SEO Blog

Whenever you include an image to your website it adds a certain aesthetic quality to the page. It helps users navigate through and quickly evaluate what you are offering. Unfortunately not everybody can see them, including the search engines.

To a search engine spider, an image is simply a bit of coding to be looked at and largely ignored. That is, unless you have an ALT text attribute attached.

One of the simplest bits of coding you can hope, but still largely underused, the ALT text within any image or non-HTML element will add vital context. It provides you with an opportunity to describe the element and include additional keywords on a page.

Within your HTML you will usually find a <img src=”…> attribute for each image. After this you’ll find ‘alt=”…’, it is here that you can include your short (say two or three word) description. It won’t be an SEO game changer, but every little helps.

The ALT text is also there to provide visitors with a guide if the image is unable to be shown for any reason. This ensures that there is always something present, particularly if somebody is using a reader for the site.

The search engines will also be able to see what is present here and read it along with your other on-site content. This will all help to improve your site’s relevance for your keywords and terms.

Remember that the ALT attribute can be used for any non-HTML image file and so can be implemented into charts, logos and any navigation features. It isn’t a substitute for HTML, but certainly ensures that you don’t lose too much value by filling your pages with images of one kind or another.

The effectiveness of ALTs is regularly questioned. Some certainly see them as more effort than they’re worth, certainly in terms of optimisation, but as with all things in SEO there is a fair amount of disagreement. But the advice is always the same, it’s best to have something than nothing at all.

Optimisation as a process is all about making small changes to build the site as a whole. As I’ve already said, these ALT attributes won’t instantly transport you to the top of Google; however, if you haven’t customised them already, it certainly might be a good idea to do so.