Does alt text affect Google rankings?

Yes. Alt text helps search engines understand the content of your images, improving visibility in image search and contributing to overall SEO.

Can I use keywords in alt text?

You can include keywords, but only if they naturally fit the description. Avoid keyword stuffing.

How long should alt text be?

Alt text should be concise—ideally under 125 characters—but detailed enough to explain the image’s purpose.

Why Ignoring Alt Text is Hurting Your SEO and How to Fix It

What is Alt Text?
Why Alt Text Matters for SEO
Common Alt Text Mistakes Bloggers Make
How to Write Effective Alt Text
A Real Example: Alt Text That Made a Difference
Final Tips to Make Every Image Count

What is Alt Text?

Alt text, or alternative text, is the little snippet you add to describe an image. While your readers may not see it directly, search engines and screen readers do. In the world of SEO, this humble text acts as a guidepost to help bots understand what your content visually represents.

Why Alt Text Matters for SEO

Search engines are smart, but they aren't visually gifted. They can crawl text with ease, but an image? Not unless you describe it. This is where alt text shines. It enhances image SEO, boosts accessibility, and can even drive traffic through image searches. Neglect it, and you're leaving potential ranking power on the table.

Common Alt Text Mistakes Bloggers Make

Most bloggers fall into one of these traps:

Leaving alt text blank
Stuffing it with random keywords
Using generic phrases like "image123"
Describing what doesn’t matter (e.g., "blue background")

These might seem minor, but they accumulate to form a poor SEO structure.

How to Write Effective Alt Text

Writing alt text isn't about impressing bots; it's about being descriptive and helpful:

Be specific, not spammy
Use natural keywords only if they make sense
Describe the actual content and function of the image
Avoid repeating surrounding content

Think of it as narrating your blog to someone who can’t see the images.

A Real Example: Alt Text That Made a Difference

I once helped a small photography blog fix their alt text issues. They used to upload hundreds of images titled "photo1.jpg" with no alt descriptions. After revising just their top 30 posts with optimized, relevant alt text, their organic traffic from Google Images increased by over 40% within two months.

Final Tips to Make Every Image Count

Images are not just decorations—they're assets. Here's how to maximize them:

Use descriptive filenames before uploading
Compress images for faster load times
Include images in your sitemap
Always use responsive image sizes

When your visuals are optimized, your SEO gets an invisible but powerful boost.