What Are You Looking For?

Blog Categories

Blogs/SEO/Alt Text Optimization: Elevate Your Images for Better SEO

Sunday, January 26, 2025

James Mitchell

Alt Text Optimization: The Key to Accessible and SEO-Friendly Images

Welcome to our guide on Alt Text Optimization—an often overlooked aspect of on-page SEO that benefits both your audience and search engines. Alt text (short for “alternative text”) describes the content of images, ensuring screen readers can interpret them and search engine crawlers can understand them. If you’ve ever wondered how to make your images more Google-friendly, read on to discover best practices and common pitfalls.

Alt Text Optimization

Understanding the Role of Alt Text in Accessibility and SEO

Alt Text Optimization serves two critical purposes:

1) Accessibility: Users with visual impairments rely on screen readers to interpret images. Meaningful alt text ensures they’re not left in the dark.

2) Search Engine Understanding: Crawlers can’t “see” images, but they can read alt text, which helps them categorize your content. Ultimately, relevant alt text can enhance your SEO ranking factors by providing extra context.

Balancing User Experience and Alt Text Optimization for SEO

  • Aim to describe images naturally without forced keywords
  • Keep alt text concise yet informative—around one short sentence.
  • Use the primary keyword only if it’s genuinely relevant to the image.

The File name of this photo is
"alt-text-optimization"

Illustration showing how alt text optimization improves image accessibility and SEO

The Alt Text of this photo is...
"Illustration showing how alt text optimization improves image accessibility and SEO"

How to Craft Effective Alt Text for Every Image

When it comes to Alt Text Optimization, here are a few rules of thumb:


     1) Accurately Describe the Image: Focus on what the image shows or why it’s important.

    2) Include Keywords Sparingly: If the image directly relates to "Alt Text Optimization," you can include that phrase, but avoid keyword stuffing.

    3) Avoid "Image of…": Screen readers already identify images; jump straight into describing what it is or what it conveys.

​    4) Keep It Relevant: If the image doesn’t represent your target keyword at all, don’t force the term into the alt text.

These practices ensure your alt text remains helpful for users—especially those with accessibility needs—while also improving your site’s SEO. By describing your images accurately, you’re signaling to search engines that your page is both user-focused and relevant to specific search queries.

Checklist of alt text optimization
Checklist of alt text optimization

Steer Clear of Alt Text Pitfalls

Even well-intentioned site owners make mistakes when trying to optimize alt text:

- Keyword Stuffing: Repeating “Alt Text Optimization” or other keywords in every image alt text can flag your site for spammy practices.

- Leaving Alt Text Blank: Failing to add any alt text at all misses an opportunity to enhance accessibility and SEO.

- Using Generic Labels: Simply writing “graphic” or “picture” doesn’t help screen readers or search engines.

Regularly Review and Update

  • Conduct periodic SEO audits to check if alt text is descriptive and relevant.
  • Update alt text on older posts when you revise or republish content.
  • Watch out for changes in Google algorithm updates that might affect how images are indexed.

By avoiding these pitfalls and refining your Alt Text Optimization strategy over time, you’ll strike the perfect balance between usability and visibility—ensuring both readers and crawlers get the most out of your images.

Angelika Pitiss

Hi, I'm Angelika Pitiss

Owner | Web Designer

Angelika Pitiss is the Owner of Social Media Marketing Pro. Her mission is to help entrepreneurs unlock their full potential by providing them with the tools, strategies, and guidance to build thriving, impactful businesses. With a focus on fostering growth, creating meaningful connections, and cultivating a mindset of success, she empowers business owners to achieve sustainable success while leading with compassion and integrity.

Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates!

Social Media Marketing Pro

Your Premier digital marketing solution.
Contact us today to get your free,
no-obligation consultation!

Social Media Marketing Pro, LLC - Location
logo - social media marketing pro

© 2023 All Rights Reserved Social Media Marketing Pro™, LLC.