You may have spent a lot of time designing your website, selecting images, and listing your products, but your images aren’t showing up in Google search results? The problem is likely that you’ve neglected to use image alt text (Img Alt).
What is Img Alt? It’s a piece of “descriptive text” within an image. Well-written text can improve SEO rankings and increase image visibility. It’s also an essential component for creating accessible websites.
What is Img Alt and Why is it Important?
Definition and Function of Img Alt
Image Alt (Image Alternative Text) is a key technique for improving image SEO. It not only helps Google understand the image content, but also impacts overall page ranking and traffic!
We can imagine Img Alt as the "note column of the image". The clearer it is, the easier it is for Google to understand what the image represents, and it can also increase the website's exposure in search engines.
Not only for SEO, Img Alt is also very important for assistive reading devices for visually impaired users! Therefore, it is an indispensable part of building a user-friendly website.
⏩Simply put: write a good Alt tag so that Google can understand it and users will be more interested in it.
Why is it helpful for SEO?
- Help search engines understand the subject of the image, increase the chances of your images appearing in Google Image Search
- Improve the overall keyword semantic density of the page, strengthen ranking
- Enhance accessibility, improve UX and strengthen brand image
- Automatically display backup content when the image fails, improve website stability and trust
What's the difference between Img Alt and Img Title?
Although they look similar, Img Alt and Img Title have completely different functions in HTML. Don't confuse them, as doing so will not only fail to improve your SEO but may also negatively impact your user experience!
| project | Img Alt (Alternative Text) | Img Title (prompt text) |
| use | Displayed when the image cannot be loaded | Show on mouse hover |
| Search engine reads | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Visually Impaired Assistance | ✅ Screen reader readable | ❌ Most assistive devices ignore |
| SEO influence | ✅ One of the key factors | ❌ Almost no impact |
📌 Important reminder:Img Alt is a necessary field for SEO, while Img Title is supplementary information. Do not mix them up!
How to write Img Alt? HTML syntax and writing skills
For a startup CEO or freelancer who is completely new to websites, writing HTML syntax may seem a bit complicated, but in fact, you only need to learn one format to get it done!
👩💻 HTML Alt Syntax Examples Even Newbies Can Write
You might think that writing code is difficult, but in fact, just remember this structure and you are halfway to success:
| <img src=“product.jpg” alt="Handmade wooden notebook with custom engraved words on the cover"> |
- src: URL or path of the image file (local or gallery)
- alt: The description of this image, also known as the "alternative text"
📌 Tips:Don’t use vague descriptions like “Picture 1”, neither Google nor the user will know the meaning of this image.
🔎 What are some incorrect ways to write Alt? (Wrong vs. correct examples)
| Alt | question | evaluate |
| alt=”Image 1″ | Without information, SEO is ineffective | ❌ |
| alt=”Click here to learn more” | Too colloquial and doesn't explain the image's content | ⚠️ |
| alt="Black tea, tea leaves, oolong tea, scented tea, green tea, tea sets" | Keyword stacking will be penalized | ⚠️ |
| alt="Handmade black tea gift box packaging, including three types of tea and a blessing card" | Meaningful, concrete, and natural | ✅ |
✅ To write good image alternative text, you only need to master the "five principles" and "five steps"!
Five-step tutorial: How to write the Alt tag that Google likes
1️⃣ Observe the key points of the picture content
Ask yourself: "What is this image doing? What is it trying to convey?"
Example: Is it a product? A brand scenario? A functional operation? An event review?
2️⃣ Describe it in one sentence
Avoid writing just one or two words, and don't write a whole paragraph.
✅ alt="SaaS tool backend, showing user activity and statistical charts"
3️⃣ Naturally include keywords (not force-feed)
⚠️ False:alt="Black Tea, Black Tea Leaves, Tea Fragrance"
✅ Positive:alt="Three Taiwanese handmade black tea packaging sets, perfect for gifts"
4️⃣ Control the number of characters (recommended within 125 characters)
Too short and no information, too long and easy to be ignored
✅ The Mid-Autumn Festival gift box contains tea and nuts, and is paired with an exquisite card and ribbon packaging.
5️⃣ Avoid meaningless words or colloquialisms
❌ alt=”Click here” / “So beautiful” / “Picture 1”
✅ alt="At the entrepreneurship lecture, the speaker and students are interacting and discussing"
How does Img Alt help SEO? How does it affect search rankings?
You might be thinking, “I don’t blog, so does every image really affect SEO?”
