What Is Image ALT Text?

Image ALT text is alternative text for images that describes the content of the image as it relates to the web page or document. Image ALT text attributes are used by screen reader software and crawled by search engine spiders to index images in the search engine results pages (SERPs) and determine the relevance of keyword topics on a web page.

Image ALT text was initially developed for HTML to make websites more accessible to users with visual impairments. The ALT text attribute serves as a way to provide descriptive information for images that a screen reader can read out loud.

ALT text also enhances the user experience by displaying the written attribute details in place of photos or graphics that fail to load on a web page so the visitor understands the intended purpose of the image without having to see it.

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In regards to search engine optimization (SEO), descriptive image ALT text can help search engine crawlers properly index and rank images in the SERPs for relevant queries. Additionally, image ALT attributes improve on-page SEO signals for the web page by giving the ranking algorithms extra keyword data it can use to verify the main topics for the page.

Learn More About Image ALT Text

The links below explain more about image ALT text and how to use it correctly for better search engine optimization. Use these resources to expand your knowledge on the subject beyond the basic image ALT text definition.

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Go to the SEO Glossary to find more terms and definitions that relate to the field of search engine optimization.

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The Editorial Staff at SEO Chatter is a team of search engine optimization and digital marketing experts led by Stephen Hockman with more than 15 years of experience in search engine marketing. We publish guides on the fundamentals of SEO for beginner marketers.