On-page SEO · Beginner

Alt text

Alt text is a short written description of an image in its HTML alt attribute. Screen readers read it aloud, search engines use it to understand the image, and browsers show it if the image fails to load.

By Thryv StudioUpdated

Category
On-page SEO
Level
Beginner
Attribute
<img alt="…">
Decorative images
Use an empty alt=""

What is alt text?

<img src="trail-shoe.jpg" alt="Blue trail running shoe with a wide toe box, side view">

Alt text describes what an image shows for people who can't see it, and gives search engines context for image search.

How to write it

  1. Describe what's in the image, specifically, in one sentence.
  2. Include the keyword only if it naturally describes the image.
  3. For purely decorative images, use an empty alt="" so screen readers skip them.
  4. Don't start with "image of"; screen readers already say it's an image.

Frequently asked questions

Is missing alt text an SEO problem?

It's mainly an accessibility problem, and a missed chance to help image search and AI understand the page.

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