Common Mistakes with Alt Text and How to Avoid Them for Better SEO

Welcome back to SEO Tip Tuesday! Today, we are reviewing alt text for images, a crucial but often overlooked aspect of SEO. Alt text might seem like a small detail, but it plays a significant role in both accessibility and search engine optimization. Let’s discuss some common mistakes with alt text and how you can avoid them to enhance your website’s performance.

What Is Alt Text?

Alt text, or alternative text, is a brief description added to images on your website. It helps search engines understand the content of an image and provides context for visually impaired users using screen readers. Essentially, alt text is key to making your website more accessible and better optimized for search engines.

Why Alt Text Matters

Alt text improves your site’s SEO by providing search engines with additional information about the images on your page, which can help boost your visibility in search results, especially in image searches. Additionally, well-written alt text enhances the user experience for people with visual impairments by describing images that they can’t see.

Common Mistakes with Alt Text

Here are some common mistakes to avoid to ensure your alt text is effective for both SEO and accessibility:

1. Skipping Alt Text Altogether
   A common mistake people make is just forgetting to add alt text to their images..
2. Not adding alt text not only hurts accessibility but also means missing out on an SEO opportunity.
   How to Avoid: Make sure to add descriptive alt text to every image.For decorative images, use a null alt attribute (alt=””) so screen readers know they can skip over them.
3. Using Vague or Non-Descriptive Text
   Using generic alt text like “image1” or “photo” does not help search engines or users understand what the image represents.
   How to Avoid: Write clear and specific descriptions. For example, instead of “dog,” use “Golden Retriever playing in a park.” This provides more context and detail.
4. Keyword Stuffing
   While it’s useful to include keywords in your alt text, overloading it with too many keywords can make it appear spammy and could negatively impact your SEO.
   How to Avoid: Incorporate keywords naturally and only when they’re relevant. Describe the image accurately in a way that benefits both users and search engines.
5. Ignoring the Context
   Alt text should be relevant to the context of the page it’s on. For example, an image of a pizza on a cooking blog should have alt text that is related to the recipe or topic being discussed.
   How to Avoid: Make sure your alt text aligns with the surrounding content, providing useful information that enhances the user’s experience.
6. Being Overly Detailed or Too Brief
   Alt text should be concise yet informative. Too much detail can be overwhelming, while too little can leave out important context.
   How to Avoid: Keep your alt text short and to the point, ideally under 125 characters. Make sure it accurately describes the image without unnecessary detail.

Conclusion

Alt text is an important element that can make your website more accessible and improve your SEO. By avoiding common mistakes such as vague descriptions, keyword stuffing, and ignoring context, you can write more effective alt text that benefits both users and search engines. Taking the time to thoughtfully craft alt text for your images can make a noticeable difference in your website’s performance and user experience.

Until next time, keep refining your SEO strategies for the best results!