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Images & AccessibilitySeverity: Low to Medium

Alt text missing: marking images SEO- and barrier-free

Important images should have descriptive alternative texts.

Short version

Important images should have descriptive alternative texts The error should never be evaluated in isolation. What matters is which URL group is affected and whether it creates a crawling, indexing, snippet, performance or quality problem.

Treat informal and decorative images separately

A chart with results carries different information than a purely decorative background graphic. For the diagram, the essential statement must also be accessible without an image; extensive data can additionally be available as text or table. A decorative img, on the other hand, usually gets alt="" so that it is not read out unnecessarily.

Example: Recognizing the Result

Illustrative example: An image explains the connection of a device, but does not have an alt attribute. A purely decorative background wave, on the other hand, does not contain any additional information.

<img src="anschluss.webp" alt="Netzkabel am linken Anschluss einstecken">
<img src="dekorative-welle.svg" alt="">

Limit cause and implement correction

Check the task of the image in the specific paragraph. A product photo should describe the recognizable product or relevant view, not a package of search terms. After saving, check the generated HTML and reused teasers. The same media entry can perform a different function in different contexts.

What makes you recognize a suitable correction

Provide a concise suitable alternative for the informative image. Decorative img elements with empty old; take into account the link function for linked images.

Classification and boundaries

When is this indication not a clear error?

An empty old is intended for decorative pictures and may not be corrected as missing content.

Alt text missing after CMS and cause

Many audit messages can be resolved faster if they are grouped by system, page type and technical cause. CMS indentations are only linked where alt text lacks a clearly own cause or fixed route in the respective system.

Frequent causes of this error

Related SEO Errors

Appropriate Seitenreport checks

This error should not be checked in isolation. The following tools and clusters help to narrow down the cause faster and to cleanly prioritize the affected URL groups.