What is Alt Text?
Alternative text descriptions for images that convey meaning to screen readers and search engines.
Understanding Alt Text
Alt text (alternative text) is an HTML attribute added to image tags that describes the content and function of an image. It serves two critical purposes: accessibility for visually impaired users who rely on screen readers, and SEO by helping search engines understand image content for image search rankings. Effective alt text is concise, descriptive, and naturally incorporates relevant keywords without stuffing. For decorative images that add no informational value, an empty alt attribute is appropriate.
Why It Matters
Alt text is essential for web accessibility compliance and is a key factor in image SEO. Well-written alt text helps your images appear in Google Image Search, which can drive significant additional traffic.
How Keyword Kick Helps
Keyword Kick's site audit scans every image on your pages to identify missing or empty alt text, flagging opportunities to improve both accessibility and image search visibility.
Related Terms
Image SEO
Optimizing images for search engines through alt text, compression, file naming, and structured data.
Core Web Vitals
A set of Google metrics measuring real-world user experience: loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
Header Tags
HTML heading elements (H1 through H6) that create hierarchical structure in page content.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should alt text be?
Alt text should be concise but descriptive, typically between 50 and 125 characters. Focus on accurately describing the image content and context rather than hitting a specific length. Avoid keyword stuffing and generic phrases like 'image of' or 'photo of.'
Should every image have alt text?
Every informational image should have descriptive alt text. Purely decorative images (borders, spacers, background flourishes) should use an empty alt attribute (alt='') so screen readers skip them. Icons with adjacent text labels can also use empty alt text.
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