Alt text
A written description of an image in the page's code. It helps people who use screen readers, and Google uses it to understand what the image shows.
Also called alt attribute.
Google calls alt text the most important attribute for giving it more information about an image. It helps people who can’t see images, including people using screen readers and people on slow connections, and Google uses it alongside computer vision and the rest of the page to understand what an image shows (Google Search Central). When an image is a link, its alt text works as the link’s text.
How to write it
Describe the image in a few useful words that fit the page. Google’s own example: “Dalmatian puppy playing fetch” is better than “puppy”. A string of every dog-related keyword is worse than both, and Google warns that filling alt text with keywords makes a poor experience for visitors and may cause your site to be seen as spam.
On a store, describe what each product photo shows, such as the color or the view, in words that fit the product page.
Related terms
Tools for it
Sources
Updated Oct 7, 2026.