Unlocking the Power of Alt Text: Enhancing Accessibility and SEO for Your Website
Posted on 23rd May 2024
Image Alt Text may seem like a small detail, but alt text plays a crucial role in improving the accessibility and search engine optimisation (SEO) of your website.
In this blog post, we will delve into the importance of alt text for website images and why you should pay attention to it.
What is Alt Text?
Think of alt text (short for alternative text) as a hidden caption for your website's images.
Also called alt tags and alt descriptions, alt text is descriptive text that is added to an image on a website. This text is displayed in place of the image when the image file cannot be loaded or read by the user's browser. Alt tags are also used by screen readers for visually impaired users to understand the content of the image, and by search engines to help them crawl and rank websites.
Why is Alt Text Important?
Here are three reasons why alt text deserves your attention:
Improved Accessibility: Alt text plays a vital role in making your website more accessible to all users, including those with visual impairments. By providing descriptive alt text for your images, you ensure that all users can understand and engage with your content.
Better SEO: Alt text is a valuable component of SEO. When search engines crawl your website, they use alt text to understand the context of your images and rank them accordingly in search results. By including relevant keywords in your alt text, you can help your website rank higher in image search results, driving more qualified traffic to your website.
Enhanced User Experience: Alt text not only benefits search engines and visually impaired users. It also improves the overall user experience of your website. If an image fails to load for any reason, well written alt text provides context and prevents visitors from just seeing a broken image icon. This smooths out the user experience and keeps visitors engaged with your website.
How to Craft Compelling Alt Text
Now that you know the importance of alt text, let's look at how to create effective descriptions for your website's images.
Be Clear and Concise: Aim for short, descriptive sentences that accurately reflect the image's content. Avoid overly generic phrases like "image of" or "photo of".
Focus on Function: Think about the purpose of the image and its role within your website's content. What information does it convey?
Embrace Keywords (Strategically): While relevant keywords can improve SEO, prioritise clarity over keyword stuffing, and ensure that the keywords are naturally integrated into the alt text.
Skip the Decorative: Don't waste alt tags on purely decorative images. Leave the alt text field blank for these elements.
Example
Let's imagine you run a bakery in Windsor and have a beautiful image on your website showcasing a mouthwatering assortment of pastries. Here's how your alt tag could look:
Instead of: "Image of Pastries" (Too vague!)
Try: "Freshly Baked Pastries: A tempting display of croissants, muffins, and pies." (Clear, descriptive, and conveys the deliciousness!)
How to Add Alt Text to Your it'seeze Website
Adding alt text to an image on an it'seeze website is very simple. When in edit mode, simply click on the image you would like to add alt text to, click on the 'text alternative' (T) button in the image-editing toolbar, and enter your alt text.
The image-editing toolbar on an it'seeze website
Summary
Alt Text is a crucial element of website optimisation that should not be overlooked. By implementing descriptive alt text for your images, you can improve accessibility, enhance SEO, increase rankings, and enhance the overall user experience of your website. Make alt text a priority in your website optimisation strategy and reap the benefits of this simple yet powerful tool.
it'seeze Windsor: Your Partner in Accessible and SEO-Friendly Websites
At it’seeze Windsor, we believe in creating websites that are both beautiful and inclusive. By incorporating effective alt text, you can ensure your website is accessible to everyone while also boosting your SEO ranking.
Our team of Windsor web design experts is here to help you craft compelling alt text for your website's images. Get in touch with us today and let's unlock the full potential of your online presence!
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