Business Development Tips: What is an Alt Tag?

An ‘alt tag’ is an HTML element (tag) where the ‘alt text’ to be associated with a particular image is placed on the HTML document (web page). The ‘alt tag’ contains the text that describes the intent of the image represented. For example, the ‘alt tag’ for an image of a screened window on a site that sells window screens may read “color and mesh options available for custom window screens.” The text contained in the ‘alt tag’ is read aloud by electronic screen readers for the visually impaired as well as scanned by the search engine ‘bots.’ It is important to search engine optimize ‘alt tags’ to contain the keywords relevant to the content the image represents. For more information see ‘alt text/attribute.’

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