Using Alt Tags & Descriptions for your Images (and why)

WHY YOU NEED IT

Number 1 answer: SEO. Next, when you share your content (or visitors share), you’re going to add a little touch of professionalism.

Sadly, this important task gets skipped over A LOT.

Here’s what we’re talking about…

LOOK FAMILIAR?

Let’s use this post as an example. If I go to share this post on Pinterest, here’s what the I see. Notice all of the text already added? Plus ways for people to find us like our url, name, etc.?

The bonus is that this information is all indexed by Google! Meaning, more of your info is out on the interwebs, Google sees that it’s helpful information and thanks you by eventually giving you a tiny SEO gold star on your report card.

HOW TO DO IT

There are several ways do this. You can add this information when you add a new image to your media library or when you click the “Add Media” button from your page/post editor. →

From the Media Gallery, click the image you want. Let’s set the Featured Image for this post as an example:

When we choose the image we want, you can see the Title, Alt and Description fields are blank or have weird stuff.

Now it’s time to fix this: Create a short but informative description of what the image is about and add it to your Title, Alt Text and Description fields. (Because, it’s not 100% guaranteed that only the Alt field will be shared – adding to all 3 fields will make sure you’re covered!) Don’t forget to add your website info or other details about your business too. Leave the Caption field blank unless it’s already been styled properly. (Adding a Caption will add a box around your image on your page and add the text below the image.)

Bonus, when you add your image within the content of your page or post (not the featured image), WordPress auto-adds the image’s Alt Text, etc. into your html! Meaning, when your page or post is shared (like on Pinterest), visitors will have some nice, informative info on any image that’s shared!

THAT’S IT! EASY! By remembering to edit/add your Title, Alt Text and Description each time you add a new image to your website, you’re going make things easy on people who want to share your content, add a little organic SEO and look like a pro!