A hidden gem of the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) world is alt text. It is often not talked about because it is not seen on websites (I mean, that is the whole point). Maybe you have heard people say that images are one of the best ways to get people to use your website, but, for some reason, that is not working for you. This is where alt text comes into hand.
Alt text, also known as alternative text, is what helps to make your website more user-friendly and accessible. Deep into the core of your website admin, alt text is a written description of the image you are displaying. The image appears in the HTML code, and alt text is what allows everyone, no matter what, know what your image is. The alt text can be read out loud to visually impaired users. Without alt text on your images, your site may be losing users who would be more than happy to access your content, but can not.
Along with user-friendly accessibility, alt text improves your SEO immensely. Search engines are not real people, meaning they can not physically see your images the way they are intended when placed on your website. Search engines rely on alt text to understand what your image is representing and give users your page when searching for something that your image may provide for them! If your alt text is well-written, it can improve your content rank in search results. Blogs and businesses should utilize alt text since most of their traffic is organic.
And in the case of your website failing to load an image, alt text enhances user experience. When the image fails to load, the alt text appears, informing your users of what image is there and providing them with the knowledge if they are on the right page or not, preventing confusion.
Click here to access a free alt text generator!
With the world becoming so digital, knowing how to use every corner of the room is important. Alt text is essential to your website!
2 Responses
I really like what you wrote! People often do not use this to their full advantage.
This is super insightful and helpful for understanding ALT text. I liked how you explained the need for alt text by saying how search engines aren’t people and can’t see and interpret images as humans do. Understanding that alt text helps the search engines interpret the images is very useful for increasing your rankings in the SERPs.