terms of SEO in general, alt texts are first and foremost important because, as described above, they also function as anchor values in cases where images serve as links.
Furthermore, it is essential to define alt texts if you want your images to rank in search engine image results. As mentioned earlier, this is necessary for search engines to understand the content of an image at all, as they are not yet smart enough to identify image content and can only understand text content.
Would you like to optimise your images for SEO and ensure that your alt texts are correct and precise?
We can help you implement alt texts that improve your website's accessibility and visibility in search engines. Fill in the form below or call us on 30 12 42 72 for a no-obligation chat!
