How to Write Alt Text for SEO & Accessibility

Alternative text or alt text is reasonably important for making website convenient and accessible to users with disabilities as well as an important factor for natural website ranking. It gives your Web site accessibility to visually impaired users on the other hand enhances your chances of being ranked when users search for images. Here, you will find a step-by-step guide on how to create proper alt text with the use of factsheets, custom graphics, as well other interactive elements.

Why Alt Text Matters

Alt text plays two essential roles:

1. Accessibility: Screen readers use alt text to describe images, helping visually impaired users understand your content.
2. SEO: Search engines rely on alt text to interpret image content, which can enhance your site’s image rankings and overall SEO.

Embedded Element: Factsheet

Quick Facts About Alt Text:

• Ideal length: Under 125 characters.
• Best for: Informative, non-decorative images.
• Common mistake: Keyword stuffing.

Best Practices for Writing Alt Text

1. Be Descriptive Yet Concise

State the content of image and its goal succinctly without giving extra material information.

Example:

• Poor: “Image of a park.”
• Better: “Sunny park with green trees and a walking path.”

2. Include Relevant Keywords

It is logical to amplify or subordinate primary or secondary keywords for the SEO purpose, although the overuse of this approach is inadvisable.

Example:

• Poor: “A smartphone.”
• Better: “Latest iPhone model with sleek black design.”

3. Skip "Image of" or "Picture of"

If such phrases do not need to be introduced, then screen readers already notify elements as pictures, so these phrases are useless.

Example:

• Poor: “Image of a cat sitting on a couch.”
• Better: “Tabby cat sitting on a gray couch.”

Custom Graphics: Dos and Don’ts of Alt Text

Do:

• Write clear, descriptive text.
• Include relevant context.
• Add keywords naturally.

Don’t:

• Stuff keywords.
• Write overly vague descriptions.
• Add alt text for decorative images.

4. Provide Context When Necessary

If it does add value to the surrounding content then one can write an explanation of the image.

Example:

• Poor: “A basketball.”
• Better: “A basketball used during the NBA Finals game.”

Pull-Quote:

“Alt text isn’t just for search engines—it’s about creating a better experience for all users.”

5. Leave Decorative Images Blank

For information images that are not needed to describe the articles, use a blank alt tag (alt=”"). This is important since it eliminates cases where screen readers make unnecessary description of features on the screen.

Example:

<img src="decorative-image.jpg" alt="">

Common Mistakes to Avoid

FAQs

1. How long should alt text be?

Alt text has to clear and to the point, preferably, it should contain maximum of 125 characters to read by screen readers.

2. Is it possible to write alt text for every image?

Do consider alt text for important images. If the images are for a decorative purpose then the alt attribute should be left blank.

3. Must I write the same description for all the images?

Do not repeat measurement unless the pictures are exactly the same and used for the same task.

4. Does alt text impact SEO?

Yes alt text do help the search engine to better understand your images and thereby help to rank your site high in image search results.

5. When is the best time for a person to go through alt text?

One of the best practices is updating alt text during the content audit more often to correspond to modern requirements for SEO and accessibility.

Conclusion

Providing a good quality alt text is one of the easiest and most valuable ways to improve the functionality of the website and searchability on the Internet. Thus, keeping these guidelines in mind, it will be possible not only to make a particular piece of content as minimal and equal to possible for people with disabilities, but also search engine optimized. Engage with tools, factsheets and great knowledge on the optimization of good alt texts and observe your engagement and rankings scale up. Start optimizing today!

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