The answer is:Absolutely.
Google search not only looks at "what you wrote", but also tries to "understand what the picture says". The key to all this lies in whether you write in a way that the search engine canConnecting images and meaning.
How does Img Alt help SEO?
📊 Increase image exposure opportunities
Google is getting smarter, but it still can't fully understand the content of images. Writing Alt tags correctly can:
- Helps images appear in relevant searches (especially image search pages)
- Improve the overall page relevance to target keywords
- Improve the overall SEO ranking of the page
💡 Improve accessibility
For visually impaired users, the Alt field is the only information about an image that can be read by a web browser. Missing the Alt field effectively makes the image disappear, directly impacting accessibility and user experience.
For the visually impaired, they use screen readers to "hear" website content. Img Alt is the text description that these assistive tools rely on when reading images.
💡 Reminder: Google also includes "website accessibility" as one of the SEO ranking factors!
🧵 Backup information when the image fails
If the image fails to load, the Alt text can be automatically displayed instead, which not only maintains the integrity of the layout but also ensures uninterrupted information transmission.
🔎 How do search engines interpret images? It turns out they don't rely on "looking," they rely on "reading."
While Google can recognize image outlines, colors, and content, it still relies on these text clues for accurate understanding:
| Information Source | illustrate | Recommended Practices |
| alt Alternative text | The most important basis for search engines to understand images | Write clear descriptions and include keywords naturally |
| Image file name | Used to enhance semantic and classification search | The file name is described in English, for example:matcha-latte.jpg |
| Image context text | Text that appears before and after the image | The paragraphs surrounding the image should be consistent with the theme of the image |
| HTML tag semantics | figure、figcaption wait | If there is a caption, please use it with semantic tags |
🎯 How does Alt Text Impact Your Keyword Rankings?
Let’s say you run a handmade dessert brand and your website’s main keyword is “customized birthday cakes.” You’ve included a few photos of beautiful cakes, but your Alt tag might look like this:
| html <img src=“cake.jpg” alt=Picture 1> |
This way, Google has no idea about the content of the image and won’t help you rank higher for the keyword “customized birthday cake.”
But if you change it to this:
| html <img src=“cake.jpg” alt=“Pink customized birthday cake with handmade sugar flowers and birthday wishes on it”> |
Not only will Google know exactly what the image is, but it will also strengthen the semantic connection between the webpage and "birthday cake," thereby improving the page's overall ranking for that keyword.
💡 Even small websites without blogs can still rank high with images
For freelancers, contract workers, and small e-commerce businesses, lacking the time to write long articles is common. This is when image Alt tags become a powerful tool for silently helping you with SEO.
- Portfolio → Use Alt to describe your professional skills and style
alt="Brand consultant designed the visual style of the briefing, combining dark blue and gold colors"
- Product image → Write out the product features and applicable objects
alt="Fragrance-free handmade lip balm, suitable for sensitive skin and pregnant women"
- User scenario diagram → conveys product value and scenarios
alt="Users use branded notebooks to write diaries in a cafe"
📌 It doesn’t matter if you don’t have time to manage content, you canStart with image Alt to build SEO foundational advantages.
🔁 The image can appear in the "Featured Image Block" on the Google homepage
You may have seen "Image Cards," "Knowledge Graph," or "Google Image Selection" appear above some search results. One of the criteria for selecting these images is that the Alt tag is clear, accurate, and highly consistent with the topic of the webpage.
🧠 Extra knowledge: Images also participate in EEAT scoring!
When Google evaluates the credibility of a website, it uses EEAT Four indicators (experience, expertise, authority, and credibility). When your image Alt tag can:
- Present your brand's professional image
- Describe usage scenarios and product details
- Strengthen the theme consistency of web pages
These can make the search engine think that you are providingValuable and professionalcontent.
How to write effective alternative text? Principles × Steps × Examples
Writing an Alt tag isn't just about keyword stacking or filling in a blank space. Well-written, it's your website's hidden voice. Poorly written, it's as good as not having one, and could even hurt your SEO performance.
This chapter will integrate the "Five Principles" and "Five-Step Process" of writing, and then combine them withCorrect vs. Incorrect Example Comparison Table, so you can understand it at a glance and get started right away!
