How Long Should Image Alt Text Be?

Image alt text plays a crucial role in both accessibility and SEO, helping screen readers describe images to visually impaired users while also providing search engines with valuable context. However, crafting effective alt text requires a balance—too short, and it may lack useful detail; too long, and it could become overwhelming or redundant.

The ideal length of alt text depends on the image’s purpose and the information needed to convey it accurately. While some images require only a few words, others may need a more descriptive approach to provide meaningful context. Additionally, search engines prioritize concise yet informative alt text that enhances user experience without keyword stuffing or unnecessary details.

This article discusses best practices for determining the optimal length of alt text, ensuring that your images contribute to better accessibility, SEO performance, and overall content clarity.

Key Takeaways

• Ideal alt text length is under 125 characters, balancing clarity, accessibility, and SEO effectiveness.
• Concise yet descriptive alt text improves user experience, search engine indexing, and screen reader usability.
• Avoid redundant phrases like "image of" and prioritize key details relevant to the image's context.
• Different image types (informative, decorative, functional) require tailored alt text strategies for optimal accessibility.
• Boost SEO and accessibility effortlessly with AirOps’ AI-powered Alt Text Tool — automating accurate, keyword-rich image descriptions at scale. Start building with AirOps today.

Why Does Image Alt Text Length Matter?

When crafting alt text for images on your website, striking the right balance between descriptiveness and brevity is key. Overly lengthy alt text can be burdensome for screen reader users, as the full description is often read aloud without the ability to pause or navigate through it easily. This can lead to a frustrating user experience and may cause users to miss important information.

On the other hand, alt text that is too short may not provide enough context for visually impaired users to fully understand the image's content and its relevance to the page. This can hinder their ability to engage with your website effectively.

From an SEO perspective, search engines use alt text to better understand and index the images on your site. Including relevant keywords in your alt text can help improve your chances of appearing in image search results. However, it's important not to stuff your alt text with keywords unnaturally, as this can be seen as spammy and may negatively impact your search rankings.

How Long Should Image Alt Text Be?

When writing image alt text, keep descriptions concise yet informative. Aim for alt text that captures the essence of the image in 125 characters or fewer. This approach ensures your text remains clear and user-friendly for screen reader users.

• Balance Brevity with Detail: Provide enough information to understand the image without overwhelming the user.
• SEO Benefits: Alt text helps search engines index images, improving your site's visibility.
• Accessibility Boost: Well-written alt text offers a better experience for visually impaired users.

Implement these best practices to enhance both accessibility and SEO. Consistently test your alt text with screen readers to ensure it meets these goals.

How to Write a Good Alt-Text Image

Writing effective alt text requires a careful balance of clarity, relevance, and brevity. The following guidelines will help you craft alt text that enhances accessibility while improving SEO performance.

1. Be Concise Yet Descriptive

When writing alt text, aim for 125 characters or less. This ensures the description is brief enough to be easily read by screen readers without becoming cumbersome for users.

Be Concise

Avoid starting alt text with phrases like "image of," "picture of," or "photo of." Screen readers already identify images, so this phrasing is redundant and wastes valuable character space.

For example, instead of writing "Image of a woman typing on a laptop at a desk," you could say "Woman typing on laptop at desk." This shorter version still captures the essential elements without unnecessary filler words.

Consider Relevance

When deciding what details to include, consider the image's context and relevance to the surrounding text. If certain elements are not essential to understanding the image's purpose, leave them out in favor of a more concise description.

2. Prioritize Key Information

When crafting alt text, prioritize the key information that the image conveys and how it contributes to the page's overall content. Ask yourself: What is the primary purpose of this image? Is it illustrating a specific concept, providing an example, or adding visual appeal?

• Consider the Image's Context: Look at the surrounding text and think about how the image relates to the content. What does it add to the user's understanding of the topic?
• Focus on the Most Important Elements: Describe the image's main subject, action, or message. If there are multiple elements, prioritize those most relevant to the page's content.

By prioritizing the key information and considering the image's context within the page, you can create alt text that effectively conveys the image's purpose and meaning to all users, including those using assistive technologies.

3. Use Natural Language

When writing alt text, describe the image as you would to a friend or colleague. Use clear, concise language that flows naturally.

