What is Alt Text?
Alt text, or alternative text, is a written description of an image that appears on a webpage. It is primarily used to improve
accessibility for users who are visually impaired or have disabilities that prevent them from viewing images. Additionally, alt text plays a crucial role in
SEO by helping search engines understand the content of images, which can improve your website's visibility in search results.
Enhanced Accessibility: By providing alt text, you make your website more inclusive, allowing a wider range of users to engage with your content.
Improved SEO: Search engines cannot "see" images; they rely on alt text to understand what the image is about. Properly optimized alt text can help improve your
website's ranking on search engine results pages.
Better User Experience: Alt text provides context to users when images fail to load, ensuring they still understand the content of your webpage.
Be Descriptive: Clearly describe what is in the image. For example, instead of writing "image," write "a person holding a smartphone."
Keep it Concise: Aim for 125 characters or less. Long descriptions can be cumbersome for screen readers.
Use Keywords: Incorporate relevant
keywords naturally. This can help improve your
SEO strategy without keyword stuffing.
Avoid Redundancy: Do not start with phrases like "image of" or "picture of." Screen readers already announce it as an image.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
While writing alt text, entrepreneurs should avoid these common pitfalls: Keyword Stuffing: Overloading your alt text with keywords can harm your
SEO efforts rather than help.
Vague Descriptions: Generic descriptions like "image1" or "photo" do not provide any value.
Ignoring Alt Text: Failing to provide alt text at all is a missed opportunity for
improving accessibility and SEO.
Tools to Help with Alt Text
There are several tools available to assist entrepreneurs in creating effective alt text: Screen Readers: Test how your alt text sounds with screen readers to ensure it is clear and descriptive.
SEO Plugins: Plugins like Yoast SEO can help you optimize your alt text for better search engine rankings.
Image Analysis Tools: Tools that analyze images and suggest appropriate alt text can save you time and effort.
Conclusion
Incorporating alt text is a small yet powerful step that entrepreneurs can take to enhance their
digital presence. By improving accessibility, boosting SEO, and enhancing the user experience, effective alt text can contribute to the overall success of your online business. Remember, the goal is to be descriptive, concise, and relevant, ensuring that your content is accessible to all users while also being optimized for search engines.