📌 Five golden rules for writing good image alt tags
| in principle | illustrate | Correct example | Wrong example |
| Specific description | Write the subject and context of the picture | alt="Laptop and coffee on the desk" | alt="Good healing photos" |
| Naturally insert keywords | Don't deliberately stack | alt="Handmade Matcha Biscuits Gift Box Packaging" | alt="Matcha, biscuits, snacks, desserts" |
| Control word count | 80–125 characters recommended | alt="Mid-Autumn Festival gift box contains tea and nuts" | alt="A great value gift box for family and friends!" |
| Explain the image's intent | Not only pictures and explanations, but also emphasis on "why it appears" | alt="The founder showcases new products at a press conference" | alt="A man stands on the stage holding something" |
| Functional diagrams also need to be explained | Clearly describe the button or interface function | alt="Submit contact form button" | alt=”click me” |
✏️5 Steps to Writing Alt Text Google Likes
-
Observe the theme and focus of the picture
- The key is "what is this image?", not the copy. The more specific and clear you are, the better Google will understand it.
- Ask yourself: "What is this image trying to convey? Is it the product? The situation? The purpose?"
- ✅ Writing method: alt=“Handmade cookies on a wooden table, paired with hand-poured coffee”
⛔ Avoid: alt=“A very healing photo”
-
Describe the picture in one sentence
- The ideal length is between 80 and 125 characters, with complete information but no redundancy.
- Example: alt="Customized gift box packaging, including 3 types of tea bags and a greeting card"
- ✅ Writing method:alt="Beautifully packaged Mid-Autumn Festival gift box, containing tea, nuts and a blessing card"
⛔ Avoid:alt="Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Giving this to friends and family is really thoughtful, cost-effective, and I love it! What a great choice!"
-
Naturally incorporate keywords
- Keywords can be added to Alt, but they should appear naturally and not be repeated densely.
- Example: alt="At an entrepreneurial lecture, the speaker is sharing operational strategies"
- ✅ Writing method:alt="Green succulent plants, healing office items"
⛔ Avoid:alt="Succulents, succulent plants, healing items, office items, office decoration"
-
Control word count within 125 words
- If it is too long, Google will ignore it. If it is too short, the information will be incomplete.
-
Avoid meaningless words
- Alt describes the image's role on the page, not just the surface caption.
- Error: alt="Image 1", alt="Super beautiful", alt="Click here to see more"
- ✅ Writing method: alt=”The founder shared his entrepreneurial journey in the brand’s anniversary speech”
⛔ Avoid: alt=”A man standing on stage with a microphone”
Comparison table of correct and incorrect Alt writing examples
| Picture context | Wrong spelling (❌) | Correct way to write (✅) | Analysis |
| Matcha latte with dessert | alt=”Image 1″ | alt="Freshly brewed matcha latte on a wooden table, paired with cheese tart dessert" | Describe the scene correctly, use natural language, and incorporate keywords |
| Product Image | alt=”Red Product” | A5 size red leather notebook with off-white lines | Write down the function and appearance information |
| Event Photos | alt="Everyone get together" | alt="Students participate in group discussions at the entrepreneurship lecture" | Communicate the theme of the event and interactivity |
| Functional diagram | alt=”click me” | alt="Add to Cart Button" | Functional diagrams must describe their purpose |
| User Context | alt="People using mobile phones" | alt="Users log in to the platform by scanning the QR code with their mobile phones" | Describing behavior and purpose |
🧠 Memory formula: Alt = who + what + intention
This sentence can help you quickly come up with alternative text content and naturally write an image description that "Google and users will understand."
💡 Extension: List of common mistakes
| Error Type | demonstration | Problem Description |
| Leave blank | alt=”” | There is no information at all, and visually impaired readers cannot understand the pictures. |
| meaningless code | alt=”Image 2″ | Neither the machine nor the user can tell what the image is about |
| Keyword stacking | alt="cake, birthday cake, dessert, party cake, strawberry cake" | Considered a black hat SEO technique by Google |
| Emotional vocabulary | alt="Super beautiful, super healing, super cute" | No information value, affecting readability |
| Too long | This awesome and cute Mid-Autumn Festival gift box is not only beautiful but also very practical. I highly recommend it and it’s perfect for giving as a gift. | It is too long and not concise, exceeding the recommended word limit of search engines. |
How to write Img Alt in different industries? Practical examples for freelancers, manufacturing, and startups
Freelance/Small E-commerce
Use pictures to show products, works or people. The task of Alt is toLet these pictures "speak", helping you quickly convey trust and value.
| Image Type | Suggested Alt writing |
| Personal photo | alt="Ms. Chen, a brand consultant specializing in presentation design and business training" |
| Works display | alt="Brand proposal briefing, with customized visual design style" |
| Product Image | Handmade natural lip balm, fragrance-free, suitable for sensitive skin |
✅ Tips: Product images are not just "red lipstick" or "product photos", but also "what is this", "who is it designed for", and "what are its features".
