Alt text is used to help computers read images.
But can alt tags affect your organic search ranking?
Read on to find out if there is any connection between alt text and improved rankings in Google image search results.
The claim: Alt text is a ranking factor
What is alt text?
Alt text is an HTML image attribute. It allows you to create an alternative text version of your image if it cannot be loaded or has an accessibility problem.
Because of its importance to Google Image Search, it is considered a ranking factor.
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Alternative text as a classification factor: the evidence
Google emphasizes how alt text plays a vital role in getting your images recognized by Google Image Search.
You’ll find a page on image best practices in Google Search Central’s Advanced SEO documentation. In a section called “about alt text”, Google discusses the use of alt text.
“Google uses alt text in conjunction with computer vision algorithms and page content to understand the topic of the image. In addition, alt text on images is useful as anchor text if you decide to use an image as to link
While the company doesn’t specify that alt text will improve your rankings, it warns website owners that improper use can hurt your website.
“When writing alt text, focus on creating useful, information-rich content that uses keywords appropriately and is in context with the content on the page.
Avoid stuffing your alt attributes with keywords (also known as keyword stuffing) as it results in a negative user experience and can make your site look spammy.”
It also provides the following examples of good and bad alt text usage.
Screenshot from Google Search Central, August 2023
Google Sites Help documentation indicates that images may include pre-filled alt text, including keywords you may not want to optimize for.
“Some images include alt text automatically, so it’s a good idea to check that the alt text is what you want.”
For example, when I download stock photos, a text description of the image is embedded in the file.
Screenshot by the author, August 2023
When uploading to a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, text descriptions may need to be moved to the alt text field or modified to remove unnecessary keywords.
Screenshot from WordPress, August 2023
In the search engine optimization home element of Google Search Central guide,” offers the following tips about alt tags when using images as links:
“…if you use an image as a link, the alt text of that image will be treated similarly to the anchor text of a text link. However, we don’t recommend using too many images for links in your site’s navigation when text links can serve the same purpose.”
In 2020, Google Search Advocate John Mueller answered a question about alt text for a citation image during office hours for Google webmasters. In the response, he discussed how Google uses it:
“For search, the thing about the alt attribute is that we use it to better understand images, particularly for image search. So if you didn’t care about image search, since from a search standpoint, you don’t really need to worry about alt text.
But if you want those images to show up in Image Search, which sometimes makes sense to show fancy quotes in Image Search as well, using the alt attribute is a great way to tell us that this image is there and we will Get additional information from your page about how we can rank this landing page.”
Moz mentions ranking factors on the alt text. Instead of saying that alt text itself is a ranking factor, Moz advises:
“… alt text gives you another opportunity to include your target keyword. With on-page keyword usage still carrying weight as a search engine ranking factor, it’s in your best interest to create a alternative that describes the image and, if possible, includes a keyword or keyword phrase that you’re targeting.”
In 2021During a Twitter discussion about ALT text having an SEO benefit, Google developer Martin Splitt said:
“Yes, alt text is important for SEO too!”
later on 2021Mueller pointed out that alt text isn’t magic during a conversation about optimization for indexing purposes.
“My understanding was that alt attributes are required for HTML5 validation, so if you can’t use them with your platform, it looks like a bug. That said, alt text isn’t an SEO magic bullet.”
[Recommended Read] → Ranking factors: systems, signals and page experience
Alt text as a ranking factor: our verdict
Alt text is a confirmed ranking factor for image search only. You should craft descriptive, non-spammy alt text for your images to appear in Google Image Search results.
Alt text is definitely not a ranking factor in Google Search. Google has clarified that alt text acts like normal page text in general search. So it’s not useless, but it’s not a ranking factor considered separately from your page content.
This doesn’t mean you should ignore alt text. It is a useful accessibility tool for screen readers. When writing alt text, ask yourself what you want someone who can’t see the image to understand.
Featured image: Paulo Bobita/SearchEngineJournal
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