The One-Stop Guide to Writing Informative Alt text for Images
Learn how to optimize your content images with Alt text
INTRODUCTION
Yesterday my son’s science teacher was teaching about light. Naturally, the topic of concave-convex mirrors and lenses came up followed by a real or virtual image. The kid looked a tad confused. I suggested that he do a quick Google search and read up about it hoping that it throws some “light” on the topic. A few minutes later, I see he is browsing through some images.
That’s when it hit me.
The way people search and look for solutions is changing fast aided by the search engine features.
Many of us would have clicked on the first option of a SERP. Others, including some like my son, now click on images (or videos) and browse for information.
Search is no longer about clicking on the pages ranked under “All” in Google Search. People have different ways of consuming data and processing it into information as widely explained in Howard Gardener’s Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. And Google is incorporating all of those in their search engine. This is a significant input for any writer, content creator, or owner of a business
It does not matter how great your web copy or blog post is unless it reaches your intended readers in formats that they want to consume. Are we diversifying our content delivery so that it ranks under different search engine options like All, Images, Videos, etc. to connect with our distinct readers?
The best way for your content to rank higher under the images tab is to make clever use of the Alt text option to optimize your images.
If you are still reading this, I bet you have not given much thought to the importance of Alt text.
Today, an average website or blog post has informative images for better engagement and readability. And I am sure that includes your content too.
Suppose there is some technical issue at your reader’s end and the page does not load properly or takes longer to load, your images will not be displayed. Alt-text is the set of words that appear on the web page in place of the image.
For those of you who can code using HTML, you will recognize it as the text placed in the image tag of the associated image. Don’t agonize about HTML codes. I write my Alt text using the simple graphical tools provided by WordPress, WIX, LinkedIn, or Medium depending on where I am writing. You do not need to know HTML coding to excel at writing brilliant SEO-friendly Alt text for your images.
In this post, I will tell you what is Alt text, why it is important, and how you can write effective copies of Alt text for your images to rank your content better.
How will this post help you?
1. You will learn the importance of writing an informative Alt text for every image used on your website, blog, social media channels.
2. I will share with you simple techniques and pointers to remember while writing your Alt text. Every tactic can be implemented today. Now.
#1. WHAT IS THE USE OF WRITING ALT TEXT FOR IMAGES?
The fundamental reason why you must use Alt text is to help visually impaired readers to know what the image is about. What does it depict and how does it connect with the rest of the content? The words should create a brilliant and expressive mental image to enhance the experience when the screen reader renders the content. It is an inclusive thing to do, isn’t it?
But that is not the sole reason why you must write Alt text.
Here are 2 compelling statistics published by Ahrefs in 2020.
1.1 Image optimization improves your SEO outcome
When you write a blog post or any bit of content like a product/ service page, it is natural for you to use relevant images. Your audience can see that when I read your post or page.
But how does the AI “see” the image and understand it in the given context? Yes, the very AI that is driven by algorithms to index and rank content on SERPs.
It should be told and explained. Like a child.
How?
The filename is mandatory so you are putting this in. The search engine reads the name. You can try to write a descriptive filename. Instead of unnamed.jpeg or my-product.jpeg or even hairstyle1image.jpeg; just try to customize it a bit.
The next thing is to add a descriptive Alt text to the image. This is something that many of us overlook or fail to leverage. Do not skip this.
The search engine is trained to read filename and Alt text because they are in text form. So even though it cannot understand the image, if you “tell” what it is about by using the filename and Alt text option it will help to index your content which means it can rank higher.
For example: Which is more descriptive? A solid orange colored fabric on a three-seater sofa with armrests or orange sofa/ orange sofa with armrests/ big sofa
If you remember, earlier in the post we talked about the various SERPs that pop up when you search for anything on Google. And that includes images too.
When your image Alt text is descriptive and indicative of what it contains; Google will index and rank it.
It is common for many of us to create an image of the key points and embed it in the post. It makes it easier for skimmers to read it quickly and get the gist. And if the stuff is good, they share it on social media. This is another reason why you must work on Alt text for images. Because it can drive traffic from other channels to your site.
A word of caution
Do not try to deceive the search engine by misleading it using Alt text. It will eventually come to know and penalize you.
How?
If it ranks your misleading image based on the Alt text, the reader is not going to click on it since they will find it irrelevant. That is how AI learns from a reader’s action in the form of feedback.
1.2 Using keywords in your images will help your content rank higher
We write keywords in our headlines, title, meta description, content sub-heads, conclusion, URL so why leave out the images? Every inch of our digital real estate is precious. We must optimize the usage for maximum gains.
Earlier, I shared how people are searching for information in their way. And it is no longer restricted to Google. So a customer might search for information directly on Google or select the images tab and write their search keywords or click on Amazon/ Pinterest/ Instagram or LinkedIn. You cannot control that. What you CAN do is provide content in all these channels in the formats consumed by the target audience.
