Definition: Alt text is a descriptive text associated with an image on a webpage, aiding both search engine crawlers and users in understanding images that are not visible.Images play a crucial role in website development, enhancing context, breaking up text, and adding visual appeal. However, an unoptimized image is only beneficial to those who can see it.What occurs when a visually impaired individual visits your site or when Google’s algorithms attempt to crawl it for information? This is why optimizing images with alt text is vital. What exactly is alt text, and how can it enhance your website? We will delve into its definition, significance, and guide you through setting up an alt tag.Continue reading to expand your knowledge, and then subscribe to Revenue Weekly for more digital marketing insights from an agency with over 28 years of experience!Unsure about “what is alt text”? You’ve found your answer here.Alt text, also known as alt tags or alt attributes, is the descriptive text attached to an image, outlining its content. This text is embedded within the website’s code and can typically be viewed by hovering over the image.
The purpose of an alt tag is to convey the image’s content. For instance, if you’re a home repair company, you might include a photo of a damaged house on your site.A suitable alt tag for this image might read, “house damaged by fallen tree.”Understanding the meaning of alt tags, let’s discuss how to craft them effectively. There is a right and wrong approach to writing alt tags, aiming to provide just enough information to visualize the image without seeing it.Here are some things you should avoid:
Overloading alt tags with keywords (e.g., “fishing rod fishing line fishing pole”)
Oversimplifying (e.g., “hat”)
Starting with “image of” (e.g., “image of bluebird on fence post”)
The best advice for writing alt tags is to momentarily step out of your marketing mindset and describe the image as you would to a friend across the room.Now that you understand alt tags definition, you’ll discover that incorporating alt attributes into your images offers several advantages. Specifically, three benefits make it worthwhile to add alt tags to your website images.1. Improved rankingsOne of the most significant advantages of using alt tags is their potential to enhance your Google search rankings. This is due to how Google ranks pages. To rank a page, Google crawls it and adds it to its search index. When Google’s spiders crawl a page, they scan it to understand the context. Scanning images, however, is different.Google’s crawlers cannot read images, meaning pictures on your site won’t contribute to your rankings. However, when you use alt tags, this changes. The image now has descriptive text attached to it, allowing Google to see its content and factor it into your rankings.2. Google ImagesAnother way alt text for images can benefit you is by helping your images appear in Google Images. Google Images operates by pulling images from sites in its index. Since it’s pulling those images in response to a specific search query, it needs to know what the images depict.With an unoptimized image on your site, Google may have no way of knowing what it shows. As a result, it won’t show up in any Google Image results. However, if you provide your image with the alt tag “generic gold trophy,” Google now knows that your image shows a trophy. So, when someone searches for “gold trophy” in Google Images, there’s a chance your image will appear, leading people to your site.3. Image accessibilityThe final major advantage of alt tags is their role in enhancing website accessibility. Image accessibility is often overlooked by many businesses but can significantly improve the overall effectiveness of your marketing.Many visually impaired users rely on screen readers to interact with web pages. Like Google’s algorithms, screen readers cannot read aloud the content of an image unless you use an alt tag. This helps users understand what’s on the page.Not only is image accessibility a basic courtesy to your visually impaired customers, but it also contributes to user satisfaction and brand loyalty, driving more conversions.Creating alt tags is a straightforward process. Simply insert a short snippet into your site’s code. If you’re working through a content management system (CMS), you may not even have to delve into the code itself — many CMS’s will allow you to click the image and type the alt tag into a box. Even if that’s not the case, adding an alt tag to the code is a simple task.Start by pulling up your site’s HTML source code. Then find the image you want to add an alt tag to — it should look something like this:
<img src=https://www.webfx.com/blog/web-design/what-is-alt-text/”exampleimage.png”>
To add an alt tag, insert a snippet of code before the closing angle bracket.The code should take this format:
alt=”example description”
When you’re done, the full line of code should combine the above two elements. Here’s an example:
<img src=https://www.webfx.com/blog/web-design/what-is-alt-text/”bookshelfproject” alt=”A newly handcrafted bookshelf”>
And that’s it! As long as you remember the format of the code snippet, adding alt tags for images is easy — and with your CMS, it might be even simpler.Adding alt text to an image is simple, but it’s not the only way to optimize your images or your website as a whole.Seeking ways to improve the user experience on your site? Partner with WebFX’s team of over 500+ experts. With our web design services, you’ll receive assistance setting up your alt tags and images, as well as a boost for your entire website, enhancing its appearance and improving rankings simultaneously. You’ll also have a dedicated account representative to keep you informed of our progress. To get started with us, just give us a call at 888-601-5359 or contact us online today!
