Alt text, or alternative text, is a written description that accompanies an image on a webpage. This description serves two main purposes: it helps visually impaired users understand the content of the image through screen readers and improves search engine optimization (SEO) by providing context for search engines to index the image appropriately. Alt text should be concise, descriptive, and relevant to the surrounding content.
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Alt text should typically be 125 characters or less to ensure that screen readers can read it efficiently without cutting off important information.
Using relevant keywords in alt text can help improve SEO by making images more discoverable in search engine results.
Alt text is essential for creating an inclusive web experience, allowing individuals with visual impairments to engage with visual content.
Search engines rely on alt text to understand the context of images, which can influence how well a webpage ranks in search results.
Not using alt text or using it incorrectly can lead to a poor user experience and may result in lower SEO performance for a website.
Review Questions
How does alt text contribute to web accessibility for users with visual impairments?
Alt text plays a vital role in web accessibility by providing descriptions of images for visually impaired users who rely on screen readers. When an image has appropriate alt text, the screen reader reads the description aloud, allowing users to understand what the image represents. This inclusivity enhances the overall user experience and ensures that all individuals can access and comprehend visual content on the web.
In what ways can using effective alt text improve a website's SEO performance?
Effective alt text improves a website's SEO performance by including relevant keywords that help search engines index the images accurately. When search engines crawl a webpage, they use alt text to understand the content of images, which can lead to higher rankings in search results when users search for related topics. Additionally, optimized alt text makes images more likely to appear in image search results, driving additional traffic to the website.
Evaluate the potential consequences of neglecting to use alt text on a website and how it impacts both accessibility and SEO.
Neglecting to use alt text on a website can have significant negative consequences for both accessibility and SEO. For users with visual impairments, the absence of alt text means they miss out on important information conveyed through images, leading to a frustrating user experience. From an SEO perspective, failing to include alt text can hinder a website's visibility in search engine results, making it less likely that users will find the site through image searches or even general searches. Ultimately, this neglect can result in reduced traffic and engagement, impacting the overall success of the website.
Related terms
Accessibility: The design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities, ensuring they can access and use them effectively.
The practice of optimizing web content to improve its visibility and ranking on search engines like Google.
Screen Reader: A software application that converts digital text into synthesized speech or braille output, allowing visually impaired users to access information on computers and websites.