Are you confused about what ‘alt tags’ are, or how to use them? If so, keep reading. We’ll explain all and send you away with a few tips for implementing alt tags on your website.
What are alt tags?
Alt tags are a small and simple piece of HTML code which is used to describe an image.
For example, the image to the left is a picture of our French Bulldog, George, sat on a desk. The alt tag for this image is ‘French bulldog George sat on a desk’. If that image could not load, you would see the words ‘French Bulldog George sat on a desk’.
Why are alt tags useful?
If an image is unable to load properly or a user has images turned off in their browser the alt tag will be shown. So that users can see what image was supposed to be there.
Additionally, alt tags are useful for people who are visually impaired and use a screen reader as it will be able to read the alt tag and tell them what’s there.
They also help search engines as they cannot ‘see’ what an image shows. So alt tags tell them what’s in the image which can help your images show up in image searches.
Do alt tags help SEO?
They won’t make a huge difference to your search rankings but they can help your website gain visitors through image search.
How do I use an alt tag?
If your website runs on a Content Management System (CMS), such as Concrete5 or WordPress, there will be a small field when you upload your image where you can simply type in your alt tag.
If your website is flat coded, your alt tag will look like this:
<*img src=”georgeonadesk.jpg” alt=”French Bulldog George on a desk”/*> (Remove the * to use this code)
Tips for using alt tags
- Describe what’s in the image using keywords
- Write your alt tag for users not search engines
- If the image shows a product, use the full product name
- Don’t stuff it full of keywords
You should be using alt tags on all of the images on your website to enhance user experience.
If you need help applying alt tags to your images or help getting the most out of your website, get in touch for a free no obligation chat about how we could help your business. Looking for tips on your SEO? Read more of our SEO blogs here.