Website accessibility is the law—yes, really. Yet, when it comes to website accessibility and optimizing your website, the one thing constantly overlooked is image alt text. 

Alt text allows your site to be ‘seen’ by everyone, such as those using screen readers and search crawlers indexing your content. 

What You Need to Know Highlights

• Website accessibility is legally required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• Alt text gives users with visual impairments access to all of your website content.
• Alt text helps search engines ‘see’ and index your images correctly, improving visibility in search results.
• Use keywords in image titles, not keywords stuffed in alt text.

Why Image Alt Text Matters for Accessibility

Imagine being on a website without being able to see the images on a webpage. For those with visual impairments, alt text is their ‘eyes,’ allowing them to understand what the image is and how it correlates with the content on the page. 

Screen readers use alt text to describe images as they read the content aloud to users so that they’re able to get the information from all elements on the webpage, not just the words. This is a big deal, especially for consumers looking to purchase a product or invest in a service. You want them to have access to all of your content on your site, not just pieces of it.

In addition to that, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires websites to be compliant. With over 4,000 ADA lawsuits in 2024, compliance should be a top priority, not an afterthought. 

“Even though businesses and state and local governments have flexibility in how they comply with the ADA’s general requirements of nondiscrimination and effective communication, they still must ensure that the programs, services, and goods that they provide to the public—including those provided online—are accessible to people with disabilities.” – ADA.gov

Why Image Alt Text Matters for SEO

Think of alt text as a way to help search engines “see” your images. Search engines, even AI search crawlers like Gemini and ChatGPT, use alt text to understand what an image is about and how it is helpful to the content on the page. 

Alt text also helps with indexing your images correctly, which can improve your visibility in search results—especially in the 12 billion plus image searches that take place every month on Google alone. 

When considering what to buy, half of consumers say images help them decide what to purchase. And if you think all the money is outside of the disabled community, think again. The disability community has about $13 trillion dollars in spendable income. Considering more than 60% of website homepages have alt text errors, that’s disposable income your business can access just by having an inclusive website. 

Best Practices for Writing Image Alt Text

Here are some tips to help you write effective alt text:

• Be Descriptive Yet Brief: Keep your alt text short—around 120-150 characters—and focus on describing the image’s content rather than using keywords.
  • Example of Bad Alt Text: alt=”Elephant”
  • Example of Good Alt Text: alt=”An elephant playing in the water, with water spraying from their trunk.”
• Avoid Unnecessary Phrases: Phrases like “image of” or “picture of” are redundant. Screen readers already announce images.
• Use Context-Appropriate Descriptions: If an image serves a functional purpose, like a button, describe its function rather than its appearance.
• Avoid Keyword Stuffing: While including relevant keywords can be helpful, avoid overloading alt text with them. Use the image title for keywords, alt text should be focused on benefiting the user, not manipulating search algorithms.
• Use Empty Alt Text for Decorative Images: If an image is for decoration, like an arrow or swirl, leave the alt text blank so screen readers ignore it.
  • Pro-tip: Consider the type of decorative image that it is before leaving alt text blank. Adding alt text to a logo, for example, could be helpful for both website accessibility and SEO because it can help connect the user to portfolio work.

Alt text is often overlooked (and done incorrectly), especially when building out new websites, but it is a simple and effective tool for both website accessibility and SEO. Start incorporating alt text into your website optimization processes today to become ADA compliant, improve your brand reputation, and boost user satisfaction.