Google has recently clarified a key misconception about the role of alt text (alternative text) in website content. While many website owners and SEO professionals believe that alt text is mainly used for improving search engine rankings, Google emphasized that its primary purpose is to improve accessibility for users, especially those with visual impairments.
What is Alt Text?
Alt text is a written description added to images on a webpage. This description is read aloud by screen readers to help visually impaired users understand the content and purpose of the image. Alt text is also used when images fail to load, giving all users a textual alternative to understand what the image represents.
Accessibility Comes First
Google highlighted that alt text is a tool for accessibility first and foremost. Its main job is to ensure that people who cannot see the image—either because they are visually impaired or because the image didn’t load—can still understand the content.
This means that alt text should be written with clarity and purpose, describing what the image conveys without adding unnecessary or unrelated details. For example:
- Good Alt Text: “A golden retriever puppy playing with a red ball on a sunny day.”
- Bad Alt Text: “Buy dog toys online, red ball for sale, cheap prices.”
The good example is descriptive and useful for visually impaired users, while the bad example focuses only on SEO keywords and offers little value to accessibility.
Alt Text and SEO: The Connection
Google acknowledged that alt text can play a role in SEO, especially for image search. Properly describing an image can help search engines understand its context and display it in relevant image search results. However, Google strongly advises against keyword stuffing—adding excessive or irrelevant keywords to alt text.
Keyword stuffing can harm the user experience and may even lead to penalties from search engines. Instead, Google recommends focusing on writing natural, user-friendly descriptions that align with the image’s content.
What About Decorative Images?
Not every image on a website needs alt text. For purely decorative images—such as background patterns or visual elements that don’t convey meaningful content—Google suggests leaving the alt attribute empty (alt=””). This ensures that screen readers skip over these images, allowing users to focus on the relevant information on the page.
Key Takeaways for Website Owners and Content Creators
- Focus on Accessibility: Write alt text to describe the image for visually impaired users. Think about what someone who can’t see the image needs to know.
- Be Descriptive but Concise: Provide clear and concise descriptions without overloading with unnecessary details or keywords.
- Avoid Keyword Stuffing: Don’t use alt text as a place to dump keywords. Keep it relevant and user-friendly.
- Leave Decorative Images Blank: For images that don’t add meaningful content, use an empty alt attribute.
Conclusion
Google’s clarification serves as a reminder that alt text is not just a tool for search engine optimization—it’s a crucial part of creating an inclusive and accessible web experience. By prioritizing accessibility, you’re not only helping users with disabilities but also building a better, more user-friendly website overall.
So, the next time you’re adding alt text to an image, think of how it will help someone who can’t see the image rather than how it will rank on Google. Accessible design is good design—and that benefits everyone!
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