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Image SEO: How to Write Powerful Alt Image Tags

November 12, 2019 By Jan Januska 34 Comments

Google Images hold over 20% of the search engine market share. That’s more than all of the other search engines competing with Google put together.

US Search Market Share Alt Image share 21.03%

Source: Sparktoro Google CTR in 2018: Paid, Organic, & No-Click Searches by Rand Fishkin

As you can see above, the potential for image SEO is huge. If you have images on your site that are worth the user’s attention, you should seize the opportunity.

Table of Contents

  • How to Succeed with Google Images?
  • 5 Benefits of Using Alt Image Text
    • 1) Alt Image Text is an Important Ranking Factor
    • 2) Improve Image Click-through Rate (CTR)
    • 3) Alt Text as Anchor Text
    • 4) Web Accessibility
    • 5) Alt Text Displayed When Images Aren’t Loaded
  • How to Write SEO-Friendly Alt Text for Your Images: the Basics
  • How to Check Your Existing Images for Alt Text
    • A Fast Check of One Particular Image
    • Inspect All Images on One Web Page
    • Inspect All Images on a Website
  • Use Advanced Alt Text Techniques Like a Pro
    • Informative Images
    • Decorative Images
    • Functional Images
  • The Conclusion
  • Sources
      • Jan Januska
      • Latest posts by Jan Januska (see all)

How to Succeed with Google Images?

You can begin by optimizing a bunch of image SEO-ranking factors such as:

  • Alt image text of an image
  • Off-page ranking factors
  • Title of the page
  • Surrounding text of an image
  • The uniqueness of an image
  • Title HTML attribute
  • Filename
  • Image dimensions

In this article, I will show you how to optimize the image alt attribute.

5 Benefits of Using Alt Image Text

Alt image text has benefits not only in SEO but also for web accessibility and usability.

1) Alt Image Text is an Important Ranking Factor

Search engines can’t read images, but they can read the alt text, which helps them understand the meaning of the image. Get more traffic to your site by having your images appear in searches.

2) Improve Image Click-through Rate (CTR)

Keywords in the alt attribute can help to improve user’s CTR from search results. It’s visible in a description of the image result, as in this search result:

alt image search results

3) Alt Text as Anchor Text

If an image contains a hyperlink, the alt text represents the anchor text.

4) Web Accessibility

Properly chosen image alt tags are very important in web accessibility. They are used by visually impaired people to understand the context of images.

5) Alt Text Displayed When Images Aren’t Loaded

Not all internet users allow images to be displayed. This is typically due to having internet access with limited data bandwidth. When no image is loaded, the alt image text is visible as seen in the screen capture below:

alt image tag

How to Write SEO-Friendly Alt Text for Your Images: the Basics

Every image should have defined an alt text. Don’t forget about it.

In some cases though, you can leave it empty (alt=””). For example, this works if you use the image to create bullets in a list or as some decoration.

You should also avoid generic alt texts like “picture,” “image,” 123.jpg, etc.

So, what words should you use? Try to imagine that you’re calling your friend. You have to describe him in your image in up to 10 words. What would you say? The answer will be your alt text. Try to be descriptive, but not too much.

To create a new alt text is not so difficult, right? But have you added alt texts to every image on your site in the past? Let’s look at how to find out.

How to Check Your Existing Images for Alt Text

A Fast Check of One Particular Image

Visit one of your web pages in a browser (I used Chrome), open the right-click menu and click on “Inspect.” Then, you will see source code, including alt text:

Use inspect source code to view alt image text

Inspect All Images on One Web Page

You can quickly check every alt with the Spotibo analyzer. Enter the inspected URL. It will automatically highlight empty and poorly used alt image tags containing filenames or generic tags such as “picture.”

inspect all images to see alt image text

Inspect All Images on a Website

If you want to be really efficient with the image SEO, you should optimize every image on your site. In the previous crawl, using Spotibo, you can see not only one page but an entire website.

This way, you can check alt tags of all images on your website and filter them. For example, if you need to optimize images with “.jpg” filenames, the tool will display it to you like this:

Check alt image tags using Spotibo

For further reading, I recommend this step-by-step guide on how to audit images of a web site.

Now, you know the basics about alt text, and you also know how to audit it. Let’s move on to the more advanced practices required to overtake your competitors in search engines.