Traditional Industry/Manufacturing
Many B2B businesses underestimate the value of Alt marketing. Image alternative text can actually help your website:
- Found in technology searches (e.g., "aluminum processing," "automated production line")
- Convey the impression of "professional", "stable" and "reliable" in brand presentation
| Image Type | Suggested Alt writing |
| Factory site photos | alt="Automated production line, operators inspect the precision of aluminum parts" |
| Corporate team photo | alt="Logistics company internal team photo, celebrating 10th anniversary" |
| Product application photos | alt="Building materials company's products are actually installed in the New Taipei Science Park project" |
✅ Practical advice: Every picture can be "searchable", so that your technical information and real-life photos can be seen by potential partners.
New startup team:
For startups, images are often highly relevant to product UI, demo photos, and user context. Writing a good Alt tag can help you:
- Establish a connection between products and "functional scenarios"
- Enhance brand professionalism and technical image
- Let strangers know what problem your product solves by looking at the picture
| Image Type | Suggested Alt writing |
| Founder sharing photo | alt="The founder of the education platform presented his product concept at Pitch Day" |
| Use situation photos | AI voice assistant teaching system allows students to practice speaking skills through voice. |
| UI interface diagram | alt="SaaS tool backend interface, showing user management and report statistics functions" |
✅ Suggested sentence structure: "What is the product?" "Who is using it?" "Where is it located?" "What pain points is it solving?"
🧠 Writing formula collection (universal replacement text template)
You can use this catch-all phrase to apply to image alt tags:
alt="[Role] uses [product or service] in [situation] to solve [specific need or pain point]"
For example:
| html <img src=“mentor.jpg” alt="Entrepreneurship consultants help entrepreneurs plan their operational strategies during coaching sessions."> |
This way, not only users will understand it, but Google will also understand it, and it can even appear in knowledge graphs or image collections!
🔍 Advanced Supplement: Advanced Image SEO Tips: What else should you pay attention to besides Alt?
Write well alt While alternative text is important, if the image itself is incorrectly formatted, out of context, or doesn’t fit the image, you’ll still miss out on SEO ranking opportunities.
The following are advancedImage SEO Technical Key Points, helping you advance from basic writing to professional optimization.
🖋️ Image file naming principles: Stop using “IMG_1234.jpg”
Image file names are not only convenient for management, but also used by Google for semantic understanding.
| Wrong file name | Suggested Name | Keyword optimization instructions |
| IMG00123.jpg | matcha-latte-cake.jpg | Use lowercase letters and slashes to separate |
| P101001.jpg | handmade-notebook-cover.jpg | Incorporate keywords to be concise and clear |
| Picture01.jpg | birthday-cake-custom.jpg | Avoid Chinese or numeric strings without meaning |
📌 Recommendations:Use English description of the topic + keywords + classification words combination
🧩 Contextual text optimization: The content before and after the image is important
Google does notInterpreting the picture individuallyInstead, it evaluates the semantics and relevance of the image in conjunction with the text near the image.
| Image Location | Recommended Practices |
| Previous paragraph | Describe the theme or function of the image |
| Image Captions | Can be matched |
| Paragraph below the picture | Continue to expand on the product/story/case represented by this diagram |
✅ Semantic consistency is recommended: If the image is "Matcha Latte", the surrounding text should include semantic groups such as "Matcha", "Drinks", and "Afternoon Tea".
📁 Image format selection and compression settings: Increase loading speed = improve SEO performance
Google explicitly states:Website speed affects SEO rankings, and images are often the biggest slowdown culprit.
| Format | Applicable Scenarios | advantage | Suggested Tools |
| WebP | Most modern websites use images | High compression, good image quality, and wide support | Squoosh, TinyPNG |
| JPEG (compressed) | Photographic pictures and real-life photos | Rich colors | TinyJPG, ImageOptim |
| PNG | Icons, transparent background | Supports transparency and clear image quality | Photoshop, Canva |
| SVG | Icons, Logos | Vector format, no loss of quality | Illustrator, Figma |
✅ Tips: If the picture is too large, it is recommended to control it within Within 150–300KB.
