The document discusses the importance of including alt text descriptions for images on websites. It notes that search engines are better able to understand text than images, and alt text provides a text-based description of the image. Alt text helps search engines understand what an image is about and include it in image search results. It also benefits visually impaired users and provides a description if an image fails to load. The document recommends including relevant keywords in alt text descriptions but writing for humans, not search engines, and keeping the text short and descriptive.

1. Simple SEO Tip to Help Your Site Surface in 12 Billion
Searches
blog.dlvr.it/2014/10/image-optimization-with-alt-tags/
Bill Flitter
(#MarketingMonday) According to Venture Marketing, over 1 Million websites in
their study on SEO practices ignored basic search engine optimization techniques.
While doing our own internal SEO audit, one area needing improvement was how
we approached image optimization. There are many on-page SEO factors that
influence search engine ranking. We realized we were missing an opportunity by
not putting much attention on the need for good, clear and concise text that is
displayed in an Image Alt tag.
What are Image Alt Tags?
Image Alt tags are short descriptions added to images to help identify what the
image is. The Image Alt tag is added to the end of the image source URL.
<img src=”http://www.blog.dlvr.it.com/socialmediaminute.png” alt=”Add Alt Tags
to Improve SEO” />

2. Why are Image Alt Tags Important?
When you add an image to a blog post, it is important to add Alt tags for three
reasons:
1. Search Engines: Search engines are better equipped at reading text
(images are difficult to read). The Alt tag is text based. Search engines can
quickly interpret what the image is about and display it in search results.
2. Visually Impaired: The visually impaired use special devices to browse the
web. Alt tags help the visually impaired identify and interpret what images
are being displayed on a page.
3. Image Fails to Load: If an image fails to load, the text in the Alt tag is
displayed alerting the reader that an image should be there.
Google sees about 12 Billion searches per month. Of those searches, 10% are
image searches. This means people are searching for 1.2 Billion images per
month. The Image Alt tag is used to identify the best image to return for a
search query. From these numbers, you can tell the importance of giving your
images every chance to be included in image search results.
Optimizing Image Alt tags for Search
The Image Alt tag is a great place to include your main keyword(s) but proceed
with caution.
1. Use appropriate text that describes the image. If you don’t, it could
negatively impact your website’s SEO.
2. Keep the text short and to the point.
3. Write for humans, not search engines. No keyword stuffing!
Write the Image Alt tag as if you had to quickly describe the topic of the page.
Adding Image Alt Tags in WordPress
WordPress makes it easy to add an Alt tag to each image. When you add media to
WordPress, there are several boxes for you to complete including the Alt Text box.

3. If you look closely, you will also see the Description field. This was initially
intended to add more context to the image for the visually impaired. Here you can
include text from the blog post that supports the details of the image. Like the Alt
Tag, the image Description appears in the HTML of the page.
One final note. Don’t expect to get on page one by only focusing on the Alt tags.
There are several on-page factors to consider when optimizing for search.
Now it’s your turn. Do a quick audit of your website using the free Alt Text Checker.
Remember to include Image Alt tags on all your images to take advantage of the
1.2 Billion image searches conducted monthly on Google.