Use Advanced Alt Text Techniques Like a Pro

Different pictures can have different purposes. And sometimes, depending on the context of a web page, the same image can have more than one purpose.

There are three main types of images:

  • Informative images: These images are the most important for SEO. They graphically represent concepts and information like photos and illustrations.
  • Decorative images: Purpose of an image is to add visual decoration.
  • Functional images: An image can have a specific function, in the form of a link or a button.

Informative Images

As said above, if you want to describe an informative image, try to imagine you’re calling your friend; describe it to him in up to 10 words.

What would you say to him if you see this car?

picture of car

Source: Wikipedia.org.

You say What he sees
A car Too broad!
BMW There are so many BMW cars.
White BMW Okay…
White BMW M3 Ringing a bell.
White BMW M3 2018 Sure, I know this car.
White BMW M3 2018 with dark wheels I know! I have seen the exact one on a parking slot.

woman on computer

Source: Pohodo.sk

You say What he sees
A girl Too broad!
A girl sitting behind the desk Okay.
A smiling girl with glasses sitting behind the desk and using a laptop Great.

There are a few simple steps on how to create the best alt text.

Alt text checklist of an informative image:

Alternative text should typically:

  • Be as exact as possible
  • Be relatively short; up to 10 words, but can be a bit longer if necessary
  • Include keywords
  • Avoid phrases like “image of” or “123.png”

Decorative Images

Sometimes the only purpose of an image is to add visual decoration to the page. Then, the image should be added to a web page with CSS or alt should be empty (alt=””):

Alt image to add visual decorative images

Functional Images

Sometimes an image can have a specific function in the form of a link or a button. Here, the alternative text should describe the functionality of the image. For example, a picture of a search button has a “search” function. Therefore, the alt attribute should contain “search”:

If you want to know more about how to use the right alt text in this case, you can find help here: decision tree from W3.org:

alt image decision tree

The Conclusion

Informative images like photos and illustrations are most important for SEO. Image SEO holds over 20% of the search engine market share. And the competition isn’t so steep. Take this opportunity!

Don’t forget, when you create alt text, always think about its context. Sometimes, the most important thing about the image is its function. And sometimes the image has only a decorative purpose.

Sources

  • https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/
  • https://www.directom.com/image-seo-using-alt-text/
  • https://sparktoro.com/blog/google-ctr-in-2018-paid-organic-no-click-searches/
  • https://www.reliablesoft.net/image-seo/
  • https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/#gl-provide-equivalents
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Jan Januska

Janko is CEO of the SEO tool Spotibo. He has experience with SEO for e-commerce, press and non-profit websites.
My Twitter profileMy LinkedIn profile

Latest posts by Jan Januska (see all)

  • Image SEO: How to Write Powerful Alt Image Tags - November 12, 2019
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Filed Under: SEO / Google / Organic Traffic Tagged With: alt image tags, images

Comments

  1. Ricky Smith says

    September 20, 2020 at 7:42 am

    Hello Jan,

    As a newbie, I didn’t know about that image alt tag is important for SEO, so thank you so much for sharing this great article with us.
    Ricky Smith would love you to read ..Top 7 Best Laptops For Chemical Engineering Students Of 2020My Profile

    Reply
  2. Raghuram says

    February 28, 2020 at 10:21 am

    That’s pretty much about image alt text usage. Also does using of keywords as alt tags improves our search results in SERP.
    Raghuram would love you to read ..Every Thing About Intraday Trading [Tips An Strategies]My Profile

    Reply
  3. Dimitri says

    January 9, 2020 at 8:18 am

    I have been slacking with image ALT tags, usually giving most images within one post the same ALT tag. This guide has opened my eyes to the untapped potential of image ALT tags, so thanks!
    Dimitri would love you to read ..Why Campo Cortoi made me want to volunteer in SwitzerlandMy Profile

    Reply
  4. Dave Simon says

    January 7, 2020 at 12:07 pm

    Informative images are really important in writing about abstract issues. And yet they are the most difficult to design: they tend to be very specific so generic images won’t help. Then, writing the seo-friendly Alt Text with only 10 words is even more challenging…

    Reply
  5. Christopher Lequia says

    January 7, 2020 at 10:18 am

    I just recently discovered I was doing my alt text all wrong. I was trying to stuff keywords in, instead of just describing the image in detail, as you demonstrated.

