Wednesday 4 November 2015

How to Optimize Images Using Alt-Text

Pictures speak volumes.  Although pictures shouldn’t come at the cost of textual content, the statement merely means that the power of pictorial content cannot be underestimated. From brand logos to long-scrolling detailed infographics, everything depicts the power visual content.

Powerful and meaningful as these pictures may be, there is one serious issue when it comes to them. And that issue is the inability of search engines to read them. While Google and Bing have becomes smart enough to read the text and offer data to the user according to the text, they still haven’t been able to read and analyze pictures.

This is where alternative-text, otherwise known as alt-text and alt-tag comes in.


Alt-Text

Basically, alt-text too is a text-based piece of content that signals search engines what the image in question is about. It allows search engine crawlers and bots to see what they otherwise cannot. As one can expect, alt-text is the soul of the image when it comes to image optimization. The more accurate the text, the more preference it gets from search engines because it helps them offer relevant content to the users.

How to Optimize Images?

Keeping the content as relevant as possible in alt-text is crucial, but it is also rewarding. Great visual content, backed up by the right alt-text can rank websites on top of search engines. Here are some tips on how you too, can optimize your image and your website via alt-text.

  • Keep it relevant
  • Keep it short
  • Keep it natural
  • Avoid spam and stuffing
  • Keep the focus on important aspects of the image
Whether you manually add images to your site or use a website builder, be sure to add alt-text every time.




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