same tool you used for uploading it<\/a>. If you haven\u2019t been taking the few seconds to write a quick snippet to describe your uploads, it\u2019s definitely worth it.<\/p>\nHow Does Alt Text Help SEO?<\/h2>\n
First of all, alt text is another place for you to have keywords on your site. Now, as we said above, it\u2019s not something Google typically takes into consideration for search rankings. But (there\u2019s always a\u00a0but<\/em>) what it does help with is semantic SEO in that alt text is primarily used for screen readers and accessibility, as well as image search rankings. Let\u2019s break that down a little further.<\/p>\nScreen readers are tools that help visually impaired people interact with websites. If someone can\u2019t see the image for one reason or another, then alt text is a way for their screen reader to speak what the image depicts out loud. This is exceptionally important if the image is imperative to understand the context of the content around it. Screen readers and other accessibility software cannot distinguish what is in the image itself. So if there is no alt text, it can\u2019t tell the person what\u2019s there.<\/p>\n
Good vs Bad Alt Text<\/h3>\n
This brings us to why writing good alt text is important. It\u2019s easy to write \u201crunners\u201d in the field and leave it at that. And while the screen readers would definitely let them know what was there, it doesn\u2019t really describe the image. It only does in the most rudimentary way possible. So that\u2019s definitely\u00a0bad alt text<\/strong>.<\/p>\nIn fact, \u201cpeople running color adjusted green and purple\u201d<\/em>em> is not ideal alt text, either. Good alt text for a photo like this depends on the context of the website. Good alt text for a design website might be \u201cA photo of a runners\u2019 legs that thas been color adjusted to green and purple duotone using Canva.\u201d<\/em> That\u2019s literally what the image depicts.<\/p>\nHowever, if the image is on a marathon training website, the context of being duotone and done in Canva doesn\u2019t matter. You might use \u201cA colorful photograph of runners\u2019 legs and shoes while running a race.\u201d<\/em> Which again, is what they are looking at and makes sense in the context of the page.<\/p>\nThese are examples of good alt text<\/strong>. But why? Sure, they have places for extra keywords, but if Google doesn\u2019t take those into account for rankings, why does it matter? <\/p>\nSemantic Alt Text, Accessibility, and UX<\/h3>\n
Basically, by using complete sentences and phrases to completely describe the image, you are making the site fully accessible to those using devices like screen readers. The flow of the content isn\u2019t broken by a lack of description, incomprehensible keyword stuffing, and the image is entirely relatable to the content itself without the need to be seen. Both of which contribute to a much better user experience (UX) than would have been possible otherwise.<\/p>\n
And Google\u00a0does<\/em> take UX and accessibility into consideration when ranking sites, if not the text itself. If two roughly equal sites are vying for a spot in SERPs, the one with better accessibility and UX is going to edge the other out. So yes, in that way, alt text absolutely does impact SEO. And because you are using semantic, specific, and contextual language, Google can better identify the audience you target, and then apply that to fulfill users\u2019 search intent.<\/p>\nImage Searches<\/h3>\n
And finally, having good alt text helps SEO by telling Google and the other search engines specifically what the image is of. Which the algorithms then use as a part of their dataset that determines results in image searches. Search engines can more accurately categorize and index \u201crunners\u2019 legs and shoes while running a race\u201d<\/em> than \u201crunners\u201d<\/em> or \u201cshoes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nBecause of your use of the same SEO keyword strategy for image alt text as the rest of the text on your site, you move up in the rankings and can pull in more traffic (and thus more conversions from visitor to customer). You might not be in the top search results in the general Google search, but you could definitely be above the fold when somebody clicks that Images tab.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s easy to understand why there\u2019s so much confusion about whether alt text is useful for SEO. Because it is kind of a Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s SEO in some ways. The text itself doesn\u2019t directly relate to your SERPs from Google. But having well-written image descriptions does help your site become much more accessible and contextual. That, in turn raises the UX, and thus your site rises in search rankings itself.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also a good reminder that SEO is a lot more today than having the most optimized keywords. While that is definitely still important, providing use, utility, and a good experience for your visitors (all<\/em> of your visitors, including those needing accessibility options) is just as important. If not more so.<\/p>\nWhat is your SEO strategy for alt text? Let us know in the comments!<\/strong><\/p>\nArticle featured image by Sammby \/ shutterstock.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n
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