01What Google says about alt text
Google's image guidance (developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-images, opened on 15 October 2026) calls the alt text the most important attribute for giving an image metadata. It says Google uses alt text together with computer vision algorithms and the content of the page. It asks for useful, information-rich text that uses keywords appropriately, and it says in plain words to avoid filling alt attributes with keywords. When an image is a link, the alt text works as anchor text. The same page adds two things around it: short, descriptive file names (Google's own example is my-new-black-kitten.jpg over IMG00023.JPG) and images placed near relevant text. What the page does not contain matters too. It says nothing about decorative images, and it gives no figure for how far alt text moves a ranking. We do not measure that either, so we claim no traffic effect from it.
- Alt text is the main image metadata attribute, in Google's words
- Google reads it alongside computer vision and the surrounding page
- Keyword stuffing in alt attributes is something Google tells you to avoid
- File names and nearby text help the same image, so write them as well
- No source we opened gives a ranking effect, so none is promised here
02What the W3C says: describe it, link it or leave it empty
The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative sorts images by the job they do (w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/, opened on 15 October 2026). An informative image gets a brief description that conveys its meaning. A functional image, one that works as a link or a button, gets the destination or the action. An image of text gets that text. A complex image such as a graph gets its information repeated elsewhere on the page. A decorative image gets an empty alt attribute. The W3C's page on decorative images (w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decorative/) gives the reason: extra text would add audible clutter to a screen reader's output. It also warns that dropping the attribute is not the same thing, because some screen readers then announce the file name. So alt="" is a deliberate choice, and a missing alt attribute is a gap.
- Informative image: a brief description that conveys the meaning
- Link or button image: the destination or the action
- Image of text: the text itself
- Graph or dense diagram: the information also placed in the page text
- Decorative image: an empty alt attribute, not a missing one
03A five-minute check you can run on your own site
Open one page and sort every image into the jobs above. This part is our view, not a rule from either source. If you would mention the image when describing the page to someone over the phone, it needs a real description: the product photo, the picture of your team, the before-and-after. If it only decorates (a divider, a texture, a background swirl), leave the alt empty. If it is a logo that links home, describe the link, not the artwork. Then read a few of your descriptions aloud. 'Blue ceramic mug with a chipped handle' tells a person something. 'Mug cheap mug best mug buy mug' tells nobody anything, and it is exactly what Google's guidance says to avoid.
- Product, team and project photos: say what is shown, in one short sentence
- Dividers, textures, background shapes: alt=""
- A logo that links home: describe where it goes
- A screenshot or banner with words in it: type those words in the alt text
- A chart: put the numbers or the conclusion in the text beside it
04Accessibility is the stronger reason
Alt text exists first for people who cannot see the image, and the SEO benefit is a side effect of doing that job well. On the legal side, the EU's Your Europe page on accessibility (europa.eu/youreurope/business/selling-in-eu/selling-goods-services/accessibility/index_en.htm, opened on 15 October 2026) says EU accessibility requirements apply to products and services placed on the market after 28 June 2025, and it lists online shops among its examples. It exempts service-based businesses with fewer than 10 employees and under 2 million EUR in turnover, and it says any business may claim a disproportionate burden. That page does not mention alt text, and we are not lawyers. Whether the rules reach your site, and how your country applies them, is a question for a lawyer or the authority that handles it.
- Source: Your Europe, accessibility requirements for goods and services
- Applies to products and services placed on the market after 28 June 2025
- Service businesses under 10 employees and under 2 million EUR turnover are exempt
- Any business may claim a disproportionate burden
- Alt text is not named on that page, so confirm the detail with a lawyer
05Where PROOF48 is the wrong choice
If you run WordPress or a site builder and only need to fix descriptions on a few dozen images, do it yourself this afternoon. It costs nothing and needs no agency. PROOF48 builds websites: up to about five pages in 48 hours, 500 to 2,500 EUR, with the live preview first and payment only after. Nothing on proof48.com promises alt text writing for client builds, so ask for it in the brief and ask to see how it is handled before launch. We list no accessibility audit and no legal sign-off, so if you need a certified conformance check, hire a specialist for that. A store with hundreds of product photos is a separate build at 2,500 to 4,500 EUR on its own timeline, and the alt text for a large catalogue is a scoping question, not a 48-hour one.
- A few dozen images on a site you already control: fix them yourself
- A 48-hour website: up to about five pages, 500 to 2,500 EUR, paid after the preview
- No alt text writing is promised on proof48.com, so put it in the brief
- Certified accessibility audits and legal sign-off: not something we list
- A store is a separate build at 2,500 to 4,500 EUR with its own timeline
A site where every service page has its own images
SCP Shine & Style, a beauty salon in Sector 3, Bucharest, was rebuilt by PROOF48 with a page per service, each with its own copy and media, and it is live at scpshineandstyle.ro. That is the kind of site where image descriptions earn their place: each service has its own page with its own copy and media, so a photo has text about the same service around it, which is the arrangement Google's guidance asks for. The case study does not record the salon's alt text, and we do not publish image search visits or any traffic or booking figure for it, because we do not measure them.
See the build: SCP Shine & StyleQuestions, answered
Is alt text a Google ranking factor?
Google's image guidance says it uses alt text, along with computer vision and the page content, to understand an image. It gives no weighting and no figure, so we do not promise a ranking effect and we do not measure one.
Should I put my keyword in every alt text?
Only where it honestly describes the image. Google says to use keywords appropriately and to avoid filling alt attributes with keywords. If the photo shows a wooden kitchen, say that.
What goes in the alt attribute of a decorative image?
Nothing, but keep the attribute: alt="". The W3C says an empty alt lets assistive technology ignore the image, while leaving the attribute out can make some screen readers announce the file name.
I have hundreds of old images. Where do I start?
In our view, start with images that carry meaning: product and project photos, and images that work as links or buttons. Mark pure decoration as empty and leave the rest for later.
Does PROOF48 write alt text on the sites it builds?
Nothing on proof48.com promises it for client builds, so we claim nothing either way. Ask for it in the brief and ask to see how images are handled before launch.
Where PROOF48 fits
You do not need the same effort on every image. Describe the ones that carry meaning in a short, honest sentence, give link images their destination, and put alt="" on pure decoration. Google says to avoid keyword stuffing and gives no ranking figure, so treat alt text as accessibility first. PROOF48 builds the 48-hour website for 500 to 2,500 EUR, paid after the preview, and starts SEO work with a free technical audit.
Cosmin Tiu · Founder, PROOF48
Cosmin has worked in online marketing and software development since 2018, and has built with AI every day since January 2023. He still writes code from scratch daily, in Python, React, Rust and C#. PROOF48 ships business websites in 48 hours and invoices afterwards, so every opinion on this blog was paid for in real builds, not in theory.