Screen readers don’t need to hear your entire keyword strategy read aloud. Neither do your website visitors. Yet somehow, someone convinced half the internet that alt text should sound like a desperate SEO bot had a breakdown.
You’ve seen these monstrosities. Alt text that reads something like “best plumber London emergency plumbing services 24/7 plumbing repairs boiler installation central heating repairs bathroom fitting kitchen plumbing commercial plumbing domestic plumbing”. This isn’t helping anyone find anything. It’s just making your website sound ridiculous.
What alt text is really for
Alt text exists for one reason: to describe what’s in your image for people who can’t see it. That’s it. Not to cram every possible search term into your page. Not to game Google’s algorithm. Just to tell someone what they’re looking at.
When a screen reader encounters your image, it reads the alt text out loud. Imagine trying to navigate a website whilst someone shouts a list of keywords at you instead of actually describing what you’re supposed to be looking at. That’s what keyword-stuffed alt text does to users who rely on assistive technology.
The keyword stuffing trap
This myth persists because it sounds logical on the surface. Images can rank in Google Image search, so surely cramming keywords into alt text will help, right? Wrong. Google’s image recognition has come a long way. They can often tell what’s in your image without you spelling out every possible variation of your target keyword.
When you stuff alt text with keywords, you’re not outsmarting Google. You’re making your site harder to use for the people who need alt text most. Plus, Google has gotten pretty good at spotting when alt text doesn’t match the actual image content. Keyword stuffing can actually hurt your rankings by making your site appear spammy.
Write alt text for humans first
Good alt text describes what’s actually in the image, simply and clearly. If your image shows someone fixing a boiler, say “plumber repairing residential boiler”. If it’s a photo of your team, describe who’s in it and what they’re doing. If it’s a chart showing your sales figures, summarise what the chart shows.
The beauty of this approach is that natural descriptions often include relevant keywords anyway. When you describe what’s actually happening in your plumbing photos, you’ll naturally use plumbing terminology. When you write about your team photo, you’ll mention your business context. Keywords flow naturally when you focus on being helpful rather than manipulative.
When images don’t need alt text
Not every image needs descriptive alt text. Decorative images that don’t add meaningful information should have empty alt text (alt=””) so screen readers skip them entirely. Your fancy border graphics and purely aesthetic background images shouldn’t interrupt someone trying to navigate your content.
Stock photos that don’t add specific value to your content also don’t need detailed descriptions. That generic handshake photo on your “About Us” page? It’s not telling anyone anything useful about your business. Keep the alt text simple or skip it entirely.
Simple rules for better alt text
Keep descriptions concise but specific. “Dog” tells you nothing useful, but “Golden retriever playing fetch in park” paints a clear picture. Include relevant context without going overboard. If the image relates directly to your content, that context will naturally include your topic keywords.
Don’t start with “image of” or “picture showing” – screen readers already announce that it’s an image. Jump straight to the description. And never, ever use alt text as a place to dump keywords that aren’t actually visible in the image.
Focus on what matters
Your alt text won’t make or break your SEO rankings. Quality content, good user experience, and technical competence matter far more than whether your image descriptions contain every possible keyword variation. But proper alt text will make your site more accessible and professional.
Stop treating alt text like a secret SEO weapon and start treating it like what it is: a basic accessibility feature that helps real people use your website. When you focus on being helpful rather than clever, both your users and your search rankings benefit.
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