Popularly known as ‘Alt Tag’, Alt Attribute or Alt Description is an HTML attribute and is essential for image optimization. Since images have become an essential part of search engine marketing, it is important to know how to write effective Alt Tags. In this article, you will learn the top 5 tips for writing Alt Tags for images.
The time’s gone when optimizing written content with SEO keywords could suffice. To maintain a high Google ranking and visibility, it has become really important to optimize website images as well. Alt Tags are one key element of image optimization.
HTML code uses Alt Tags to describe the appearance and function of an image on a webpage. Adding Alt attributes help make visually impaired people’s experience more meaningful on your website. Moreover, the availability of image description helps visitors in case the image can’t load for some reason.
Not to mention, Alt Tags also help Google index your pictures better. Thus, it can help give your website images to get a higher ranking in Google’s Imageresult filter. Therefore, Alt Tags are important for SEO. Given so, you should know how to write effective Alt Tags for your images.
Best 5 tips to write HTLM Alt Tags for images
1. Describe
The purpose of Alt Tags is to provide text explanations for images. If it doesn’t convey so properly, there’d be no point. It’d be there just for the sake of design. And such Alt text won’t add any meaning or value for your visitor.
Suppose a visually impaired person with screen reader software is visiting your website. He/she will require a well descriptive text to understand the image in the context. Therefore, you should make sure that your alt text adequately describes the image on your website.
2. Be precise
It is important to be descriptive in your Alt Tag. However, it is equally crucial to be precise while doing so. If you don’t keep it short, you’ll lose readers and your image won’t be able to make its full impression. Moreover, many screen readers cut off at the end of 125 characters in an Alt Tag.
Therefore, you should try to keep your Alt Tags short. It is best advisable to sum the text up in 125 characters or less. This will increase its probability of getting read and you will be able to convey your image’s value.
However, for complex images requiring long descriptions, you can use the longdesc=””
3. Use keywords
The time is gone when optimizing text was enough. Images have now become an important part of SEO company in Delhi. Google pays special attention to images. Equipping your Alt text with relevant keywords can help your image rank higher in the Image filtered results.
Therefore, make sure to employ effective keywords in your image Alt Tags. Naturally, keywords that’d suit images would be different from those that suit the written text. Thus, conduct research and find out keywords that’d best suit your image.
But this doesn’t mean you should overdo it. Stuffing too many keywords can have an adverse effect. If you compromise on the descriptive quality of your Alt Tag, Google is not going to give you points just for the keywords. Therefore, use a maximum of a couple of target keywords and focus more on the contextualization.
4. Avoid using images as texts
Search engines can only read the coded text or mark-up language. It can’t read the text contained by the visuals of your image. Thus, it is advisable to use Alt Tags for image description instead of the image itself.
However, sometimes you may just need to include written text in your image. That’s alright. Just make sure you don’t neglect Alt Text in that case. It should still contain a keywords-equipped short description.
5. Take care of Call-to-Action buttons
CTA buttons are crucial for any website. These are like signposts for your customers. It directs them to the action. Such actions can be signing up, subscribing, buying, and so on.
Thus, it is crucial to pay attention to your CTA button images. Make sure such images have Alt attributes corresponding to their value and function. For example, you can use words like “Buy”, “Search”, “Sign up”, etc.
Conclusion
Image optimization has become a significant factor in the websites’ SEO ranking. Thus, it is crucial to equip your images with effective Alt text. For best image Alt Tags, make your text descriptive and precise. Use relevant (but limited) keywords to help Google index your images better. Moreover, avoid using images as texts and pay attention to CTA button images while writing Alt Tags.
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