Has an anchored image with no alt text

This means that the URL in question contains anchor links to image URLs with no alt text, or no alt attribute.

Why is this important?

Alt text (alternative text) is used to add meaning to on-page images, when the images cannot be viewed. In the main, it is a principle of web accessibility, allowing visually impaired users that use screen readers to better understand what the image represents.

When looking at linked images, the alt text is considered equivalent to anchor text, and represents an opportunity to communicate meaning and context to search engines.

What does the Hint check?

The Hint will trigger for any internal URL that has at least one image as a hyperlink, where the <img> tag is missing alt text, or missing the alt attribute entirely.

Note: Tracking images, which are deliberately set to be 1x1 pixel and 'invisible', are not counted towards this Hint.

Examples that trigger this Hint

An anchored <img> tag with missing alt text:

<a href="https://example.com"><img src="https://httpbin.org/image/png" alt="" /></a>

An anchored <img> tag with missing alt attribute:

<a href="https://example.com"><img src="https://httpbin.org/image/png" /></a>

Multiple anchored <img> tags, with only one having alt text:

<a href="https://example.com"><img src="https://httpbin.org/image/png" alt="Awesome alt text" /></a>

<a href="https://example.com"><img src="https://httpbin.org/image/png" alt="" /></a>

<a href="https://example.com"><img src="https://httpbin.org/image/png" /></a>

Why is this Hint marked 'Opportunity'?

In Sitebulb, this Hint is an Opportunity, as it represents a situation where you could optimize the site to potentially gain more search traffic.

From an SEO perspective it is not the sort of thing that will 'hurt' your website, although it may represent a missed opportunity. It generally depends which images are the ones missing alt text, as often these will be icons or logos that won't really benefit the page in terms of SEO.

How do you get more data from Sitebulb?

From the URL List, click the blue Hint Details button, which will bring up a slide-across window with specific details about the Hint for each URL.

This will show you any outgoing anchored images with no alt text, highlighted in red in the HTML. The right-hand scrollbar will show you the area to scroll down to, and then once you have scrolled you will see the highlighted link in red.

Further Reading

• Image SEO: alt tag and title tag optimization
• Three common accessibility pitfalls for developers: text alternatives

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