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By the ImageSEO Team. Updated October 2026.
Short answer: good alt text says what an image shows, or what it does if it is a link or button, in one short phrase. Google’s own example: for a photo of a puppy, alt="puppy" is better than nothing, but alt="Dalmatian puppy playing fetch" is best. Logos get the company name. Links and buttons get their purpose. Purely decorative images get an empty alt="". Below are 73 weak-versus-better pairs: first by image type, then by industry.
These examples were written by our team to show the patterns. They are not taken from client sites, and we do not attach ranking promises to them. What we can share is data: when we crawled the homepages of the Tranco top 10,000 websites (306,634 images on 5,306 homepages, static HTML, 31 July 2026), 11.3% of images had no alt attribute at all, 21.0% had an empty alt="", and 67.7% had a description. 37.1% of those sites had at least one image with no alt attribute. Full method and limits are in our alt text study.
Accessibility guides, including the W3C images tutorial, sort images by what they do on the page, not by what they show. The right alt text changes with the type:
| Image type | ❌ Weak | ✅ Better | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informative photo | alt="photo" |
alt="Volunteers planting oak saplings along a river bank" |
Says what the photo shows |
| Product photo | alt="product" |
alt="Black leather Chelsea boots, side view" |
Product, colour, angle |
| Logo (not linked) | alt="logo" |
alt="Acme Company" |
The company name is enough; “logo” adds nothing |
| Logo linked to the homepage | alt="Acme logo image link" |
alt="Acme Company" |
Screen readers already say “link” |
| Icon button (no visible text) | alt="magnifying glass" |
alt="Search" |
Describe the action, not the picture |
| Icon next to visible text | alt="printer icon" |
alt="" |
The text “Print” already gives the meaning |
| Linked image (card or banner) | alt="Read more" |
alt="Spring sale: 20% off garden tools" |
Say where the link goes |
| Image of text | alt="banner" |
alt="Free shipping on orders over $50" |
Use the same words as in the image |
| Chart or graph | alt="chart" |
alt="Line chart: monthly visitors rose from 1,200 in January to 3,400 in June" |
Give the main finding; put the full data in text or a table nearby |
| Screenshot | alt="screenshot" |
alt="Media Library settings with the Alt Text field highlighted" |
Say which screen and what to look at |
| Complex infographic | alt="infographic" |
alt="Infographic: five steps of the recycling process, described below" |
Short alt plus a full text version on the page |
| Decorative image | alt="blue wave background" |
alt="" |
Adds nothing; tells screen readers to skip it |
| Group of images (5-star rating) | alt="star" on each star |
alt="Rated 4 out of 5" on the first, alt="" on the rest |
One alt for the whole group |
Two of these trip people up most. A linked image’s alt text works as the link text, so Google treats it like anchor text. WebAIM puts it plainly: when the image is the only thing inside a link, empty alt text “would never be appropriate here”. And for charts, alt text is not the place for every number. Write the takeaway in the alt and give the full data in nearby text.
Google’s image SEO documentation uses one image, puppy.jpg, to show the range:
| Rating | Markup |
|---|---|
| Bad: missing | <img src="puppy.jpg"/> |
| Bad: keyword stuffing | alt="puppy dog baby dog pup pups puppies doggies pups litter puppies dog retriever labrador wolfhound setter pointer puppy jack russell terrier puppies dog food cheap dogfood puppy food" |
| Better | alt="puppy" |
| Best | alt="Dalmatian puppy playing fetch" |
Google also says it “uses alt text along with computer vision algorithms and the contents of the page” to understand an image. So alt text is not the only signal, but it is the one you control word for word.
Each pair below shows a typical weak alt text and a better one. Note how short most of the better ones are: one subject, one or two details.
