# Product Image Alt Text and Image SEO for Online Retailers

URL: https://ecomchannels.com/insights/product-image-alt-text-and-image-seo/
Category: AI graphics & visual commerce
Updated: 2026-10-30

> How to write product image alt text that helps shoppers using screen readers and helps Google understand your images, plus file names, sizing and feed tips.

Alt text is a short written description attached to an image so that people using screen readers, and search engines, know what it shows. For product images, good alt text names the product and describes what that particular image shows (the angle, colour, detail or use), in plain language, without keyword stuffing. Google calls alt text the most important attribute for image metadata, and in Australia more than one in five people has disability, so it matters for both search visibility and access.

## Why alt text matters for retailers

**Accessibility.** The ABS reports that [5.5 million Australians, or 21.4%, had disability in 2022](https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/55-million-australians-have-disability), and over half of people aged 65 and over. People who are blind or have low vision use screen readers that read alt text aloud. A product gallery with no alt text is, for them, a row of unlabelled buttons.

There's a legal dimension too. The Disability Discrimination Act is the federal law that makes [discrimination on the ground of disability unlawful in defined areas of public life](https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/chapter-1-legal-and-human-rights-obligations), and the Australian Human Rights Commission publishes [Guidelines on equal access to digital goods and services](https://www.w3.org/WAI/policies/australia/) for organisations. This is general information, not legal advice.

**Search.** Google says the alt attribute is [the most important attribute for providing metadata for an image](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-images). It uses alt text together with computer vision and the page content to understand what an image shows, which affects whether your product appears in Google Images and other visual results.

**Most sites get it wrong.** WebAIM's 2025 analysis of the top one million home pages found [55.5% had images missing alternative text](https://webaim.org/projects/million/2025), and 18.5% of all home page images lacked it (not counting intentionally empty alt text). Pages averaged 58.6 images each, up 5.4% on 2024. Fixing alt text is one of the easier ways to stand out.

## How to write product alt text

Google's guidance is to create [useful, information-rich content that uses keywords appropriately and is in context](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-images), and to avoid filling alt attributes with keywords. For product galleries, a simple pattern works:

**Product name + key distinguishing attribute + what this image shows.**

Examples:

- Main image: "Oak 3-seater sofa in charcoal linen, front view"
- Detail: "Close-up of charcoal linen weave and timber leg on oak 3-seater sofa"
- In use: "Oak 3-seater sofa in a living room, shown next to a 60 cm side table for scale"
- In the box: "Contents of cordless stick vacuum box: handheld unit, wand, two brush heads, wall mount and charger"

Tips:

1. **Describe each image differently.** Five gallery images with identical alt text tell a screen reader user nothing new. WebAIM found 11% of images with alt text had questionable or repetitive descriptions.
2. **Lead with what matters.** Screen reader users hear alt text in sequence; put the product and the image's purpose first.
3. **Skip "image of" or "photo of".** Screen readers already announce it's an image.
4. **Include the colour or variant** shown, especially when a gallery switches by variant.
5. **Transcribe meaningful text.** If an infographic shows dimensions or features, the alt text (or nearby page text) should include that information.
6. **Use empty alt (`alt=""`) for purely decorative images**, such as background patterns, so screen readers skip them.
7. **Label linked images.** WebAIM found [44% of images missing alt text were linked images](https://webaim.org/projects/million/2025), which produces links with no description. Product tiles in category grids are linked images, so every one needs alt text.
8. **Keep it short.** A sentence is usually enough; put long specifications in the page copy.

## Beyond alt text: other image SEO basics

Google's image SEO guidance covers several other signals:

- **Descriptive file names.** The filename can give Google [very light clues about the subject matter](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-images). `oak-3-seater-sofa-charcoal-front.jpg` beats `IMG_4821.jpg`. Google suggests automating naming for large catalogues and translating filenames if you localise.
- **Placement near relevant text.** Google extracts information from captions, titles and surrounding text, so put images near the product content they relate to.
- **Responsive images.** Use `srcset` or `<picture>`, always with a fallback `src`.
- **Structured data.** Product structured data with an `image` property supports rich results and badges in Google Images.
- **Quality and size.** For Shopping, Google recommends main images of [1,500 x 1,500 pixels or larger](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/18353357?hl=en), at least five additional images, and no text overlays or watermarks.

