[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":293},["ShallowReactive",2],{"learn-geo-/en/learn/geo/images-en":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":251,"extension":252,"meta":253,"navigation":286,"path":287,"seo":288,"stem":291,"__hash__":292},"content_en/5.learn/geo/images.md","Images with Descriptive Alt Text",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":245},"minimark",[9,22,27,33,36,43,47,75,183,187,219,223,241],[10,11,12,16,17,21],"p",{},[13,14,15],"strong",{},"TL;DR"," — Multimodal AI engines process images directly. Text-only models use ",[18,19,20],"code",{},"alt"," attributes as additional text signals. Images with meaningful alt text add entity mentions and contextual cues that reinforce a page's topic relevance.",[23,24,26],"h2",{"id":25},"why-images-and-alt-text-matter-for-ai-engines","Why Images and Alt Text Matter for AI Engines",[10,28,29,30,32],{},"Multimodal AI engines — GPT-4V, Gemini, Claude — process images as part of their content analysis. When a page includes a chart or diagram, the model can extract information from the visual itself. But even for text-only models that don't directly process images, the ",[18,31,20],{}," attribute functions as additional body text — another opportunity to mention key entities and reinforce the page's topic.",[10,34,35],{},"Pages with zero images are flagged by some quality assessment signals as \"thin content\" — a page that makes no visual effort to illustrate its claims. This heuristic, borrowed from traditional SEO, has carried over into AI engine quality signals.",[10,37,38,39,42],{},"The alt text itself matters as much as the presence of images. An alt attribute that describes both what is shown AND why it's relevant to the topic adds meaningful entity reinforcement: ",[18,40,41],{},"alt=\"Line chart showing 38% improvement in AI citation rate after adding FAQPage schema\""," contributes three entity signals (metric type, percentage, schema type) that would otherwise require a full sentence to convey.",[23,44,46],{"id":45},"how-to-implement","How to Implement",[48,49,50,54,57,64],"ul",{},[51,52,53],"li",{},"At minimum 1 relevant image per major section",[51,55,56],{},"Alt text should describe what's in the image AND its relevance to the topic",[51,58,59,60,63],{},"Use ",[18,61,62],{},"loading=\"lazy\""," for below-fold images to improve Core Web Vitals",[51,65,66,67,70,71,74],{},"Provide ",[18,68,69],{},"width"," and ",[18,72,73],{},"height"," attributes to prevent cumulative layout shift",[76,77,82],"pre",{"className":78,"code":79,"language":80,"meta":81,"style":81},"language-html shiki shiki-themes material-theme-lighter material-theme material-theme-palenight","\u003Cimg\n  src=\"/charts/geo-citation-improvement.png\"\n  alt=\"Bar chart showing 38% higher AI citation rate on pages with FAQPage schema vs pages without\"\n  width=\"800\"\n  height=\"450\"\n  loading=\"lazy\"\n/>\n","html","",[18,83,84,97,117,132,147,162,177],{"__ignoreMap":81},[85,86,89,93],"span",{"class":87,"line":88},"line",1,[85,90,92],{"class":91},"sMK4o","\u003C",[85,94,96],{"class":95},"swJcz","img\n",[85,98,100,104,107,110,114],{"class":87,"line":99},2,[85,101,103],{"class":102},"spNyl","  src",[85,105,106],{"class":91},"=",[85,108,109],{"class":91},"\"",[85,111,113],{"class":112},"sfazB","/charts/geo-citation-improvement.png",[85,115,116],{"class":91},"\"\n",[85,118,120,123,125,127,130],{"class":87,"line":119},3,[85,121,122],{"class":102},"  alt",[85,124,106],{"class":91},[85,126,109],{"class":91},[85,128,129],{"class":112},"Bar chart showing 38% higher AI citation rate on pages with FAQPage schema vs pages without",[85,131,116],{"class":91},[85,133,135,138,140,142,145],{"class":87,"line":134},4,[85,136,137],{"class":102},"  width",[85,139,106],{"class":91},[85,141,109],{"class":91},[85,143,144],{"class":112},"800",[85,146,116],{"class":91},[85,148,150,153,155,157,160],{"class":87,"line":149},5,[85,151,152],{"class":102},"  height",[85,154,106],{"class":91},[85,156,109],{"class":91},[85,158,159],{"class":112},"450",[85,161,116],{"class":91},[85,163,165,168,170,172,175],{"class":87,"line":164},6,[85,166,167],{"class":102},"  loading",[85,169,106],{"class":91},[85,171,109],{"class":91},[85,173,174],{"class":112},"lazy",[85,176,116],{"class":91},[85,178,180],{"class":87,"line":179},7,[85,181,182],{"class":91},"/>\n",[23,184,186],{"id":185},"common-mistakes","Common Mistakes",[48,188,189,199,213],{},[51,190,191,198],{},[13,192,193,194,197],{},"Empty ",[18,195,196],{},"alt=\"\""," on informational images"," — correct only for purely decorative images; informational