On a product page, the alt text should separate this product from the one next to it. Name the item, then the details a shopper would use to pick it: colour, material, style, angle. Leave out prices and calls to action like “buy now”; they change, and they don’t describe the image.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="product" |
alt="Black leather Chelsea boots, side view, with brogue stitching and pull tabs" |
alt="mug" |
alt="Handmade ceramic mug with matte cobalt blue glaze" |
alt="chair" |
alt="Mid-century walnut dining chair with charcoal wool seat and tapered legs" |
alt="dress" |
alt="A-line midi dress in forest green linen with side pockets and tie waist" |
alt="watch 1" |
alt="Stainless steel chronograph watch with black leather strap" |
alt="img_4932.jpg" |
alt="Organic cotton tote bag in natural canvas with rope handles" |
alt="product image 3" |
alt="Bamboo cutting board with juice groove, end grain" |
alt="shoes" |
alt="White leather sneakers with perforated toe and gum sole" |
| no alt attribute | alt="Soy wax candle in an amber glass jar" |
alt="buy now" |
alt="Heather grey merino wool crew neck sweater, folded" |
People searching for homes look for the room, the style and the area. Put the feature that sells the room first.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="house" |
alt="Three-storey Victorian brick rowhouse with bay windows" |
alt="kitchen" |
alt="Renovated kitchen with white shaker cabinets and quartz countertops" |
alt="living room" |
alt="Living room with bay window and herringbone wood floors" |
alt="bathroom" |
alt="Bathroom with freestanding claw-foot tub and walk-in shower" |
alt="backyard" |
alt="Fenced backyard with brick patio, pergola and Japanese maple" |
alt="exterior" |
alt="Craftsman bungalow with covered front porch and wood siding" |
alt="apartment" |
alt="Open-plan studio with concrete ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows" |
alt="view" |
alt="City skyline and lake view from a 22nd-floor terrace" |
Name the dish and the ingredients you can actually see. Readers and image search both look for dish plus ingredient, like “beet and goat cheese salad”.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="pancakes" |
alt="Stack of buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup and blueberries, from above" |
alt="salad" |
alt="Roasted beet and goat cheese salad with walnuts and arugula" |
alt="cake" |
alt="Three-layer chocolate fudge cake with ganache drip" |
alt="soup" |
alt="Butternut squash soup in a white bowl with pumpkin seeds and chives" |
alt="bread" |
alt="Sliced sourdough loaf with open crumb on a wooden board" |
alt="pasta" |
alt="Tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce, grated Parmesan and basil" |
alt="cookie" |
alt="Brown butter chocolate chip cookies with sea salt on a cooling rack" |
Camera file names like DSC_0421 tell nobody anything. Replace them with subject, place and light, the words a client would search for.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="DSC_0421.jpg" |
alt="Brooklyn Bridge at sunset, long exposure from the DUMBO waterfront" |
alt="wedding" |
alt="Bride and groom's first dance under string lights in a barn" |
alt="landscape" |
alt="Sand dunes at golden hour in Death Valley" |
alt="portrait" |
alt="Pastry chef in a professional kitchen, soft window light" |
alt="city" |
alt="Shibuya crossing at night with neon signs reflected on wet pavement" |
alt="family photo" |
alt="Family of four walking along a beach at low tide" |
Describe the garment, not the model. Colour, material, cut and one standout detail usually cover it.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="model" |
alt="Model wearing a cream knit turtleneck and wide-leg dark jeans" |
alt="bag" |
alt="Tan pebbled leather crossbody bag with gold chain strap" |
alt="shoes" |
alt="White mesh low-top sneakers with suede toe cap" |
alt="jacket" |
alt="Olive waxed cotton field jacket with corduroy collar" |
alt="hat" |
alt="Camel wool fedora with grosgrain ribbon band" |
alt="ring" |
alt="Yellow gold solitaire engagement ring with an oval diamond" |
Screenshots are where alt text is skipped most. Say which screen it is and what the reader should notice. If the image only repeats the text next to it, keep the alt short.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="dashboard" |
alt="Analytics dashboard showing weekly signups by channel" |
alt="screenshot" |
alt="Settings page with the "Automatic updates" toggle switched on" |
alt="chart" |
alt="Bar chart: support tickets fell by half after the help centre launch" |
alt="logo" |
alt="Acme Analytics" |
alt="hero" |
alt="Two people reviewing a report on a large monitor in an office" |
Be accurate and plain. Describe what the image shows without diagnosing anything the page doesn’t say.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="doctor" |
alt="Doctor reviewing a patient chart on a tablet in a consultation room" |
alt="medical image" |
alt="Shoulder X-ray with the rotator cuff area labelled" |
alt="office" |
alt="Dental clinic reception with wood accents and patient seating" |
alt="procedure" |
alt="Surgical team in an operating room, monitor showing a laparoscopic view" |
alt="patient" |
alt="Physical therapist guiding a patient through a shoulder exercise with a resistance band" |
Place names are the strongest detail here. Add what makes this view or room different.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="beach" |
alt="White sand beach with turquoise water and a wooden dhow boat, Zanzibar" |
alt="hotel room" |
alt="Overwater bungalow with a glass floor panel above the lagoon" |
alt="city view" |
alt="Prague Old Town Square at twilight with the Týn Church lit up" |
alt="restaurant" |
alt="Rooftop restaurant terrace overlooking the Amalfi Coast" |
alt="activity" |
alt="Kayakers paddling into a sea cave below green cliffs" |
Name the style and the key materials. That is what designers and buyers search for.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="building" |
alt="Brutalist concert hall with raw concrete facade and cantilevered entrance canopy" |
alt="interior design" |
alt="Japandi living room with low walnut sofa, linen cushions and shoji screen" |
alt="render" |
alt="3D render of a house extension with green roof and full-height glazing" |
alt="office design" |
alt="Co-working space with a moss wall and exposed timber beams" |
For charts, give the result. For event and program photos, say who is doing what.
