Story Based Question
Imagine you’re running a blog about healthy cooking and you’ve just posted a beautiful recipe for a veggie stir-fry. You’ve got a mouthwatering image of the dish ready to go, but you realize you’ve never really paid attention to the alt text for your images. You’ve heard that alt text is important, but you’re unsure how to craft it to make sure it benefits both your readers and your SEO.
What’s the best way to write effective alt text for images, and how can it help your recipe blog rank better?
Exact Answer
To write effective alt text, keep it descriptive, use relevant keywords, be concise, avoid keyword stuffing, and make it contextual to the image and its surrounding content.
Explanation
Writing effective alt text is an important skill that improves both SEO and accessibility. Here’s how to do it right:
- Be Descriptive and Specific
Alt text should provide a clear and concise description of the image. Focus on what the image shows and convey that information in a way that makes sense to someone who can’t see it.- For example, if your stir-fry recipe image shows a colorful dish with bell peppers and tofu, your alt text could be: “vegetarian-stir-fry-with-tofu-and-bell-peppers.”
- Use Relevant Keywords
While you don’t want to overstuff your alt text with keywords, using relevant terms can help your image appear in search results. Try to include a keyword that matches what users might be searching for, but only if it naturally fits the description.- In the case of your veggie stir-fry, a keyword like “vegetarian stir fry recipe” would work well without being forced.
- Keep It Concise
Alt text should be brief—ideally under 125 characters—because screen readers often cut off text after this length. Focus on providing the most relevant and essential details, avoiding unnecessary information.- Instead of saying “a delicious and colorful vegetarian stir-fry with tofu, peppers, onions, and broccoli served on a white plate,” simply say, “vegetarian stir-fry with tofu and vegetables.”
- Avoid Keyword Stuffing
Don’t cram multiple keywords into your alt text. This can harm your SEO and frustrate users or screen readers. The alt text should still make sense and reflect the actual content of the image, rather than trying to rank for a list of keywords.- For instance, don’t use “healthy-vegetarian-stir-fry-recipe-tofu-veggies-healthy-dinner.jpg” as alt text. Instead, stick to “healthy-vegetarian-stir-fry-with-tofu.”
- Make It Contextual
The alt text should also relate to the context of the image within the page. What’s the image trying to illustrate or support? Is it a recipe step, a finished dish, or a cooking technique?- If your image shows the final result of the stir-fry recipe, the alt text could be “finished-vegetarian-stir-fry-ready-to-serve.” But if it’s a step in the process, something like “sautéing-veggies-for-vegetarian-stir-fry” would be better.
Example
Let’s say you’re sharing a healthy recipe for a colorful stir-fry. You’ve got two images:
- The first shows a picture of the ingredients before cooking: tofu, bell peppers, and onions on the counter.
- Alt text: “fresh-ingredients-for-vegetarian-stir-fry-tofu-bell-peppers-onions.”
- The second shows the finished dish in a bowl, ready to eat.
- Alt text: “colorful-vegetarian-stir-fry-with-tofu-and-bell-peppers.”
Notice how both examples are descriptive, concise, and reflect the image content accurately. They also use relevant keywords, making it more likely your images will show up in search results related to vegetarian stir-fry recipes.