What Is Alt Text for Images? (And Why It’s Way More Important Than You Think)

Let’s just be honest for a second — most bloggers, SEOs, and content creators completely ignore alt text.

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You’re rushing to publish, trying to beat Google’s algorithm, maybe throwing in some images to break the text wall… and you skip right over that tiny box that says “alt text.”

But guess what?

That “tiny box” could be doing a LOT more than you think. It’s not just for accessibility (though that’s a huge reason). It actually impacts SEO, image rankings, site usability, and even your affiliate revenue.

So, yeah. Let’s talk about it.

In this article, I’ll break down:

What alt text really is (in plain English)
Why it matters for more than just SEO
How to write killer alt text that helps you rank
Mistakes people make (and how to fix them)
Real-world examples from blogs that are doing it right

Let’s go deep, but keep it casual.

🧠 What Is Alt Text, Really?

Okay, no jargon here.

Alt text, or alternative text, is the written description you add to an image in your HTML or content editor. It’s the stuff screen readers use for blind or visually impaired users.

It’s also what search engines use to understand what the image is about.

If your image breaks or doesn’t load, the alt text shows up in its place.

So if you uploaded a chart about “monthly blog traffic,” the alt text might say:

👉 “Bar chart showing blog traffic increasing from 1,000 to 10,000 monthly visitors over 6 months.”

That’s alt text. It tells people and bots what’s in the image — even if they can’t see it.

🕵️ Why Does Alt Text Matter?

Let’s break this down in three parts:

1. Accessibility (The Big One)

Let’s not ignore this: millions of people need screen readers to navigate the web.

Alt text is what makes your site usable for them. If you skip it, your content becomes a dead end.

In fact, in many countries, accessibility is not just a best practice — it’s the law.

2. SEO (The Money-Maker Reason)

Search engines like Google can’t “see” your images. They read your page.

That means alt text helps your images rank in Google Images — and those rankings drive traffic.

Also, alt text helps reinforce the topic of your page. If you’ve got a blog post on “Best Coffee Grinders” and all your image alt texts describe coffee gear… that’s SEO gold.

It adds relevance.

And relevance = better ranking.

3. User Experience

Even beyond screen readers, alt text shows up when:

The image fails to load
Someone is using a browser with images disabled
Search snippets or previews display the image description

It’s like insurance for your content. You want your message to come through no matter what.

📸 Where Does Alt Text Go?

If you are using WordPress or any CMS in the world, you will see a field labeled as “Alt Text” when you upload an image.

That’s where you have to type it.

If you are coding a page, it will look like this:

Keep it inside the alt="" part of the image tag.

Don’t put it in the caption. Don’t write it in the filename. The alt tag is its own thing.

✍️ How to Write Alt Text That Works

Let’s get practical. Here’s how to write alt text that’s useful, helpful, and SEO-friendly — without being spammy.

✅ Be Descriptive, But Not Wordy

Your goal is to describe what’s happening in the image.

Example:

Bad:
alt="image"

Better:
alt="Digital timer on burr coffee grinder set to 30 seconds"

You don’t need full sentences. You need clarity.

✅ Include Keywords (If Relevant)

Don’t stuff. But if the image is relevant to your post’s topic or target keyword, you can mention it naturally.

Example:
Blog topic: “How to Brew French Press Coffee”
Alt text:
alt="Step-by-step image of French press coffee brewing with coarse ground beans"

That’s helpful and keyword smart.

✅ Don’t Start With “Image of…”

Screen readers already know it’s an image. Just jump right in.

Bad:
alt="Image of a smiling man holding coffee cup"

Better:
alt="Smiling man holding ceramic coffee mug at kitchen table"

✅ Match the Context

Think about why the image is there.

Is it decorative? Then maybe you don’t need alt text at all (more on that soon).

Is it instructional? Then describe the action.

Is it a chart or graph? Then explain what the numbers show.

🤖 What About AI-Generated Alt Text?

Some CMS platforms (like Wix or Shopify) try to auto-generate alt text using AI.

Here’s my take:

It’s better than nothing. But it’s still not great.

Why?

Because it doesn’t know the context of your blog post. It might say “man sitting on couch,” when the post is about remote work setups.

