This is Why You Need to Care About Image Tags

When the source code of a given web page is viewed, it is shown that every image file expressed through HTML syntax includes a parameter labeled "alt," the importance of which can hardly be overstated. While the contents between the quotation marks are empty by default when the image file itself is inserted into a document within an HTML editor, any text included within that space ends up associated with that image in several key ways.

The alt text for an image typically consists of a terse line of prose describing its contents beyond what its own file name usually conveys. This is critically important for the sake of SEO because Google's indexing mechanisms rely on both the alt text specifically associated with the image and the surrounding content to identify an image's visually describable contents. Because machines obviously cannot be made to "look at" an image and interpret it the way a natural human observer would, the indexing algorithm parses the alt text and the surrounding content for keywords that can help determine which particular SERPs the image should appear in.

Another reason why alt text is such an important SEO-related concern is that the algorithm attempts to assess the web page's overall focus on user accessibility when deciding how much higher above competing web pages the page should be placed within the SERPs. Visually impaired users engage with the Internet by using software that recites every word on the current web page in a synthesized voice. Whenever a screen reader program processes an image, the alt text is recited out loud under the assumption that it is informing the user what the image displays.

Alt tags can even benefit regular users who might not ever see their contents under normal circumstances. For example, if the user's connection is bad or the server is experiencing technical issues, then the page may end up failing to load the image files alongside the standard text-based content. Browsers often default to displaying their alt tags instead so that the user can at least be told what the images were supposed to be. For more information click here https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/nf09fz/isthealttaginanimagestillgoodtoinclude/.