Alt Text Optimization for SEO and Accessibility: Improve UX Overall

Discover how optimizing alt text can enhance accessibility and SEO for your e-commerce site. Learn how Egnition’s tools automate this process for better results.

Courtney Sharp e-commerce expert
By Courtney Sharp
Photo of Danell Theron
Edited by Danéll Theron

Published January 13, 2025.

a man sitting in front of a laptop computer, on the screen the words "alt text" are displayed

Alt text is essential for improving both accessibility and SEO in e-commerce. By providing descriptive and relevant alt tags, you ensure that visually impaired users can understand images, while also boosting your website’s SEO performance.

In this guide to optimizing alt text, we’ll explore best practices and how tools like Egnition's All-In-One Image Master can simplify the process.

» Automate alt text optimization and boost your SEO with EGNITION's All-In-One Image Master for enhanced product images

Courtney Sharp e-commerce expert

Meet the Expert

Courtney Sharp is a marketing and e-commerce expert. Her marketing agency, Sharp Media Agency, specializes in digital marketing, branding, ads, and social media, with a strong focus on fashion, retail, and beauty commerce.




Importance of Alt Text

Alt text, or alternative text, is a brief description of an image used in HTML to improve accessibility and help search engines understand the content of the image.

1. Improve SEO

The most important and widely known benefit of alt text is that they improve your website’s SEO. This is because search engines rely on alt text to understand image content, it basically tells search engines what is in the image. Well-optimized alt text can help your images rank in search results, oftentimes targeting your relevant brand keywords, driving additional traffic to your site and improving overall visibility for targeted keywords.

2. Drive Image Search Traffic

Outside of typical search, Google Image Search relies heavily on alt text to match queries. Optimized alt text increases the likelihood of your product images appearing in search results, capturing potential customers looking for similar items or searching for keywords relevant to your products.

3. Boost Conversion Rates

Clear alt text which incorporates highly relevant keywords can help users find exactly what they’re searching for, not only increasing the chances they’ll click through to your site, but that when they click through to your site they find what they are looking for, increasing your site’s conversion rates. This is particularly important for e-commerce stores where product details matter.

4. Support Content Context

Alt text is displayed if images fail to load, giving context to images in this situation. For example, on a product page, descriptive alt text like “Pink organic cotton baby booties” ensures users still understand what the image represents, enhancing their experience.

5. Enhance Accessibility

Alt text provides descriptions of images for screen readers, ensuring visually impaired users can also experience your website. This inclusivity is not only important ethically but also legally, as accessibility compliance is often required.

» Learn more: How to add alt text to product images in your Shopify store

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4 Best Practices For Alt Text

  1. Be specific and include key product details: E-commerce alt text should describe the product clearly and include unique details like material, color, size, and key features relevant to what people might be searching for. Example: "Organic cotton baby booties in blue with stay-on design."
  2. Include keywords where it makes sense: Incorporate primary and long-tail keywords that match customer search intent. Including relevant keywords boosts your product visibility in both web and image search - which is super important!
  3. Tailor alt text to your target audience: You should use language your audience understands. For baby products, you should prioritise benefits parents care about and in their own native language.
  4. Use natural language: Write alt text as if you’re describing the image to someone who can’t see it. You should avoid robotic or overly keyword stuffed language. Good: "Infographic showing five steps to properly swaddle a newborn." Avoid: "Infographic five steps swaddle newborn, baby infographic."

Discover how adding alt text to your Shopify product images can boost SEO and enhance accessibility for your store



Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Alt Text

  • Too vague / generic descriptions: Using alt text like “image1” or “product photo” provides zero value to users and search engines. This affects both accessibility, as visually impaired users are given no insight into what the image contains, and SEO, as search engines can’t index the image effectively.
  • Overloading with details: Describing every small element in an image is unnecessary, irrelevant, frustrating for accessibility users, and does not benefit your SEO. Overall it overwhelms screen reader users and dilutes the message.
  • Avoid using “image of” or “picture of”: There’s absolutely zero need to include “Image of” or "Picture of” as Google and screen readers already identify images as such, so these phrases are redundant and take up valuable alt text space that you should use for highly relevant keywords.

Boost SEO and Alt Text with Optimized Product Images

Avoid common mistakes and optimize your product images with Egnition’s All-In-One Image Master for better SEO and user experience.




Testing Alt Text for E-commerce Success

A/B Testing for Alt Text

E-commerce brands can leverage A/B testing by experimenting with different versions of alt text for product images and measuring their impact on key metrics like click-through rate, time spent on page, and conversions. For instance:

  • Option 1: Benefit-driven alt text, e.g., "Soft organic baby booties with anti-slip design."
  • Option 2: Keyword-focused alt text, e.g., "Stay on baby booties for toddlers."
Tools like Google Optimize or Shopify analytics can track the performance of these variations, helping brands identify which alt text structure drives better traffic, engagement, and sales.

Did You Know? Alt text plays a key role in augmented reality (AR) by describing virtual objects, giving users essential details before they interact. It’s also used by AI screen readers to adapt descriptions based on user preferences, highlighting important features like color, size, or material.

» Here are more tips to make your Shopify store a better one



Optimizing Alt Text with Egnition's Tools

Egnition’s All-In-One Image Master helps e-commerce businesses ensure their alt text meets accessibility and SEO best practices.

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All-In-One Image Master

Speed up your product pages, improve user experience, and boost SEO.

Process all your images at once using the same set of rules for uniform results.

Create a template for alt text using product name, vendor, and more.



» Find out more about this handy app in the following All-In-One Image Master review



Maximizing UX with Effective Alt Text Optimization

Optimizing alt text enhances both accessibility and SEO, significantly improving the overall user experience. By ensuring clear, relevant descriptions, you make it easier for users to navigate your website, whether they rely on screen readers or search engines.

A well-optimized alt text strategy can drive higher engagement, improve accessibility for all users, and boost your site’s performance in search rankings.

» Discover our diverse range of automated Shopify apps

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