What is Alt Text SEO and How to Write Correctly?

Google offers text search, and you can also search by image. Images make your article more intuitive, attractive, and less tedious for readers.

Images are also crucial in bringing your website to the top of Google search results. However, if you upload an image, it will be challenging for Google to read the content in your image, so you must describe your image in HTML, and that description is called Alt Text. 

So what is an image of Alt Text? Furthermore, how to optimize the Image Alt Text HTML standard? Find out with me in this article!

1. What is Image Alt Text?

Alt Text (Alt attribute) is the text that will be displayed when the image cannot be displayed on the website. Although Alt Text is also part of the HTML code, it only describes the image content contained in the Alt and not the entire Alt tag attributes. Alt Text is essential because it helps search engines determine an image’s description. Alt-tagged images will positively impact your keyword ranking on Google.

2. What is Alt tag?

The Alt tag, also known as the “Alt attribute” or “Alt description,” is an HTML attribute applied to an image tag to describe that image’s content briefly. Alt tags help Google better understand what this image refers to, thereby returning the most accurate results to the user.

In addition, there will be some cases where the image cannot be displayed, but the user still understands the descriptive image content through the Alt Text attached to the Alt tag.

The general structure of the Alt tag is: <img src=”url” alt=”alt text”>

3. Why is Alt Text important?

Increase accessibility

The primary purpose of alt text is still to describe the image for visitors who do not see the image. The reason may be due to weak networks, browsers blocking the image or people who cannot visually recognize the image.

In addition, the alt attribute is used for features that help blind people interact with computers by creating audio descriptions they can hear. Image Alt Text ensures that all users, including those with visual impairments, can absorb the content on the website.

Image SEO

In addition to providing a good user experience, Alt Text also brings many benefits to image SEO and general SEO. This is one of the essential Onpage optimization criteria that SEOer cannot ignore.

Search engines have upgraded their image recognition capabilities, but search crawlers still limit the ability of websites to see images, so interpreting images makes more sense. That helps Google understand the correct way to rank your website instead of getting it wrong and missing out on ranking.

The alt text is also an opportunity to add your target keyword. Using main keywords is a way to increase the ranking factor on search engines. Creating an image description Alt Text is descriptive and can include your target keywords and phrases.

Suggestion: Google does not encourage SEOers to use too many images but should use text to replace the content of those images.

4. How to write Alt Text that works

As I said above, in addition to the image description Alt Text is also an opportunity to integrate relevant and meaningful focus keywords to enrich the content, providing a good user experience.

When writing Alt Text for images, you need to keep the following points in mind:

• Describe the image objectively: Alt Text will be displayed when the image fails to upload, or the upload fails. So let the user understand the content of the image when the image is not visible.
• Provide context for images: Information will be collected for correct indexing.
• Alt Text should be concise: Avoid image phrases and long descriptive pictures that are not effective.
• Avoid keyword stuffing: Creating Alt Text aims to make the best article quality. Keyword stuffing will not work for both the content and the Alt Text.

5. How to Create a Standard Alt Text

Describe specific images: When images cannot be displayed, descriptions of images help users understand meaning and value. That is what design intent means.

Short: Ensure it is under 125 characters, as standard screens only contain that range.

Use keywords: What is the use of keywords in Alt Text? It is an opportunity to add your target keywords to your page, helping search engines better understand which query would be relevant to this content. Although the priority is still descriptive, providing context for the image.

Avoid keyword stuffing: Google will penalize you if you make a keyword-stuffing mistake that does not provide any context for the image. Alt text only adds relevant target keywords when it makes sense.

Avoid using text in images: The tool cannot read the text in images, so avoid using text in images but add image explanations in Alt Text.

Do not use the phrases “image of” and “photo of” in Alt Text: The image used already references it as an image. No need to use redundant words to make it more verbose.

Use the longdesc=” tag: This is useful when complex images need long descriptions.

Use Alt Text for Form Buttons: If you use an image as a “submit” button or a command button, provide an Alt attribute describing the function of the button, such as “register now,” “search,” “buy now”,…

7. Some common problems with Alt Text images

When optimizing for SEO images, the description of Alt Text will sometimes encounter some problems you need to understand. When auditing your website, you must check what is wrong with the image. Or see the advice from SEO agency on how to fix alt text errors.

Broken image

Broken, broken, and poor-quality images give the website a bad impression. Immediately you are underestimated no matter how good your product or content is. Search engines and low-ranking websites also recognize this. The website audit tool will highlight the causes of broken web images. You can rely on that and fix the following:

• Wrong URL or invalid path: Correct typos in the URL. If the moved image file no longer matches, fix the URL to point to the correct location.
• The image does not exist: If the image file is deleted, damaged, or changed to another location, remove it from the HTML of the page if it is not needed.

There should be a clear perception between internal and external damaged images. If the images are not the best approach, replace them.

Image without Alt attribute

An empty image with the Alt Text attribute is like missing out on a better image rating opportunity. In addition, it could be better for visually impaired users.

Use the website audit tool to check all images without alt attributes and fix them.

Notice the empty alt Text attribute here:

<img src=”magename.png” alt=” “>

Change this to:

<img src= “imagename.png” alt= “alt-text-well-written-with-keywords”>

8. Frequently asked questions about Alt Text

How to find the Alt tag on the page?

To find the Alt tag on the page, right-click on a white space in the page and select “inspect” or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I. The source code will appear on the right side of the screen.

Next, you select the first icon to the left of the HTML encoding, then find the images you want to see and click on them. The HTML code of that element is to be marked up, which includes the image attribute. OR, you can use EverRanks’ Test Your Website Free Here!

How to read Alt Text in HTML code?

You perform the above operations to display the source code table of the page. Alt Text tags have content such as alt= “ABC.” The ABC part is the Alt Text description.

How to tell if an image has Alt text?

When you check the source code, if after alt=” shows two quotes without content, the alt attribute is empty.

How to add Alt Text to a JPG file?

When you work in Microsoft Word, right-clicking on an image will have the command “Edit Alt Text.” Fill in the image description in that input box and select Close.

Can commas and periods in Alt text?

Yes, as long as the content adequately describes the image, regular use provides a good user experience.

How long should Alt Text be?

Up to 125 characters, Alt Text is an essential part of image SEO, helping to increase user reach. Optimizing Alt Text seems like a small problem, but you absolutely must not take it lightly if you want your website to rank high on search engines. If you use the WordPress platform, this job will be much easier. The knowledge that I have just shared will help you understand what Alt Text is, the importance of Alt, and create user-friendly pages.