If the content is in image form, it must be found, indexed, and ranked. That will happen when you tell the search engine about it with the same keywords used by your target audience to search for it.
Think of it this way.
The search traffic whether text-driven or image-driven will finally land on your blog post or content page. The message sent to the search engine is that the page is valuable and frequented by readers so it needs to be ranked higher.
In the next section, I will share simple tips on how to write your Alt text and boost your ranking.
#2. 3 SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER AS YOU WRITE ALT TEXT
Alt-text is an inexpensive but high-conversion-centric way of ranking higher and attracting traffic. It does not require any technical chops. The same skill that you use to write your content is adequate to write your image Alt text.
Here are 3 simple things that you need to remember while writing high conversion-oriented and effective Alt text.
#1 Keep your Alt text simple and below 125 characters
Ya, I know I have suggested Alt text should be descriptive but keep it under 125 characters. It is a good thing. Because you will use the character count to write only the relevant and meaningful stuff.
And please do not eat up your character count by writing “This is a picture of …” or “This image is of …” or “Image depicts ….”. Everyone knows it is an image. Do not state the imperative. Dive into the real content.
Tip: If you are confused about what to write, then imagine this. What would you say to a person to explain the image when she is not in front of it or looking at it? Write that!
If you have never written Alt text, it will take you a few tries but with practice, you will end up writing creative descriptions. Try and write 2–3 different options and then choose the one which your gut points at. Go with the flow. Do not overthink or overcomplicate it.
#2 Write relevant content like keywords to optimize images
Alt text should not be like as my late German boss would say — a village in the mountain. It should not be disconnected from the rest of the world or well in this case the blog content or web copy.
The idea is that the Alt text should add meaning and context to the existing content to take the story forward. Suppose you are unable to write a meaningful description then maybe you need to recheck the choice of image. Something is off. The image is not adding any value.
Is the image relevant to the post? If yes, then you should be able to write a smart and meaningful Alt text using the keywords that you want to rank for. Google’s search engine should be able to understand the context of the image to the post.
Your Alt text MUST include the keywords that you want the page to rank for. But, do not and I emphasize do not stuff the Alt text with keywords. Keep it real and natural. Try to write it like a long-tail keyword that makes sense and is not too in your face. You get what I mean, right?
For example, there is a difference between an image’s Alt text copy like a man walking a dog/ dog walking beside a man/ dog walker walking a Rottweiler. The image might be of a man, a dog, and both walking together. But the description would vary. The “dog walker walking a Rottweiler” (instead of a man walking a dog) would be apt for a post on dog walking services.
#3 Highlight every part of the image in Alt text
Two things are important about image optimization in a blog post or web copy/ social media post.
1. Choice of image
2. Alt text describing the image
Both the points go in tandem. The effort to rank could fall flat if the image is unsuitable or ineffective. There is hardly any scope to make it worthwhile with the most intelligent play of words in Alt text. Similarly, even a terrific image would be rendered fruitless if the description does not tell the all-encompassing story to the search engine and help index it.
Now that you have a near-perfect image for your post, use the 125 characters of your Alt text to write a description that explains it to the fullest extent.
Is the image depicting a famous structure, festival, season, time of the day, company, objects, a unique feature, process, sport, color, country, event, location, action? Maybe it has all of these elements. What among these is important in the context of your content?
For example: Consider two posts. Post #1 is a science blog on the topic of sound. Post #2 is a music enthusiast blog (either discussing types of string instruments or selling musical instruments). Both of them include the same image of a guitar.
Alt text for Post #1 could be “A white guitar that can produce melodious sound due to vibration when the strings are plucked at a constant frequency”. Alt text for Post #2 could be “A white Fender Stratocaster electric guitar with 3 single-coil pickups and option to vary the sound, at $700 starting price”
CONCLUSION
You put in efforts to write informative content with emotionally stirring headlines. Serious thought goes into the choice of words for your title and meta tags. But if you are missing out on laying down equal efforts on optimizing your image with Alt text then you are weakening your SEO strategy and the potential reach of your content.
Writing Alt text is easy if you practice.
Remember these 3 pointers and you are good to go.
- Simple content but within 125 characters
- Use the targeted keywords
- Relevant image, describe using relevant Alt text
You might be thinking are there instances when I can or should leave the Alt text empty?
Good question. Yes, if there are decorative elements in your page like borders or spacers, or say an image of a button with a shopping cart next to a link saying “Add to cart” then the Alt text is redundant. The screen reader will anyway read the word “Add to cart”.
Start writing search engine-focused Alt text today.
Read. Learn. Implement. Practice. Shine.
I write about small businesses, health, and life as I see it on Medium, LinkedIn, and my website.
