Alt text or alternate text is a description of an image that appears on the web page and is used by search engines and users. Alt text often refers to image alt text as it appears in place of an image if it fails to load so that search engines better understand the image and page content.
Alt text is also known as “alt attributes”, “alt descriptions”, or “alt tags”. The main focus of alt-text is to provide a clear and concise description of an image and allow screen readers to understand the context of the image.
Why is alt-text important?
Alt-text is important in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) because it allows screen readers to describe images to users with visual impairments or low vision. Including alt text on the website can help in better user experience.
Adding alt text on a website decreases the load times, which helps search engines to understand the image as the page may load quickly.
How long can alt-text be?
When it comes to the length of alt text, there are no official guidelines by Google on it, but write an alt text that thoroughly describes the image and should be to the point. It is always important that while writing alt text, one should use simple and understandable language instead of using any technical terms.