The connection between image alt text and SEO

For any company or business website, there are a wide range of factors to consider to ensure that the website ranks highly for relevant keywords. From optimised website content, to imagery, branding and technical design, each element of your website will play an important role in the success and performance of your website online. One aspect that is easy to overlook is the image alt text. But what is this? And what is the connection between image alt text and SEO?

What is alt text?

So first of all, what exactly is alt text? Well, this is a descriptive tag that can be added to the HTML of your website, to describe the content of an image used. This serves two purposes; helping algorithms and search engines to understand the content of the image, and reading the description of the image to those using screen reader software.

Accessibility

One of the main goals of alt text is to help improve the accessibility of a website. By providing a descriptive text for images, you can ensure that individuals with visual impairments can understand the content and context of the images on a webpage. This commitment to inclusivity aligns with best practices in web development and is crucial for creating an inclusive online environment.

What is the connection between image alt text and SEO?

Alt text also plays a crucial role in the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategies for your website. This is because properly organised and well thought out alt text tags can help to improve the ranking of your website online. Search engines, such as Google, use various factors to determine the relevance and quality of web pages, and image alt text is one of these factors. Alt text can help improve SEO in a number of ways, including:

• Relevance and context- Search engines aim to direct users to websites that offer the most relevant and valuable results for their queries. As alt text can help search engines to understand the content of images on your website, the images can then be indexed in response to relevant searches. As a result, when crafting alt text, it is essential to include relevant keywords that reflect the content of the image, and align with the overall theme of the webpage.
• Keyword optimisation-Alt text provides an additional opportunity to add keywords to your content, and this can help to raise your search rankings. However, this needs to be applied naturally, with the right balance, otherwise your website can be penalised by search engines for “keyword stuffing”. Make sure you focus on incorporating relevant keywords in a way that is descriptive, relevant and useful.
• Improved user experience- Finally, alt text can improve the user experience, and this is something that search engines prioritise. Alt text provides users with additional information about the content of an image, which helps to enhance the overall website experience for your users.

For more information or advice about effective web design, alt text, SEO, and professional imagery, get in touch with the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design. We are Preston’s leading web design and web marketing professionals. We provide valuable web design, SEO, and marketing solutions to a range of clients, across the North West, including Southport and Wigan, as well as Manchester.