How to Write Alt Text for Images

Whether you are an SEO professional or not, alt text can have a drastic influence over who sees your images / other related content online. You don’t have to be an SEO expert to use alt text. It’s a skill that will become useful if you manage a website, write a blog, create content for social media posts, and many other forms of digital marketing. Here are the best practices for using alt text and how you can effortlessly learn to master this skill set. 

What is alt text? 

Alt text refers to SEO’s terminology of “alt tags” or “alt descriptions”. Alt text is a form of copywriting that is attached to the back end of an image. The use of alt text is typically on websites or blogs. If the image does not load, the copy will appear in place of the image. Using alt text helps users paint a picture in their mind of what the image would look like if they could see it. 

How does alt text improve your online optimization?

Although the use of alt text is for the impairment of seeing an image, it is a great way to optimize your content online. When you create alt text, the copy of the text will remain attached to the picture, no matter where it ends up on the internet. That means if someone is searching for a specific image, such as “a woman with blonde hair smiling and holding a pink balloon”, your picture will come up on their search. 

Utilizing alt text is an excellent way for people to find your content through an organic search. If you are not versed in SEO, using alt text is a useful skill to increase your probability of people finding your content online. With every image you post on your blog or website, always take the time to write the copy for your alt text a little goes a long way. 

How do I write alt text? 

 Think of alt text similar to copywriting or crafting a tagline. You have one sentence to grab the attention of your audience. Wording matters and should be as specific as possible. If you are writing vaguely, it can create a lot of confusion about the image and lessen the chances of your image to come up in a search. 

When writing alt text, you need to use descriptors of what is in the image. Instead of saying “A mural on a wall in Philadelphia,” it should be “A painting on a brick wall in Philadelphia with a blue background and a man playing the trumpet,”. The more specific you are, and the more in-depth you describe the image, the better your copy. 

Overall, the use of alt text is growing as the space of SEO, and the organic search continues to become more popular. Even if you don’t have the skillset of an SEO expert, a little goes along. Do your best to write alt text and give it your best shot!