What Exactly IS Alt Text?

As an entrepreneur, you’ve probably heard the term Alt Text before. Whether it’s when talking with fellow entrepreneurs and discussing your websites, or you’ve seen the term pop up on your site as you write your most recent post. In both of these cases you may be wondering “what exactly IS alt text?”, and if that’s the case for you then you’ll want to read this article! We’re going over exactly what alt text is, and why it’s an important tool for you to use in the world of SEO!

So What is Alt Text?

The first question we’ll want to answer is what exactly alt text is. Alt text is short for alternative text, and is a tool used to describe images on the internet. There’s a few main reasons this text exists. The first is for internet users who have a visual impairment. Alt text lets those users understand what an image is on a webpage thanks to a text to speech program reading the alt text for the image. This accessibility is wonderful and is SO important, but there are a few more reasons that make this text so important.

You see, Google itself doesn’t have a good way to register exactly what an image depicts. The way then that Google understands what an image is showing, and why it is important to the page it is on, is through alt text! The final use for alt text is when images don’t load on a webpage their alternative text is displayed instead so that users can still get close to the full experience of that page, hence the name alternative!

What Should I Put in My Alt Text?

Your alt text needs to describe the image in as great of detail as possible, both for the benefit of users with visual impairment, and for Google to better understand the image. There of course is a limit to this, as with some images you can go TOO in depth and practically write an entire blog post describing a single image. Finding a balance of enough information to describe the image, but not too much to the point where you’re overdoing it is something that takes practice. A general rule of thumb is to keep your alternative text at or under 140 characters per image.

In terms of SEO, you’ll want to include your target key phrase in your alt text. Making sure that Google understands what your image is will allow it to understand the purpose it serves. This is crucial for Google recognizing you as a credible source, and for it to start putting your image(s) in front of its users who are searching terms relevant to your posts and images. Be sure though that you only use your key phrase when it makes sense to do so. Stuffing a key phrase in an unrelated image will only hurt your reputation with Google!

Does Every Image Need Alt Text?

The short answer? YES! Every image on your website should have alt text? Not every image has to have text that includes your key phrase, but each image should have text that describes the image. The reason why is the same 3 reasons that alt text exists in the first place. To extend accessibility to those with visual impairments, to tell Google what an image is and what purpose it serves, and to display in the case of an image not loading properly! All three reasons have their own importance and are why you should include this text on each and every image on your site!

Now that you know what alternative text is and why it’s so important you probably have a LOT to catch up on throughout your site! Keep an eye on our blog for more SEO content, like this blog covering what exactly SEO is. If you’re interested in our SEO services be sure to send us an inquiry today!