Alt Text Character Limit: 7 Tips for Optimal Accessibility and SEO [2023 Guide]

Alt text matters. It boosts accessibility and SEO. But there’s a limit you need to know.

The ideal alt text should be concise yet descriptive. Most platforms recommend staying under 125 characters. Why? Screen readers often cut off longer descriptions, leaving users without the full context.

By keeping it short and relevant, you ensure your content is both user-friendly and optimized. Ready to dive deeper into crafting the perfect alt text? Let’s break it down.

What Is Alt Text And Its Importance?

Alt text, or alternative text, is a brief description added to an image’s HTML code. It ensures accessibility by allowing screen readers to describe visuals to visually impaired users.

Key Reasons Why Alt Text Matters:

1. Accessibility

Over 2.2 billion people live with vision impairments (WHO). Alt text bridges the gap, ensuring inclusivity on digital platforms.

1. SEO Benefits

Search engines use alt text to index images. Accurate descriptions improve your content’s SEO ranking and visibility on search engines.

1. Error Handling

Alt text provides context when images fail to load, preventing gaps in user experience.

1. Legal Compliance

Laws like the ADA and WCAG standards prioritize accessible digital content, making alt text essential to avoid legal risks.

Prioritize clarity and context in your descriptions to create impactful alt text. Use relevant details to maximize user and search engine engagement.

Understanding The Alt Text Character Limit

Alt text plays a crucial role in enhancing accessibility and SEO. The character limit is a key factor in ensuring its effectiveness for screen reader users and search engines.

Recommended Character Count

• Limit alt text to 100-125 characters for optimal readability. This is widely recommended by accessibility guidelines [2][3][5].
• Some platforms, such as Brightspace, enforce a 200-character cap to maintain conciseness [1].
• Screen readers don’t impose technical limits but benefit from shorter, more descriptive text.

• Conciseness: Brevity reduces cognitive load for screen reader users. Long descriptions may overwhelm users and impede navigation [1][2].
• Screen Reader Behavior: While they don’t truncate text, screen readers split long descriptions into segments, which can disrupt understanding.
• Keeping alt text succinct improves the browsing experience for visually impaired users and aligns with WCAG standards.

Start implementing alt text best practices to ensure inclusive and accessible content delivery.

Benefits Of Adhering To The Alt Text Character Limit

Crafting concise alt text improves accessibility and strengthens SEO. By keeping descriptions short yet descriptive, you create a seamless experience for users and optimize content visibility.

Improved SEO

• Search engines index alt text to understand image context. Concise descriptions with relevant keywords boost discoverability.
• Alt text under 125 characters increases the likelihood of ranking in image searches, enhancing your website’s visibility.
• Example: Instead of “A very large and detailed picture showing a yellow flower in a vast green field on a sunny day,” use “Yellow flower in a green field.”

• Short alt text ensures clarity for screen readers, enhancing navigation for visually impaired users.
• Brevity minimizes cognitive load, offering faster comprehension without overwhelming users.
• Ensure relevance: Instead of “An image of a person holding a book and a cup of coffee,” write “Person reading with coffee.”

Challenges With The Alt Text Character Limit

Alt text character limits present unique challenges, especially when balancing the need for clarity while adhering to accessibility guidelines. Overcoming these challenges ensures an inclusive, user-friendly digital experience.

Balancing Brevity And Clarity

Crafting alt text involves combining clarity and conciseness. Descriptions need to provide accurate context within the recommended 125-character limit. Screen readers perform best when descriptions are brief yet relevant.

For example:

• Good Alt Text: “Red apple on a wooden countertop.” (7 words, clear context)
• Bad Alt Text: “A red apple sitting on a brown wooden countertop inside a bright kitchen.” (22 words, excessive details)

Prioritize crucial details over exhaustive descriptions, especially for simple images.

Overcoming Technical Constraints

HTML and screen readers don’t impose strict limits for alt text. However, lengthy descriptions split into segments can disrupt readability and frustrate users. Accessibility studies suggest 100-125 characters for optimal navigation.

Complex visuals like charts or graphs with excessive detail pose challenges. For such cases, use a long description on a dedicated page and reference it in the alt text:
Alt Example: “Graph of global sales trends, details in linked description.”

Search engine indexing also benefits from concise, keyword-rich alt text. Keep descriptions simple to avoid losing coherent context.

Best Practices For Alt Text Within The Character Limit

Effective alt text improves accessibility and SEO. Focus on clarity, brevity, and descriptive content to stay within 125 characters. Use the following tips to craft optimized alt text.

Writing Clear And Descriptive Text

• Be Precise: Summarize core visual elements in the image, avoiding vague terms like “image of” or “photo of.” For example, write “Golden retriever puppy playing in a garden” instead of “Dog in a garden.”
• Create Visual Context: Use details sparingly to help users imagine the image. According to accessibility guidelines, well-written alt text improves usability for 2.2 billion people with vision impairments.

• Avoid Repetition: Refrain from repeating captions or nearby text. If the header reads “Summer Camp Activities,” don’t use “Image of summer camp activities” in the alt text.
• Use Natural Keywords: Include one or two relevant keywords to enhance SEO without stuffing. For example, write “Children crafting at a summer camp art session” for better engagement.

Optimizing alt text with these practices boosts accessibility and helps users and algorithms better understand your content.

Tools And Resources For Optimizing Alt Text Character Length

1. Constant Contact Alt Text Editor

Constant Contact’s third-generation editor supports up to 256 characters for alt text. Use their cross-platform editor to handle longer text needs or to refine your descriptions.

2. Brightspace Accessibility Features

Brightspace limits alt text to 200 characters but recommends keeping it between 100-125 characters for better screen reader compatibility. Leverage their tools to test and optimize alt text length with ease.

3. Microsoft Word Accessibility Checker

Microsoft Word’s built-in accessibility checker identifies alt text issues, including length. Use it to audit and adjust descriptions to remain user-friendly and concise.

4. WAVE Tool

WAVE detects accessibility barriers, such as overly long alt text. It also provides visual feedback on website elements, ensuring your content meets WCAG standards.

5. Yoast SEO Plugin for WordPress

Yoast flags alt text quality, helping you include relevant keywords while maintaining character limits. This ensures improved SEO rankings alongside accessibility.

• Aim for concise descriptions under 125 characters, as suggested by WCAG.
• Avoid generic tools for one-size-fits-all solutions—customized checks yield better results.

Optimize your alt text by employing these tools and adjusting for user needs and platform-specific limits. Use these resources to enhance SEO, boost accessibility, and maximize user engagement.

Conclusion

Crafting effective alt text within the recommended character limit is a powerful way to enhance accessibility and improve your content’s SEO performance. By focusing on clarity, relevance, and conciseness, you ensure your images are accessible to all users while boosting search engine visibility.

Remember to leverage tools and resources that simplify the process of optimizing alt text. These solutions help you stay within character limits and create descriptions that resonate with both users and algorithms.

Prioritizing thoughtful alt text practices not only makes your content more inclusive but also strengthens its overall impact.