images need descriptive alt text",[51,200,201,204,205,208,209,212],{},[13,202,203],{},"Filename as alt text"," — ",[18,206,207],{},"alt=\"image123.jpg\""," or ",[18,210,211],{},"alt=\"screenshot\""," adds no entity signal",[51,214,215,218],{},[13,216,217],{},"Stock photos with generic alt text"," — \"businesspeople shaking hands\" adds no topical relevance; use alt text that connects the image to the page topic",[23,220,222],{"id":221},"sources","Sources",[48,224,225,234],{},[51,226,227],{},[228,229,233],"a",{"href":230,"rel":231},"https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/img#alt",[232],"nofollow","MDN — The Image element alt attribute",[51,235,236],{},[228,237,240],{"href":238,"rel":239},"https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-images",[232],"Google Image SEO best practices",[242,243,244],"style",{},"html pre.shiki code .sMK4o, html code.shiki .sMK4o{--shiki-light:#39ADB5;--shiki-default:#89DDFF;--shiki-dark:#89DDFF}html pre.shiki code .swJcz, html code.shiki .swJcz{--shiki-light:#E53935;--shiki-default:#F07178;--shiki-dark:#F07178}html pre.shiki code .spNyl, html code.shiki .spNyl{--shiki-light:#9C3EDA;--shiki-default:#C792EA;--shiki-dark:#C792EA}html pre.shiki code .sfazB, html code.shiki .sfazB{--shiki-light:#91B859;--shiki-default:#C3E88D;--shiki-dark:#C3E88D}html .light .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-light);background: var(--shiki-light-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-light-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-light-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-light-text-decoration);}html.light .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-light);background: var(--shiki-light-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-light-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-light-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-light-text-decoration);}html .default .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}html.dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}",{"title":81,"searchDepth":99,"depth":99,"links":246},[247,248,249,250],{"id":25,"depth":99,"text":26},{"id":45,"depth":99,"text":46},{"id":185,"depth":99,"text":186},{"id":221,"depth":99,"text":222},"Relevant images with alt text that reinforces the page's topic and entities.","md",{"publishedAt":254,"badge":255,"type":257,"faq":258,"related":268,"cta":281},"2026-03-31",{"label":256},"Core","guide",[259,262,265],{"question":260,"answer":261},"Do AI engines actually read alt text?","Yes. For text-processing models, alt attributes are treated as body text and contribute to topic signals. For multimodal models, alt text supplements the visual content analysis. In both cases, descriptive alt text adds value that empty or generic alt text does not.",{"question":263,"answer":264},"How long should alt text be?","125 characters or fewer for screen reader compatibility. Prioritise describing what the image shows and its relevance to the topic. Avoid keyword stuffing — write for clarity, and the entity signals will follow naturally.",{"question":266,"answer":267},"Should decorative images have alt text?","No. Purely decorative images (dividers, background textures, icons used for visual styling) should have empty alt text: alt=\"\". This tells assistive technologies and crawlers to skip the image. Informational images always need descriptive alt text.",[269,273,277],{"title":270,"url":271,"description":272},"Data and Statistics","/learn/geo/data-and-statistics","How charts and data visualisations with good alt text reinforce specific claims.",{"title":274,"url":275,"description":276},"Schema Markup for AI Engines","/learn/geo/schema-markup","How ImageObject schema can further reinforce image context.",{"title":278,"url":279,"description":280},"Structured Comparison Tables","/learn/geo/structured-comparison","Tables as an alternative to visual charts for machine-readable data.",{"title":282,"description":283,"label":284,"url":285},"Are your images helping or hurting your GEO score?","TrustData flags missing alt text, empty alt attributes on informational images, and pages with no visual content.","Audit my pages","https://app.trustdata.tech",true,"/learn/geo/images",{"title":289,"description":290},"Images & Alt Text for AI Engines — GEO Optimisation Guide","Multimodal AI engines process images directly. Text-only models use alt attributes as additional text signals. Descriptive alt text adds entity mentions that boost citability.","5.learn/geo/images","wzxFO5fDkj79BRUUe0NX7JAtXuFhFi6Q-IvJ0zK3aC8",1777026713863]