📱Responsive design support: consistent display across different devices
If the image is not set to a responsive size, it may result in:
- Mobile phone screen is broken
- Blurry or distorted images
- Loading extra files slows things down
✅ Recommended Practices:
| html <img src=“main.jpg” srcset="main-480.jpg 480w, main-800.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 480px, 800px" alt=Responsive Image Display> |
use srcset Allow the browser to load images of the appropriate size based on the device, effectively saving bandwidth and optimizing speed.
🎯 Image sitemap and structure markup: Advanced SEO enhancements (Optional)
If the website has a lot of pictures, you may consider creatingImage-specific sitemap orStructured data markup, helping Google to more completely index image information.
| method | Purpose | Reference Tools |
| Image Sitemap | Provide image URL and description to search engines | Use Yoast SEO and build your own XML |
| Structured markup (ImageObject) | Tell search engines the purpose and attributes of images | Schema.org |
✅ Suitable for:E-commerce, stock photography websites, photography websites Those who have a large number of pictures and hope to improve the image indexing rate.
Three free tools to quickly check your website's Alt tags
You might write alt, but do you know which pictures on the website are not written or which ones are written incorrectly?
The following threeCompletely free tool that requires no installation, which allows you to instantly check the alternative text settings of your website images:
🛠️ Tool 1: Alt Text Tester (Chrome extension)
📌 Suitable for：Website operators, beginners, bloggers
🔍 Functional Description:
- Display each image's Alt settings directly in the browser
- Images without Alt will be marked with a red frame, so you can see the problem images at a glance.
- Click the tool to check page by page without opening the source code
🔗 Tool link:
Alt Text Tester – Chrome Web Store
✅ Usage recommendations:
You can first use this tool to quickly check whether there are any images missing Alt on the homepage and popular pages.
🛠 Tool 2: Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free Version)
📌 Suitable for：Medium and large websites, SEO professionals, content teams
🔍 Functional Description:
- Can crawl the entire website image data in batches
- View each image alt Whether it is set, whether there is repetition, whether it is too short
- Reports can be exported (CSV/XLSX) to facilitate team discussions and optimization tracking
🔗 Tool link:
Screaming Frog – Download SEO Spider Tool
✅ Usage recommendations:
The free version can scan 500 pages, which is sufficient for general small and medium-sized websites.
🛠 Tool 3: WAVE Web Accessibility Tool
📌 Suitable for: Companies with brand image or government agency websites that value accessibility
🔍 Functional Description:
- Specifically check the accessibility of the website
- Visually indicate whether an image has alternative text
- Check other accessibility elements (such as text contrast, ARIA labels, etc.)
🔗 Tool link:
WAVE – Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
✅ Usage suggestions:
It is suitable for brand image websites, medical, education, e-commerce and other industries that require UX consideration.
📊 Tool comparison overview table
| Tool Name | Features | Suitable for | Recommendation |
| Alt Text Tester | Chrome extension for quick visual inspection | New website operators | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Screaming Frog | Site-wide image analysis + report export | Web Marketing/SEO Team | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| WAVE | Visual accessibility diagnostics and Alt tags | Brand websites, government websites | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
🎯 Recommended order of use:
- First use Chrome tools to quickly check the home page image
- Use Screaming Frog to scan your entire site and export reports
Checking accessibility and structural integrity with WAVE
Let images replace text and become your secret weapon for SEO
If you are still wondering:
"My website doesn't have much content. Is there really a chance of getting organic traffic through SEO?"
The answer is:Yes, start with image replacement text.
1️⃣ Enhance image search exposure
2️⃣ Improve page theme consistency
3️⃣ Optimize keyword rankings
4️⃣ Create an accessible website experience
5️⃣ Accelerate conversion and trust building
🎯 Alt text isn't just a technical detail; it's the key to making your images speak. Whether you're a freelancer or a brand owner, you can capture users' attention with just one image.
-
- Freelancers and small e-commerce operators: Product images and work photos are your online branding
- SME and traditional industry websites: If professional strength is not included in the image description, it will not be found in search.
- Startups or SaaS teams: Product UI/Demo video images can be converted into keyword exposure opportunities
By writing good Img Alt text, your website will have an additional entrance for free traffic.
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If you don’t have a website and need to quickly build a brand image website, you can contact a professional website design company, such as our professional team, who can easily help you build an image website!
Our service is ideal for those who need to quickly establish an online presence, rather than seeking a steady, step-by-step approach with professional support. By launching brand operations, you can quickly increase your influence and achieve monetization capabilities.
👉 Contact us now to learn more website design and optimization tips! 🚀
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