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Alt Text and SEO? Google Says You’re Thinking About It Wrong

1 min read

John Mueller, a Google Search advocate, recently reshared a post by Jeffrey Zeldman on Bluesky, reminding publishers and SEOs of the proper way to use alt text. He also linked to the W3C’s alt text decision tree, a tool designed to guide web creators in making accessibility-first choices. The key takeaway? Alt text decisions should be driven by accessibility, not SEO.

 

Why the W3C’s Guidance Matters

 

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the leading authority on web standards, shaping how HTML elements—like alt text—should be implemented. Google often aligns its crawling and indexing practices with W3C standards, making it crucial for SEOs and publishers to reference their guidelines directly.

A decision tree is a structured decision-making tool that presents a series of yes-or-no questions, leading to the best course of action. The W3C’s alt text decision tree helps publishers determine the appropriate alt text usage based on accessibility needs.

 

The Five Key Questions in the W3C Alt Text Decision Tree:

 

  1. Does the image contain text?
  2. Is the image part of a link or button, and is it essential for understanding the function?
  3. Does the image contribute meaning to the page’s content or context?
  4. Is the image purely decorative or unnecessary for users?
  5. Is the image’s purpose unclear or not covered by the above questions?

These questions help web creators decide whether an image needs descriptive alt text, a null alt attribute (alt=""), or none at all.

 

John Mueller’s Key Insight on Alt Text

 

Mueller emphasized that alt text selection isn’t primarily an SEO decision and shared this advice:

“The choice of ALT text is not primarily an SEO decision.
If you like working with structured processes, check out, bookmark, share, and use this decision tree of when & what to use as ALT text, when it comes to accessibility.”

Zeldman praised the decision tree’s simplicity, calling it “so straightforward, so good.” Others also shared an interactive version of the decision tree called the “Alt Text Decide-O-Matic,” providing a more dynamic way to learn proper alt text practices.

Would you like any further refinements or a different tone?

 

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Shilpi Mathur
navyya.shilpi@gmail.com