Image alt attributes, commonly called alt text, are short descriptions added to images in HTML. They were originally designed for accessibility, allowing screen readers to describe images to visually impaired users. Over time, alt text has also become an important element of on-page SEO. Many website owners wonder whether alt attributes affect page keyword SEO, meaning whether including keywords in alt text helps the page rank for those terms. The answer is yes, but in a nuanced way. This article explains how alt attributes influence SEO and how to write them correctly.
How AAMAX.CO Optimizes Images for Accessibility and SEO
Image optimization touches design, development, accessibility, and search performance all at once. AAMAX.CO is a full-service digital marketing company offering web development, digital marketing, and SEO services worldwide. Their team audits image usage, writes descriptive alt text, compresses files, and implements modern formats that improve load speed. As part of their search engine optimization work, they ensure images contribute to page relevance and accessibility without resorting to keyword stuffing.
What Is an Image Alt Attribute?
The alt attribute is part of the HTML image tag. It provides a text alternative that describes the image's content and function. For example, an image of a red running shoe on a product page might have alt text such as "red lightweight running shoe with breathable mesh upper." If the image fails to load, the alt text displays in its place, and screen readers read it aloud to users.
How Alt Attributes Affect SEO
They Help Search Engines Understand Images
Although search engines have become skilled at interpreting images using computer vision, alt text remains a strong signal describing what an image shows. Google has stated that alt text is one of the factors it uses to understand images, alongside surrounding text, captions, filenames, and page context.
They Improve Image Search Rankings
Alt text significantly influences whether images appear in Google Images and other visual search results. Image search can drive meaningful traffic, especially for e-commerce, recipes, travel, design, and home improvement businesses.
They Reinforce Page Relevance
Alt text contributes to the overall textual context of a page. When alt text naturally includes relevant terms, it reinforces the page's topic. However, its weight for page-level keyword rankings is modest compared with the title tag, headings, and body content. Alt text supports relevance rather than driving it on its own.
They Support Accessibility
Accessible websites provide better experiences for all users. While accessibility is not a direct ranking factor in the traditional sense, accessible, user-friendly pages align with search engines' goal of rewarding high-quality experiences, and accessibility is legally required in many contexts.
They Help With Image Links
When an image is used as a link, its alt text functions similarly to anchor text, helping search engines understand the destination page.
Does Keyword Stuffing Alt Text Help?
No. Filling alt attributes with lists of keywords, such as "shoes running shoes best running shoes cheap shoes," harms accessibility and can be viewed as spam. Search engines may ignore such alt text or treat the page with reduced trust. Keywords should appear only when they accurately describe the image.
How to Write Effective Alt Text
- Be descriptive and specific. Describe what the image actually shows in clear language.
- Keep it concise. Aim for around 125 characters or fewer, as many screen readers truncate longer text.
- Include keywords naturally. Use relevant terms only when they genuinely describe the image.
- Consider context. Describe the image in a way that supports the surrounding content.
- Avoid redundant phrases. Skip "image of" or "picture of," since screen readers already announce images.
- Describe function for linked images. For buttons or linked images, describe the action or destination.
Examples of Good and Poor Alt Text
Poor alt text: "image1.jpg" or "dog." Keyword-stuffed alt text: "dog grooming dog grooming services best dog groomer near me." Good alt text: "groomer trimming the fur of a golden retriever at a grooming salon." The good example is descriptive, natural, and relevant to a dog grooming page.
When to Use Empty Alt Attributes
Decorative images, such as background patterns, spacers, and purely visual flourishes, should use an empty alt attribute. This tells screen readers to skip the image, improving the experience for users who rely on assistive technology. Do not omit the alt attribute entirely, as some screen readers will then read the filename.
Other Image SEO Best Practices
- Use descriptive, hyphenated filenames such as golden-retriever-grooming.jpg.
- Compress images and use modern formats like WebP or AVIF for faster loading.
- Specify width and height to prevent layout shifts.
- Use lazy loading for images below the fold.
- Add captions where helpful, since captions are often read by users.
- Include images in XML sitemaps for better discovery.
- Place images near relevant text to strengthen context.
Auditing Alt Text on Your Website
Use SEO crawling tools or accessibility checkers to identify images with missing, duplicate, or overly long alt text. Prioritize important pages such as product, service, and high-traffic content pages. Regular audits help maintain accessibility and SEO quality as new content is published.
Conclusion
Image alt attributes do affect SEO. They help search engines understand images, improve visibility in image search, reinforce page relevance, support accessibility, and act as anchor text for linked images. However, their effect on page-level keyword rankings is supportive rather than dominant. Write concise, descriptive alt text that includes keywords only when accurate, avoid keyword stuffing, and combine alt text with other image optimization practices for the best results.
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