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In practice
Alt text exists first for accessibility — a screen reader announcing an image — and second as a signal, because a crawler reading a page of images sees only what the attributes say. Filename “IMG_4021.jpg” and an empty alt contribute nothing; “founder presenting the pricing dashboard at a SaaS conference” contributes a description, a context and often a brand-relevant entity. In link building the attribute matters at both ends.
On the client’s site, pages holding the assets that attract links — screenshots, diagrams, original charts — describe them properly, because images that rank in image search bring secondary discovery, and because pages that are readable as a whole are more quotable by AI systems that increasingly parse multimodal content. On the publisher’s side, placements that include an image (a guest post with an original diagram, for instance) should ship with correct alt text and captions, both because publishers expect finished material and because the image itself can carry a link or a brandable asset.
The writing rule is simple: describe what the image shows in plain language, naturally including the relevant term once, and never stuff keywords into a string of alt attributes — that pattern reads as manipulation and adds nothing for the reader who actually depends on it. Length stays short, a sentence at most; decoration and repetition add nothing.
See also: On-page SEO essentials that make links work, Content standards for placements, Linkable assets.
Related service: Guest posts.