    I also read that ensuring the file name of your image is also relevant to SEO as well. The easier to read, the better.

    Between alt text, file name, and ensuring the images are compressed for size – many ways you can edge your competition.
    Christopher Lequia would love you to read ..Things to Do When Bored: 297+ Ways to Use Your Free Time!My Profile

    Reply
  6. rehmat akbari says

    January 1, 2020 at 12:49 am

    I am new in blogging and I am confused about Alt text of an image, A question arises on my mind, should we give the keyword text on image alt or no?
    rehmat akbari would love you to read ..How to Find the Best Gaming Codes for Christmas?My Profile

    Reply
    • Gail Gardner says

      January 3, 2020 at 3:17 pm

      Hello Rehmat,

      The alt image text should describe the image. Ideally, at least one of the images on a page should contain the target keyword phrase as well.
      Gail Gardner would love you to read ..10 Ways Python Can Boost Your Technical SEOMy Profile

      Reply
  7. Dhruv says

    December 26, 2019 at 10:01 am

    Just i read your article really great article about SEO image and alt tag because alt tag is the very important port of image SEO. Please keep sharing in future these type of helpful for others.

    Checkout: http://www.fit4hundered.com
    Dhruv would love you to read ..दूध में मिलावट को कैसे पहचाने ?My Profile

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  8. Hitesh says

    December 26, 2019 at 7:32 am

    You have explained the concept of ALT image tags very well. It’s been a while I have started blogging. Will Surely implement your concept.
    Hitesh would love you to read ..How to start a blog & make $5389 every month from itMy Profile

    Reply
  9. Yaaron says

    December 11, 2019 at 12:22 am

    The content has immense knowledge in it, a lot can be learnt from this post, kudos.

    Reply
  10. Amjad Malik says

    December 7, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    Are ALT images tags helping in improvement of Google rankings??
    Amjad Malik would love you to read ..Actions Depend On Their Intentions Hadith With ExplanationMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gail Gardner says

      December 8, 2019 at 11:48 pm

      Hi Amjad,

      They get your images found in images.google.com and bring you more traffic.
      Gail Gardner would love you to read ..How to Stop Doing Outreach Wrong! What Sites Really WantMy Profile

      Reply
  11. Elizabeth says

    December 6, 2019 at 8:00 am

    Hey there, it’s really helpful for those who think that they should avoid alt tag or keywords column blank, it’s necessary to be filled for better results. Thanks for sharing I’ll definitely share it with my friends

    Reply
  12. tkies says

    December 1, 2019 at 3:26 pm

    Very great article such a nice discussion about How to write powerful alt image tag, this is such a great article and you share such a great overview here, this is a powerful article and very helpful for me , and really i will follow your every points, ans i hope it will help me.
    So keep sharing your great ideas.
    Thanks.
    tkies would love you to read ..B2B Travel Portal Development | Tkies Software ServicesMy Profile

    Reply
  13. Ronaldo says

    November 26, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    Optimizing images is just easy SEO real estate that most marketers tend to overlook. Why not make it relevant to your page topic and include a few target keywords to help Google bots read your site better? It will just make your page that much more relevant to your subject/niche.
    Ronaldo would love you to read ..Why SEO For Small BusinessesMy Profile

    Reply
  14. Muhammad Rizwan says

    November 24, 2019 at 1:03 am

    Hi Jan Januska,

    Thank you for sharing images seo information. Keep It up
    Muhammad Rizwan would love you to read ..High-Quality Animal Images Pack 6-Pics RizNowMy Profile

    Reply
  15. Marthias Reuben says

    November 23, 2019 at 4:48 pm

    Thank you very much for such an amazing article.

    You have completely changed my mind about alt tags after reading your article i felt very confident and i am sure that i will get success by all the points you have mentioned in the article.

    Your article had a very unique ways i will suggest everyone should read this beautiful article.

