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Healthcare Marketing Glossary

Alt Attributes

Alt attributes provide important information about an image and can help with SEO....

Images are a great way to make content more engaging, but they can also hinder your website’s search engine optimization. Let’s take a look at what alt attributes are, how to add them to images, and why they are important for SEO

What Are Alt Attributes? 

Alt attributes (or “alt tags”) are HTML code that contains text that describes an image on a web page. They appear in the source code as “alt=” followed by a description of the image. This description is not visible on the web page itself but in the source code and provides information about the image for search engine crawlers. For example, if you had an image of a cat on your website, you would use an alt attribute like this: “alt=” cat sitting on the couch.”

Adding Alt Attributes to Images 

Adding alt attributes to images requires some knowledge of HTML and coding, so it may be best left up to someone who knows what they are doing when it comes time to implement them into your website design. However, if you have access to your site’s source code editor (such as WordPress), you should be able to add alt tags without any trouble. 

If you have any images on your site that do not already have alt attributes attached, you will want to go through and add them manually by adding “alt=” followed by an appropriate description for each one. 

Alt Attributes and SEO 

Alt attributes play an important role in helping search engines understand what is contained in each image on your webpage. 

When search engine crawlers come across images without alt tags or inaccurate descriptions attached, they cannot determine what the images contain or what purpose they serve on the page – which can cause problems with ranking or even lead to penalties from search engines such as Google. 

By properly labeling images with accurate descriptions via alt attributes, you can ensure that all of your images will be indexed correctly – which can help improve your overall SEO performance.

Alt Attributes Summarized

Alt attributes provide important information about an image that helps with SEO rankings and performance. Adding alt tags may seem difficult at first glance. Still, once you know how it works, it’s easy enough for anyone who knows basic HTML coding – or has access to their website’s source code editor – to incorporate it into their design process with minimal effort required! 

With the proper implementation of alt tags, you can ensure that all of your website’s images are accurately labeled for better online visibility – which means more traffic and conversions for your business!

Alt Attributes FAQ

What are Alt Attributes?

Alt attributes, also known as “alt tags” or “alt text”, are a form of HTML attribute used to describe the content of an image on a webpage. They are used to provide a text alternative for images, in case the image is not able to be loaded or is being used by a screen reader for visually impaired users.

Why are Alt Attributes important?

Alt attributes are important for accessibility, as they provide a way for visually impaired users to understand the content of an image through screen readers. They also improve the SEO of a website, as search engines use alt text to understand the content of images and rank them accordingly.

How do I add Alt Attributes to images?

Alt attributes can be added to images using the HTML “alt” tag. The tag should be inserted into the “img” tag of an image, like so: <img src="image.jpg" alt="A description of the image">

What should I include in Alt Attributes?

Alt attributes should include a brief, but descriptive text that accurately describes the content of the image. Avoid using “image of…” or “graphic of…”, as those phrases are unnecessary. Also, avoid including file names or other information that is not relevant to the image content.

Can Alt Attributes be left empty?

Alt attributes should not be left empty, as they are a fundamental aspect of accessibility and SEO. If an image is purely decorative and has no meaningful content, the alt attribute can be left empty, but it is better to use ‘null’ or “decorative” to indicate it is not informative.

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