What Are Alt Attributes & How Do They Affect My SEO

When it Comes to Search Engine Optimization – All The Little Things Matter

If you have a website and have even looked into Search Engine Optimization for your website, you likely have heard terms such as “header tag”, “title tag”, “alt text”, “meta description”, “off page optimization” and a plethora of other verbiage that may or may not go over your head. If you are someone who is at least a little familiar with the basic terms of Search Engine Optimization, including alt attributes, bear with us as we get more in depth. Alt attributes are just ONE small portion of all the various things that search engines consider while determining your website’s rank for various keywords and key phrases. So let’s dive into what they are, why they are important, and how they can affect your website’s Search Engine Optimization.

What Are Alt Attributes?

Let’s start at the beginning. An alt tag, otherwise known as “alternative text” or also known as “alt attributes” in very simple terms is HTML code attached to an image that describes what the image is. An alt tag should be descriptive enough to encompass the entirety of what is in the image without going overboard on length. We understand that it can be challenging when looking at the entire “grey” area of alt attributes, but as you continue to learn more about what alt text is and how to use it, we are confident that you’ll have no trouble. An alt attribute is in a sense an alternative way to understand imagery without the need to “see” the image, but rather read it.

Why Are Alt Attributes Important?

So why are alt attributes important and how can they affect SEO? Alt text is important for two main reasons, accessibility for vision impaired web visitors as well as your websites Search Engine Optimization. Image alt text was originally and primarily put in place to assist in the accessibility of websites for visitors that might need visual aid. So by utilizing alt text you are allowing ALL users to access your site. Alt attributes are also an important part of SEO as well. If you are familiar with how Search Engines read websites, you know that millions of bots are sent out all over the web to crawl all websites, as well as the content within websites, including text, images, titles, links and more! These bots can’t read images, so in order for us to communicate with them we use alt attributes!

How Can Alt Attributes Affect My Website SEO

Search Engine Optimization is a culmination of various elements including text, images, links, and so much more that we can’t even begin to explain in one short blog, but what we do want to say is that each part of good SEO works together. Good content and text will be backed up by applicable images and alt attributes, pages will have relevant links and back-links from other websites as well. What we are trying to say is that, although alt attributes aren’t the only thing that have the power to positively or negatively affect your SEO efforts, they still play a big role in creating a solid foundation for your website. Well-written alt attributes hold weight when it comes to seeing your website rankings rise – and maybe it is time to reassess yours today!

Do you have a website with images on it? Have you ever assessed your imagery and thought about the alt attributes that you use on them? Did you know that alt attributes can positively or negatively affect your Search Engine rankings? If you need help assessing your website’s alt text,
contact us today! We are happy to help!

We know that Search Engine Optimization can be intimidating…but we are here to help! When it comes time to assess your website’s rankings, set up a consultation, we would be happy to walk you through what improvements can be made for your website!