• Write Conversationally: Imagine you're describing the image to someone who can't see it. Use simple, straightforward language that conveys the essential information without sounding robotic or stilted.
• Avoid Keyword Stuffing: While incorporating relevant keywords can benefit SEO, don't force them into your alt text unnaturally. Prioritize creating a helpful, descriptive alt text that serves the user's needs first.

Remember, the primary goal of alt text is to provide a meaningful image description for users who cannot see it. By using natural, conversational language and avoiding keyword stuffing, you'll create alt text that serves both accessibility and SEO purposes effectively.

4. Adapt to the Image Type

The length and content of your alt text should adapt based on the type of image you're describing. Images generally fall into three categories: informative, decorative, and functional.

Informative Images

Informative images convey meaningful content and contribute to the user's understanding of the page. These include photographs, illustrations, charts, and diagrams.

For informative images, provide concise alt text describing the image's essential information. Focus on the image's main subject, action, or purpose as it relates to the content.

If the image is complex, like a detailed graph or an infographic, provide a brief overview in the alt text of the information that the readers will ideally get by looking at the graph. This allows users to access the full information without overwhelming them in the alt text.

Decorative Images

Decorative images are used for visual appeal and don't add significant meaning to the content. These include background patterns, dividers, or stylistic elements.

You can use an empty alt attribute (alt="") for purely decorative images to indicate that assistive technologies can safely ignore the image. This helps screen reader users avoid distractions and focus on the main content.

Functional Images

Functional images are used as interactive elements, such as buttons, icons, or links. The alt text for these images should describe the action or destination rather than the image's appearance.

Remember, the goal is to provide alt text that is helpful and relevant to the user's experience. By adapting your alt text to the specific type of image and its purpose on the page, you'll create a more accessible and user-friendly website for all visitors.

5. Use AirOps’ Alt Text Tool

Adding accurate, descriptive alt text to images is essential for SEO and accessibility, but manually tagging every image can be tedious and time-consuming. The AirOps Alt Text Template automates this process, generating high-quality alt tags at scale with AI-powered precision.

This template scrapes your website to identify images lacking alt text, then leverages advanced AI models with computer vision to create rich, relevant descriptions. By combining language processing and visual analysis, it ensures each image is tagged appropriately, improving search rankings and making content more accessible to visually impaired users.

With features like bulk processing and human review, the AirOps Alt Text Template allows teams to quickly optimize thousands of images while maintaining control over final outputs. Save time, enhance accessibility, and boost your site’s SEO with an effortless alt text solution.

Closing Thoughts - Do Alt Texts Affect Site Visibility?

Alt text plays a crucial role in improving site visibility by making images more accessible to search engines and users. Properly written alt text helps search engines understand image content, contributing to better rankings in image search and enhancing overall page relevance. 

Additionally, well-optimized alt text improves accessibility, ensuring that visually impaired users can engage with website content through screen readers. While alt text alone won’t dramatically boost rankings, it strengthens on-page SEO and complements other optimization strategies that improve site visibility.

For businesses managing large-scale websites, manually adding alt text to every image can be overwhelming. AirOps pairs its Alt Text Template with AI-powered workflows, human review, and bulk processing to automate and streamline the process. 

When combined with Grids for content management and Knowledge Bases for brand consistency, AirOps ensures that alt text generation remains scalable, accurate, and aligned with SEO best practices. 

Get started with AirOps today and build better alt texts for your images much faster.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Maximum Character Limit for Alt Text?

There isn't a strict character limit for alt text. However, best practices suggest keeping it under 125 characters. This length provides a concise description without being overly verbose, making it easier for screen readers to process and users to understand.

Do Screen Readers Cut Off Alt Text?

Screen readers generally read all alt text in its entirety. However, very long descriptions can become challenging to follow. To maintain clarity and comprehension, it's essential to keep alt text concise and focused on the most important details.

How Can I Check My Alt Text Length and Quality?

You can check alt text length and quality by using SEO audit tools, screen readers, or built-in accessibility checkers. Ensure it is concise yet descriptive, typically under 125 characters, and accurately conveys the image’s purpose. Avoid keyword stuffing and focus on clarity, relevance, and accessibility for better optimization.