The Importance of Alt Text

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words. However, if you’re not adding alt text to your images or pictures on your website, it may as well be worth nothing in the eyes of search engines. Alt text, or image tagging, has become a necessity within our digital world. Not giving your image any alt text is almost like not naming your child or pet. You can see it, but you and others have no idea what to call it. So, what exactly is “alt text,” and why is it so important? Dig further into this blog to uncover how you can use alt text to increase your SEO.

What is Alt Text?

Alt text describes your image textually, almost like a very short, blunt caption. It’s what allows search engines and screen readers to understand what your image is. You assign the alt text based on the image’s functionality and what it is. An example of alt text would be if you had a button placed on your site to buy a red shirt, the alt text would say “button to buy red shirt.” It is different from the alt title, however. The alt title will not be read by screen readers and shows up when you hover your mouse over it.

Why is it so important?

This text is what Google crawlers will search for when looking for relevance within your content. The more relevant information those crawlers can uncover, the more likely you are to show up on related searches. It is also what would be read to those who use screen readers, like the blind and visually impaired. As technology advances, this alt text is increasingly important. Amazon’s Alexa now possesses a feature of reading emails to people. Without the alt text, your image will not be noticed or mentioned within this realm of technology. Every image you post should have an alt text. Ensuring that each of your images has the correct alt text increases SEO and makes your content more accessible.

How Can You Use it to Your Advantage

Your alt text provides an additional means to incorporate keywords into your content. The more keywords in your content, the better your SEO results are likely to be. When determining what texts to use for your image tagging, focus on useful, information-rich content that is both relevant to the page’s content and uses keywords or product numbers. This can be especially useful when your company provides an image that is selling a product or service. Be sure to also change the image’s file name to something fitting.

A picture truly is worth a thousand words, or at least a few keywords of alt text. If you want to learn more about alt text and increasing your SEO, contact us at Stellar Blue Technologies! Our team is always excited to help individuals and companies meet their marketing goals.

Are you interested to learn more about how Stellar Blue Technologies can help your website achieve optimal results? Contact us today!