So, always tweak the AI-generated stuff to match your message.

🚫 When Not to Use Alt Text

Not every image needs alt text.

Seriously.

➤ Decorative Images

If it’s just a flourish — like a fancy border, an arrow, or some stock squiggle — you can leave the alt tag blank.

Like this:

Why blank? Because screen readers will skip it. That’s a good thing. No one wants to hear “decorative flourish” every few seconds.

➤ Redundant Images

If you already described the image in the nearby text, and the image is just a visual repeat, you don’t have to restate it.

Use your judgment.

🔍 Real Examples of Alt Text Done Right

Let’s look at two real-world blog examples:

1. Nomadic Matt – Travel Blog

Image: A photo of a street vendor in Bangkok
Alt text:
"Thai street food vendor grilling chicken skewers at night market in Bangkok"

Perfect. It’s specific, location-based, and adds flavor (pun intended) to the story.

2. Backlinko – SEO Blog

Image: Screenshot of Google Analytics
Alt text:
"Google Analytics traffic report showing spike in organic visitors after content update"

Boom. Not only is this descriptive, but it also reinforces the content’s main point.

💀 Common Alt Text Mistakes

Let’s be honest, most people either:

Skip it
Spam it
Write useless garbage

Here’s what not to do:

❌ Keyword Stuffing

Don’t do this:

alt="best coffee grinder 2025, top coffee grinder, cheap coffee grinder, buy grinder"

Google sees right through it. And it makes you sound like a robot.

❌ One-Word Alt Text

alt="chart"
Nope. Give it context. What’s in the chart? What does it show?

❌ Leaving It Blank (When It Matters)

If it’s an important image, tutorial step, or graph — write something. Otherwise, you’re just wasting real estate.

📈 How Alt Text Impacts Image SEO

Here’s the kicker…

Alt text can get your images into Google Image Search.

And Google Images drives a crazy amount of traffic for the right niche.

Say you’re in food blogging, DIY, design, or travel — images matter.

And Google’s image search is another whole channel you could rank in.

I’ve seen blog posts get thousands of extra visitors per month just from image rankings.

Want that traffic? Start writing better alt text. Simple as that.

🎯 Alt Text + Pinterest = Magic

If you’re using Pinterest (or even vaguely thinking about it), here’s a pro tip:

Pinterest often pulls from your alt text to create the image description.

So if your alt tag says:
alt="DIY boho macrame wall hanging tutorial for beginners"

Boom. That becomes the Pin description when someone shares your image.

Extra SEO. Extra clicks. Easy win.

🛠️ Tools That Help With Alt Text

If you want to level up your alt text game, try these:

1. Ahrefs / SEMrush

See what keywords your images could rank for.

2. Grammarly

Check your alt text clarity and grammar — it matters!

3. Yoast SEO Plugin

It’ll flag missing alt text inside WordPress.

4. Screaming Frog

Crawl your site and find all missing or empty alt tags fast.

5. Google Lighthouse Audit

Run a performance report — it checks for accessibility issues, including alt tags.

💡 Alt Text Is a Small Task with Big ROI

Let’s wrap this up with some brutal honesty:

Most people ignore alt text.

But that’s your opportunity.

You don’t need to spend hours crafting it. Just 10–15 seconds per image to describe what’s happening and why it matters.

That’s it.

If you:

Want to help users
Care about SEO
Want your content to actually rank

Then you should be writing alt text. Period.

🧾 Final Checklist: How to Write Great Alt Text (Every Time)

✅ Describe what’s happening in the image
✅ Include context relevant to the blog post
✅ Use keywords sparingly and naturally
✅ Don’t start with “Image of…”
✅ Skip decorative stuff (leave alt blank)
✅ Always, always think about the reader

✊ Final Word: Alt Text Isn’t Sexy — But It Works

Look, I get it.

Alt text isn’t flashy. It’s not going to get you likes on Twitter or go viral on TikTok.

But it will help you:

Rank higher in Google
Get found in image search
Make your content usable for everyone
Improve your SEO with almost zero extra effort

So yeah. Next time you upload an image — write the damn alt text.

Your SEO self will thank you later.