What Is Alt Text?
Alt text is a written description attached to an image in a webpage’s code. Screen readers can read the description aloud for people who cannot see the image. Search engines may also use the text to understand the image’s subject and connection to the surrounding page content.
Quick Facts About Alt text
Category
Technical SEO and accessibility
Used for
Describing meaningful images
Common confusion
Alt text is not a caption
Also called
Alternative text, Image alt text
Often discussed with
Technical SEO
Key Takeaways About Alt text
- Alt text serves accessibility before search optimisation.
- Describe the image’s purpose in its page context.
- Alt text is not the same as an image caption.
How Alt text Works
Alt text appears in an image element as a text attribute. A screen reader reads the attribute when a visitor cannot see the image. The wording should identify the image’s useful subject or function within the page.
Related glossary terms: Title tag, Schema markup, Internal linking.
Context guides the description. A photograph of a solicitor speaking at a consultation could use “Solicitor discussing a case with a client” when the scene supports the page topic. A decorative divider usually needs no description. Screen readers and search crawlers process the attribute differently, so clear language should serve people first while still giving search systems useful context.
Expert Note
When we review image markup, we check whether each meaningful image has concise text that matches the page context. We also identify decorative images and avoid adding descriptions that interrupt screen-reader navigation. Our team checks the rendered page as well as the underlying HTML.
Alt text in Practice: A Real-World Example
A Sydney law firm page about conveyancing may show a solicitor reviewing a property contract with a client. Suitable alt text could be “Solicitor reviewing a property contract with a client.”
Related Services
Related Terms
Title tag
A title tag is an HTML element that gives a web page its descriptive title. Search…
Schema markup
Schema markup is structured data added to a webpage’s code to describe content in a standard…
Internal linking
Internal linking is the practice of connecting pages within the same website through clickable links. These…
Search intent
Search intent is the reason behind a search query and the outcome the searcher wants. It…
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