| ❌ Weak | ✅ Better |
|---|---|
alt="students" |
alt="Students working on a group project around a whiteboard" |
alt="volunteer" |
alt="Volunteers framing a wall at a house build site" |
alt="graph" |
alt="Bar chart: after-school program sign-ups grew each year from 2022 to 2025" |
alt="event" |
alt="Fundraising dinner with a speaker at the podium and guests at round tables" |
An image is decorative when removing it would lose no information. Give it an explicit empty attribute, alt="", and screen readers skip it. In our crawl, 21.0% of images used alt="". Many of those were correct, for example spacers, background shapes and icons next to text labels.
| Image | Correct alt | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Gradient or blob in the background | alt="" |
No information |
| Section divider line | alt="" |
Layout only |
| Icon beside a labelled button | alt="" |
The button text already says it |
| Mood photo behind a heading | alt="" |
The heading carries the message |
| Extra stars in a rating | alt="" |
The first star or the number carries the rating |
Empty is not the same as missing. alt="" is a deliberate signal. With no alt attribute at all, many screen readers fall back to reading the file name, which is how users end up hearing “IMG underscore 4 9 3 2 dot jpg”.
There is no official limit. The often-quoted “125 characters” is an old rule of thumb, not a rule from Google or the WCAG. In published tests, current screen readers do not just stop at 125 characters; JAWS, for example, splits long alt text into parts instead of dropping the rest. Keep alt text short anyway, because people listen to it: one phrase, usually well under 125 characters. If an image needs a paragraph, such as a detailed chart, put that paragraph on the page and keep the alt as a summary.
alt="image seo plugin alt text tool best image seo" describes nothing. Google says it may get your site “seen as spam”.alt="ceramic mug", nobody can tell them apart. Give each image its own description: colour, angle, variant.alt="Best image SEO guide for 2026" is a headline, not a description of the screenshot.alt="" for decorative images and a description for the rest. Never leave it off.alt="…" inside the <img> tag._wp_attachment_image_alt for each image.Writing alt text by hand works for a few dozen images. For a media library with thousands, there are three realistic options:
Whichever you pick, review the important images yourself: product photos, charts and anything with text in it.
Google’s own: “Dalmatian puppy playing fetch”. It names the subject, adds the detail that matters and stops. For a product: “Black leather Chelsea boots, side view”. For a logo: just the company name.
Yes, in everyday use. Strictly, there is no alt tag in HTML. Alt is an attribute of the <img> element. “Alt tag”, “alt attribute” and “alt text” all mean the same thing.
Yes, mainly for image search. Google calls alt text the most important attribute for giving it information about an image, and uses it together with computer vision and the page text. For linked images, it also acts as anchor text. See our alt text SEO guide for the details.
Every image should have an alt attribute. Images that carry information need a description. Decorative ones need an empty alt="".
Only when the keyword describes something actually in the image. “Screenshot of bulk alt text generation in WordPress” is fine on a page about that. A list of keywords is not.
Yes, as a first draft. Vision models describe common images well, like products, people, places and screenshots. They cannot know your product names or why an image is on the page, so review the images that matter.
