Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
How long should the Image Alt Text be for SEO?
-
When it comes to creating the alternate text for images, what is the character length that I need stay under to rank well?
-
The images on your page should be relevant to your pages content, so describe them with an alt tag naturally will add relevance. The length is not important, but I would not stuff they will a long list of keywords.
-
This is just my feel for this after watching my own sites pull in thousands of visits per day from image search, but I have not done systematic study.... and Google could have changed even if I did systematic study.
First, I say that character count is irrelevant. What you need to focus on is the keywords you want to be visible for.
If you are optimizing for image search, I would use very specific keywords. The exact keywords that you want your image to rank for. AND, most important, the exact keywords that people will relate your image to. If you call it a duck and it ain't a duck, that blows the value of alt text. Google knows a little about this stuff, even if they make the news by messing up once in a while.
If you are optimzing for websearch, I would use the specific keywords for my webPAGE on the highest image in the code of the page. It is really important to give people an image that their query relates to. If your page is about ducks and you image is a weasel, they are going to leave.
After that, it I mix it up, keeping relevant to the image and relevant to the page.
-
There isn't really any limit, like there is for page titles, meta descriptions, etc. Typically you'll want the ALT text to explain what's in the image--the original purpose was to show the user what the image was before it was downloaded, and also for vision impaired folks, the screen readers would read to them what was in the image by reading the ALT text.
If you're looking for the image to reinforce the relevance of the page for the page's target topic, then make sure that the topic term is in the ALT text, usually as part of a long phrase or sentence. If you're looking for the image to rank well in Google image search, then I'd keep the ALT text to just what the target term is (and of course make sure the page title reflects that term as well).
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Alt Tag for Mobile/Tablet
I have device optimized images for desktop, tablet, and mobile. Should I put the same description, caption and alt tag for each? Not sure if this will hurt me or help?
Image & Video Optimization | | ResmanMarketing0 -
Alt Text Best Practices
I am working on alt texts for my WordPress website. I've done a bit of research and read best practices, but I am a bit confused on how to write some of the alt texts because my entire site includes images. I know this is a big no-no and I am working with my team to get the site SEO-optimized (better text to image ratio). However, in the meantime, I need to make sure that I have some alt texts for my images. Can someone help with the following questions: 1.) I have the same "close" button in 4 locations. Can I use "close" as the alt text four times? Or should I explain where the close button is or what it closes? 2.) If my image is only text and it is more than 125 characters, is this a problem? Should I use longdesc=? If so, how do I input that in a WP site? 3.) If I have my logo in 3 locations, should I differentiate the alt text? 4.) If I have FB icon, do I just state Facebook and don't say icon? 5.) I have some background images and they don't really provide relevancy to my site other than aesthetics so should I not have alt attribute? If so, do I just place alt="" in the alt text field or does it have to be in the code? 6.) In WordPress, do I remove the description under “title,” and just put a description under “alt-text?” 7.) Can I repeat alt texts? For example, I have 4 buy now buttons, should the alt text be “buy now” all 4 times or be specific to what they are buying, such as “Buy now – Teatopia Dream On supplement drink?” 8.) I have 4 nutrition label images so can I just state what each label refers to or is it expected to have a long description with all the text on the label? 9.) I have images for desktop vs. mobile. Can I have similar copy for both. The mobile page is not set-up to index so do I even need alt text for the mobile images? 10.) Can I have characters, such as dashes and commas, in the alt text? Does initial cap matter? 11.) For decorative images or when an alt-text is not needed, do I just place alt=”” in the alt text field in WordPress?
Image & Video Optimization | | JanelleGrkovic0 -
Would you recommend changing image file names retroactively?
We'll be optimizing file names moving forward, but it hasn't been done in the past. I have probably 1,500 that would need to be changed, so want to make sure it's a valuable use of time/worth the effort. 🙂 Also, has anyone used Media File Renamer for wordpress? Seems this would be a good way to rename files without needing to reupload everything. Thanks!
Image & Video Optimization | | jennafrye0 -
Image ALt Tag in Sliders and Modules (Banner) in Joomla/Wordpress
Is it possible to do SEO for images in Sliders and Banner modules in Joomla? I would like to add ALT tags and Titles for those, if possible.
Image & Video Optimization | | ArthurRadtke0 -
Is a website with no images really a good idea?
I have a client who doesn't want to use any images at all on her website. It's a local hvac service provider. This thought has never even crossed my mind before. Who wouldn't want pictures? I know image optimization is important, and my mind keeps telling me that images are important for a good site and good user experience, but are they really necessary? I want a second opinion before I advise against not using any images.
Image & Video Optimization | | denarathbun0 -
SEO benefits of linking logo to homepage?
Hello All, It will be helpful if anyone can list the benefits of linking the company logo (on every page of the website) to the home page, and how important it is in terms of internal linking / SEO factors. Thank you.
Image & Video Optimization | | NortonSupportSEO0 -
Dynamic image serving SEO
We often use images from a dynamic image server, to cater for image asset management, multiple sizes etc. Similar to Adobe's Scene7, although that came out after we chose our product. So widgets.com may have all its images with a URL like myimageserver.com?src=widgets/catalogue/productname.jpg;width=100;height=100;angle=90, instead of widgets.com/images/productname.jpg. A potential client wants to capitalise on traffic from Google image search. We could build an image sitemap, listing the images on each page. What should we place in the image:loc field? The code: myimageserver.com?src=widgets/catalogue/productname.jpg;width=100;height=100;angle=90 Apparently we have to verify the hosting site in Webmaster Tools, but I can't see where. I have a single Webmaster Tools account, where most of our sites are defined. Would I have to verify it for each site using the dynamic imaging program? Love to hear from anyone with solutions for getting images indexed when they are hosted at third-party dynamic imaging programs.
Image & Video Optimization | | ozgeekmum0 -
Looking for beta testers for new free video SEO/marketing tool
We're getting ready to release a free tool to the SEO community that we hope will help marketers better create and optimize/market great video content. Hint: the tool has features built in to help you analyze video rankings in universal search results. 🙂 We'd like to get feedback from a few beta users first, though. If you'd be willing to give us your honest feedback in return for getting to use the tool early (and getting to suggest features you'd like), please PM me. Thanks in advance!
Image & Video Optimization | | AdamThompson0