    Once again thank you very much.
    Marthias Reuben would love you to read ..Best Domain Marketplace to Sell your Domain Name in 2019My Profile

    Reply
  16. Bhavesh Joshi says

    November 22, 2019 at 6:05 am

    Nice Post. I like it. It has complete information what i was looking but, seo is getting really tough these days.
    Read also my blog – https://www.techkow.com/blog/sidebar

    Reply
  17. Katie says

    November 21, 2019 at 12:34 am

    Great tips! I’ve only recently been using images as a way to better optimize my posts for SEO overall 🙂
    Katie would love you to read ..24+ Inspirational Boss Lady QuotesMy Profile

    Reply
  18. riya says

    November 21, 2019 at 12:04 am

    i am a seo analyst this article really helpful for me. i learned lot of information from this post. article is nicely explained easy to understand. thanks for sharing this valuable information with us. keep your good work.

    Reply
  19. Marco says

    November 19, 2019 at 2:59 pm

    Very useful, especially for a new blogger like me; Thank you!
    Marco would love you to read ..Comunicazione efficace: fai anche tu questi 6 orribili errori?My Profile

    Reply
  20. Faiz Muhammad says

    November 17, 2019 at 1:11 am

    Just i read your article really great article about SEO image and alt tag because alt tag is the very important port of image SEO. Please keep shearing in future these type of helpful articles.

    Reply
  21. Robert Cristian says

    November 16, 2019 at 10:39 am

    thank you so mutch for information great job Jan Januska
    Robert Cristian would love you to read ..Locuitorii orașului Rovinari, treziți în miez de noapte de un zgomot sinistru | AUDIOMy Profile

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  22. Linh Nguyen says

    November 16, 2019 at 2:20 am

    Oh! Only reading this post I know the important of alt imagine. Thank you so much!

    Reply
  23. Mark says

    November 15, 2019 at 6:41 am

    Nice information. Thank you for sharing such type of great info. I will share this blog with my friends as well.
    Mark would love you to read ..Inbound Marketing Series: 9 Unique Strategies And Benefits of Content MarketingMy Profile

    Reply
  24. Sathish Arumugam says

    November 14, 2019 at 11:48 pm

    Jan,

    Such a detailed article on Image SEO, especially about the significance of alt text (that often neglect). And, I go with your point using keywords in the alt text. I prefer to use related keywords in the different images that I use on a page or post.

    And, I like the way you have narrated about ‘describing an image’ with examples (Car and the girl). Great inputs. I still admire how you take a narrow topic ‘alt text’ and offer such broader details. Thanks for it.
    Sathish Arumugam would love you to read ..Grammarly Free Vs Grammarly Premium – It’s Really Worth Buying!My Profile

    Reply
  25. Jeremy says

    November 14, 2019 at 3:52 pm

    This is honestly one of my biggest points of struggle with an image heavy photography magazine, the lack of words really limits crawling so the real power lies within alt tags I suppose, though even then it’s a big challenge.

    Reply
  26. Amogh says

    November 14, 2019 at 12:12 pm

    Thanks for sharing this Post with us and helping to understand the value of alt txt.

    Reply
  27. Nirmal Sharma says

    November 14, 2019 at 6:41 am

    Best read. Made me learn importance of alt image names. Keep writing such a great article on seo so that people like me learn.

    Reply
  28. Jack D'suza says

    November 14, 2019 at 3:21 am

    I am delighted to come to such a wonderful blog. I am really very impressed to read from top to bottom. I read every single line and understand the essence of the alt tag in the image. I appreciate all the efforts.
    Jack D’suza would love you to read ..E-Commerce Business email and SMS to the customer finally finishingMy Profile

    Reply
  29. Rahul Kumar says

    November 14, 2019 at 12:23 am

    Nice and informative article.

    Would like to read more such type of articles.

    Reply
  30. Bintang F says

    November 13, 2019 at 10:21 pm

    Tbh, i don’t really concerned about this one. But i just realized that giving alt tags to images is important. Thanks a lot for sharing! I will improve that.
    Bintang F would love you to read ..Cara Membuka Fragile Jump di Death StrandingMy Profile

    Reply
  31. Varun Sharma says

    November 13, 2019 at 3:10 am

    This article will surely going to help. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  32. Shraman Chakraborty says

    November 12, 2019 at 10:44 pm

    This is insightful! And though I’ve been blogging for a while now, this still helps!
    Shraman Chakraborty would love you to read ..Samsung Exynos 980 specifications have been officially confirmedMy Profile

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