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What’s the Best Way for SEO Experts to Write Product Image Alt Text?
Leverage concise, feature-focused alt tags for product images to skyrocket SEO visibility: align with Google guidelines, target long-tail queries, improve accessibility, and drive 15-40% more e-commerce traffic.
Question
A company wants to improve the visibility of its new product line in online searches. As the SEO specialist, how would you leverage alt tags to support this goal?
A. Exclude alt tags from product images to maintain a cleaner, more efficient website code
B. Use alt tags to repeat the same generic company tagline across all product images
C. Focus on creating alt tags that are humorous to engage the audience
D. Write concise alt tags that describe product features and align with SEO guidelines
Answer
D. Write concise alt tags that describe product features and align with SEO guidelines
Explanation
Alt tags boost product visibility in online searches by providing search engines with descriptive, keyword-rich context for images, enabling better indexing in image results and AI overviews—especially crucial since 20-30% of e-commerce traffic stems from visual searches—while specifying features like “matte black wireless earbuds with noise cancellation, 24-hour battery” naturally incorporates long-tail queries users type.
SEO guidelines from Google emphasize concise (under 125 characters), accurate descriptions over stuffing or generics, avoiding repetition of page titles and prioritizing specifics like color, material, and unique attributes to enhance relevance, accessibility for screen readers, and click-through rates without triggering spam filters.
As an SEO specialist, implement via bulk tools or CMS plugins: audit existing tags, lead with focus keywords naturally, test with tools like Google’s Rich Results Test, and monitor performance in Search Console for impressions uplift, yielding 15-40% gains in product page rankings as seen in Shopify case studies.