Marketplaces are part of image SEO too. eBay notes that high-quality photos are [key to showing up in searches on eBay and external sites like Google Shopping](https://www.ebay.com.au/sellercentre/create-a-great-listing/photo-tips), and that adding text, logos or watermarks can stop images appearing in third-party search results.

For speed, which also affects search performance, see our guide to [mobile-first product images](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/mobile-first-product-images/). For how images influence conversion once shoppers arrive, see [why product images drive conversion](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/why-product-images-drive-ecommerce-conversion/).

## Making alt text manageable at scale

The reason most catalogues lack alt text is volume: thousands of SKUs, several images each, multiple variants. Practical approaches:

- **Generate a first draft from product data.** Name, colour, material and image type (front, detail, in-use) are usually already in your product record.
- **Have a person review.** Check accuracy, especially for in-use and infographic images where context matters.
- **Store alt text with the image in the master record**, not just in the storefront, so it travels with the image.
- **Audit regularly** with an automated accessibility checker.

## Key figures

- 55.5% of the top one million home pages had images missing alt text ([WebAIM, 2025](https://webaim.org/projects/million/2025)).
- 18.5% of all home page images had missing alt text; pages averaged 58.6 images ([WebAIM, 2025](https://webaim.org/projects/million/2025)).
- 44% of images missing alt text were linked images ([WebAIM, 2025](https://webaim.org/projects/million/2025)).
- 5.5 million Australians (21.4%) had disability in 2022 ([ABS, 2024](https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/55-million-australians-have-disability)).

## How eComChannels helps

Alt text and image SEO work best when they're built into the product record rather than added page by page.

[eComChannels branded storefronts](https://ecomchannels.com/products/storefronts/) are fast and SEO/GEO-ready and connect to your order management system, so product images on your own store are served from the same approved master record as your marketplace listings. [AI listing optimisation](https://ecomchannels.com/products/ai-listing-optimisation/) drafts product content from that master record for people to approve, which gives you a practical way to keep descriptive, consistent text attached to your products across channels instead of retyping it.

[eComChannels AI graphics](https://ecomchannels.com/products/ai-graphics/) builds compliant, text-free main images and channel-specific image sets, trained on each marketplace's rules, so your images are eligible to appear in marketplace search and in Google Shopping. Approve once, publish everywhere.

[Book a demo or start a 30-day free trial](https://ecomchannels.com/book-a-demo/).

## FAQ

### How long should product alt text be?

Usually one short sentence: the product name, the key attribute shown and what the image depicts. Put detailed specifications in the page copy rather than the alt attribute.

### Should I put keywords in alt text?

Use the words a shopper would naturally use to describe the product, but don't stuff extra keywords. Google advises against filling alt attributes with keywords, and it makes the experience worse for screen reader users.

### Do marketplace listings need alt text?

Most marketplaces generate their own image markup, so you often can't set alt text directly. Focus on accurate titles, attributes and compliant images there, and write proper alt text on your own storefront.

## Sources
- The WebAIM Million: The 2025 report on the accessibility of the top 1,000,000 home pages, WebAIM (2025): https://webaim.org/projects/million/2025
- 5.5 million Australians have disability, Australian Bureau of Statistics (2024): https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/55-million-australians-have-disability
- Image SEO Best Practices, Google Search Central (2026): https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-images
- Image best practices, Google Merchant Center Help (2026): https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/18353357?hl=en
- Chapter 1: Legal and human rights obligations, Australian Human Rights Commission (2026): https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/chapter-1-legal-and-human-rights-obligations
- Web accessibility laws and policies: Australia, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (2025): https://www.w3.org/WAI/policies/australia/
- Photo Tips, eBay Australia Seller Centre (2026): https://www.ebay.com.au/sellercentre/create-a-great-listing/photo-tips