What the f**k is alt-text, and how do you write it?

Display slides from my talk at brightonSEO 11 April 2025.

Answering the questions 'What is alt-text?' and 'How do you write it?'

Transcript

2. What the f**k is alt-text?
3. Close your eyes. (it’s just for a minute)
5. Alt-text = Text alternative
7. Alt-text = Accessibility feature
8. My challenge to you Reframe accessibility
9. 10+ years of digital services experience. If I’ve learnt one thing…
10. Accessible content benefits everyone
11. In the UK, 24% of the population has a registered disability. 2 October 2024 – House of Commons: UK Disability statistics https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9602/CBP-9602.pdf
13. Situational impairment Temporary impairment Permanent impairment
15. Accessible content benefits everyone
16. What benefit does alt-text really offer?
17. What benefit do images really offer?
19. alt=“the_scottie”
21. alt=“do-not-use”
22. Google cares about alt-text
23. “The most important attribute when it comes to providing more metadata for an image is the alt-text.” - Official Image SEO Best Practice guide
24. If image search is an important part of your strategy… Then alt-text needs to be too.
25. So that’s what alt-text is. • A written description of an image. • A contingency for images that cannot be seen. • The single most important thing Google uses to understand and rank your images.
26. How to write alt-text
27. The one thing you need to write good alt-text
28. The one thing you need to write good alt-text Empathy
30. Good alt-text is a friend to the reader
31. Good alt-text is about details Alt text A dog Good alt-text An adorable golden retriever sits and waits patiently like a good boy.
32. The 2 step plan to writing good alt-text (with examples)
33. Step 1 Breakdown content and context
34. Content What can we see? What is in the frame? What are the subjects doing? Day or night? Indoors or outdoors? Colour or greyscale?
35. What does it mean? What’s do we know? What is being suggested? Do we know the subjects? What do we feel? Is there artistic merit? Context
36. Content Context
38. Content White, masculine, human. Middle aged, in good shape. Short blonde hair, clean shaved. Wearing grey suit. Holding gun, not shooting Leaning on old car. Professional shoot. Indoors
40. Context Daniel Craig: British actor Known for 007 role. Bond is international assassin. Car is an Aston Martin. Gun is a Walther PPK. Suit is Tom Ford. Photo is for publicity event.
43. Step 2 Curate toward the content goal.
44. Alt-text is subjective.
45. Alt-text is not transcription… …it is translation.
46. Step 2 Curate toward the content goal.
48. Daniel Craig suavely models Tom Ford’s modernist Spectre collection in ashen- grey, with silk-cream shirt and pocket square.
50. The Aston Martin 1964 DB5 in silver birch photographed with Daniel Craig, promoting the 2011 James Bond movie, No Time To Die.
51. Defining your goal
52. Your goal will guide you to the important details.
53. Product images Highlight the unique features and visible benefits of the product.
54. When defining the goal ask yourself… Why did we select THIS image?
55. When defining the goal ask yourself… How would this image benefit SIGHTED people?
56. …and that’s how to write alt-text. • Approach with empathy. • Breakdown content and context. • Pick out details that support your goal. • and most importantly…
57. Be a Friend to the user
58. Be a friend to Google
59. What if my image has no goal?
61. <img src="image.jpg" alt=""> Mark it as decorative
62. Can AI write alt-text?
63. Kinda… but badly.
65. A man with blonde hair, wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and red tie, is looking sternly at the camera.
66. Remember… empathy
68. Live on LinkedIn now Bonus practical tips, + my favourite alt-text articles and guides. linkedin.com/in/liamcumber
69. Accessible content benefits everyone