WEB1009 - The <img> or <area> tag does not have an 'alt' attribute with text

Every <img> tag should have an alt attribute that contains text.

Explanation

Every <img> and <area> tag for an image map should contain an alt attribute that describes the image in 150 characters or fewer.

Details

Search engines can interpret and evaluate only text and links; they cannot interpret image files. Search engines use the alt attribute text in an <img> tag as supplementary information for the image file. In addition, alt attribute text is used by audio readers for the visually impaired.

Place relevant text near the beginning of the alt attribute to enable search engines to better correlate the keywords with the image. Consider using keywords that are descriptive of and relevant to the image. Shorter alt attribute text can improve the relevance ranking of a page.

For information about customizing the parameters for rules in the SEO Checker, see Customizing SEO rules .

Example

The following is an example of correctly formatted alt attributes in <img> and <area> tags.

<img src="https://www.proseware.com/images/reader_in_action.png"
     alt="A computer screen showing the Proseware reader in operation. Image copyright (c) 2009.">

<img src ="menu.gif" width="300" height="120" alt="Planets" usemap="#menumap" />

<map name="menumap">
  <area shape="rect" coords="0,0,99,120" href="index.html" alt="Home" />
  <area shape="rect" coords="100,0,199,120" href="products.htm" alt="Products" />
  <area shape="rect" coords="200,0,300,120" href="about.htm" alt="About Us" />
</map>

See also

Concepts

Image guidelines for SEO
Search Engine Optimization

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