What is all -text?
All -text or alternative text is text that describes an image and appears in the place of the image if the image is not loaded.
It also works as a description for screen readers.
Take this blog post Example:
And this social media post by Matt Ramsey:
Why all -text matters
All -text matters because it:
- Make your images more available: It helps users who can’t see pictures understand their content, neither by reading the text nor hearing it through a screen reader
- Helps your images to appear on relevant search results: Search engines use all -text partly to understand images and rank them in relevant search queries, which is a measure of image SEO
How to add all -text
To add all -text to an image uploaded to a content management system (CMS) or social media platform.
Open the page in your CMS with the image in the side editor. Change to the code editor, and then add the all -attribute to the image’s HTML roof.
Like this:
Everything = “All -TEXT goes here”>
Alternatively, click for the image to open its settings. Add your all -text to all -text setting.
In WordPress, all the text setting looks like this:
When putting a picture on a social media platform, look for the platform’s all -text setting. Select it, enter your all -text, and continue to upload the image.
This is how all -text setting sees after a LinkedIn post:
6 all text best practice
Follow these six best practices to improve your all -text’s effectiveness:
1. Be descriptive
All -text must clearly describe the image and give enough details so that users understand its content.
E.g. Uses Lushs Bath Bombs Product page Product Names like images all -text:
The all text does not describe bathing bombs in detail because users are reviewing all available bath bombs at this point.
But what if the user expresses interest in a particular bathing bomb by visiting his product page?
In this case, the product page uses longer all -text to share details about the appearance of the bathing bomb:
Thus, potential customers provide a fuller understanding of the product. And help them take a more informed purchase decision.
Avoid including the following in total text:
- Phrases such as “picture of” or “photo of” which is often redundant. An exception is if the image portrays a physical photo (eg “young woman holding a photo of a flower”).
- Image creditsAs they should appear in caption or body text
- Information already in caption or body textTo avoid giving duplicate information
- Information All users need to knowAs recipe instructions that accompany a picture of the finished dish
2. Keep it short
All -text should be concise – ideal under 125 characters – so users and screen readers can read it quickly. This is especially true because screen readers cannot put all the text to jump to other content.
E.g. Is BBC Good Food’s all -text for this image of asparagus fries with baconnaise 47 characters long.
3. Include relevant keywords
Include relevant keywords in your all -text to help search engines rank your images.
E.g. Includes all the text for Cleveland Clinic’s chart of a larynx keywords “Larynx” and its informal expression, “voice box”:
Thus, the diagram helps rank for image searches containing either keywords.
But avoid key words, which means to force keywords into all text until it is unnatural and difficult to read.
A key word piece ALT-TEXT could look like this:
“Your larynx‘s structure includes epiglottis in your larynx And the vote ordering in your larynxAnd yours larynx is divided into three parts. “
4. Do not use all -text for decorative images
Do not use all text for decorative images that add only visual interest and provides little information or function – it confuses users.
Here are examples of decorative pictures:
These gear -like images add visual interest to the side but serve no other purpose.
Use a null all -attribute to tell screen readers to ignore decorative images. Like this:
![]()
Excluded everything -attribute can get screen readers to read the image’s file name instead. Which is not ideal.
5. Locates all -text
Locates your all -text to match the cultural and linguistic context of your audience. This is especially important for sites serving more geographical audiences.
For example, British Airways uses English Image Alt-Text to its English language place:
And uses French image all-text in its French-language place for users from France.
Also, take for terminology variations in the same language when locating all text.
For example, the sport is called two teams on 11 kicks a white-black ball in a net to score goals “football” in American English. And “football” in British English.
To accommodate both markets, Nike used appropriate expression Total text to Brazil 2024 Stadium Home Jerseys:
6. Audit all -text regularly
Revision of your all -text to identify and act on opportunities for improvement and ultimately help your images rank better in search results.
To review your all -text, go to your CMS’s media library to see all the images you have uploaded to your site.
Click on a photo to view and edit its all -text.
This is what it looks like in WordPress, for example:
Repeat this process for all images.
Use AI to speed up all text generation
AI can significantly speed up all -text generation, especially when you need to write all -text for many images.
How to write all -text using AI:
Upload your image to an AI Writing Tool like Chatgpt or Claude. Then, instruct the tool to suggest several all text settings that accurately describe the image and contain your target key words while sticking to your preferred number of character.
Like this quick:
“Write several all -text settings for this image. All -text must describe the key elements of the image, be about 125 characters and include these keywords in the Total Text: [insert keywords here]. “
Review the tool’s proposed all -text settings for accuracy, relevance and length. Then choose your favorite to refine and use.
Here are my results as I requested chatgpt to all -text for a picture of a double rainbow in a field:
- “A vibrant double rainbow arches across a cloudy blue sky over a lush green field with wild grass in the foreground.”
- “Double rainbow spans the sky over a wide, sunlit field with green crops and tall grass under a partially cloudy sky.”
- “A glowing double rainbow extends over a large green field, with scattered clouds and soft sunlight breaking through.”
- “Double rainbow is formed over a sunshine green field, bounded by wild grass and trees under a dramatic cloudy sky.”
- “Green field bathed in sunlight with a double rainbow curved over a partially cloudy sky after a passing rain shower.”
I liked the other option mostly for its objectivity and lack of dramatic language. But I thought it was unnecessary to detail the field as wide and sunlit. And to describe crops like green was superfluous.
So I edited all the text to:
“Double rainbow spans the sky over a field of crops and tall grass under a partially cloudy sky.”
Check your site for missing all -text and other SEO problems
Instead of checking each image manually, use a tool as a site revision to scan your site for missing all text.
Create your site as a project in the tool, configure the revision and then run it. Once the revision is completed, click “Question“Loss.
Write “Everything -Ttribute” in the search box to filter after ‘# pictures do not have everything -Ttributs“WARNING.
If you do not see the warning, your pictures have all -text.
If the warning is present, click “# pictures“Link to see a list of images without all text. And the pages they are on.
Switch to your CMS and add ALT-Text to the non-decorative images.
Apart from detecting missing all-text, Site Audit also checks for 140 plus other SEO problems. Set it up to automatically revise your site on your preferred frequency and e -mail you its findings. So you can be on top of your site’s technical health.
Try Site Audit at no cost for seven days.