Adding alt text to Etsy listing photos- Should you bother doing it, and best practices if you do.
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- Опубліковано 20 жов 2024
- Alt text is a piece of text that you add to photos that shows up when the photo isn't displayed for some reason, and it's also used for screen readers for people who are visually impaired. Etsy has recently added it to accounts that are set up in English, but is it worth the time to fill all of that out, or will it be better to do something else with your time?
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I think that folks are missing a key point. Put seo aside for a moment and step into the world of someone with a visual impairment, who might want to buy a gift for a loved one, without requiring assistance. By adding alt text, You’re giving them an opportunity not had otherwise. It’s just, fair, reasonable, kind, and really just a positive for everyone.
Except that if the photo doesn't add anything to the information in the title, it's going to be redundant. It might be kinder to put the "" in the alt text so that the screen reader skips the photo and just reads the title, as long as the title tells what the product is, and isn't just a jumble of keywords.
You're absolutely right. Most people aren't going to read Etsy's already dubious and ineaxct description. They're going to hear about a secret way to add more keywords from YT self-proclaimed gurus looking for clicks. If people just put a bunch of random keywords here (as I've seen others teach their "students" and viewers), this will actually be detrimental for sight-impaired shoppers. It's gross for Etsy to imply this is for the benefit of the SEO instead of using their considerable influence to educate.
You know, I wondered why alt text was needed if my title and description were on point. Thanks for the video, it confirmed my thoughts.
It's my suspicion too, nothing confirmed! But the compliance websites really did say that if the photo didn't add anything to the surrounding text then alt text wasn't necessary, so hmmm...
This was great advice that makes total sense, thank you! Will be making sure to update the alt text on my website and not on Etsy :)
Glad it was helpful!
I understand what you are saying, but I can't help but think that if Etsy sees that I'm complying with their alt text recommendations, they'll give me a boost in the organic search. I know they have not said that and it's my tinfoil hat theory, but just like they wanted us to add videos to our listings, I feel like they want us to do this as well. But I don't have a website, so I'm not worried about competition. It always seems like Etsy wants us to jump through every hoop they hold out and I usually do, in hopes that in a clandestine way, I'll get a boost in organic search because they see I'm complying!
Nah, but if you have time to do it you can. I don’t think it can improve search results much, if at all.
Thanks for saving me hours of work updating 130 listings.... was just going to put in the title into the alt text anyway - now I know I don't have to bother!
Yeah, I'm putting this low on my priority list.
I love your Channel. always amazing advice without the bs .. your amazing, thank you.🙂
Thanks for watching!
Thank you Kara Buntin, all great points and helpful
Glad it was helpful!
I would be interested to know if Etsy's new algorithm that just rolled out changes their recommendation about alt tags on photos. Maybe not, just curious.
They didn’t roll out a new algorithm other than adding the shipping cost for US sellers. Everything else they’ve been telling us about on the dashboard for ranking has already been part of the algorithm for quite some time. I think that people were confusing the shipping change with everything else, but it was just the shipping that changed on oct. 1
Honestly, I’m not surprised they haven’t added this sooner. I do it for my own website and when I save files, but yeah I’m not sure how much it’ll help. I know Twitter, IG and other platforms have it now. I know it helps with Google, not sure how much it helps in places like these.
My feeling is that it doesn't help that much if it reads the title anyway. But people use the alt text to try to keyword stuff them, so that's not helpful either.
what about file names of images that you upload, does that have any bearing on anything? or does etsy just auto rename the file name of the image
Etsy renames everything, so that doesn't matter.
Something I'm wondering is if the alt text might also be helpful to the image recognition software that is now a part of search?
That’s possible, but if your title is what it will pick up without the alt text being there then it should be fine without it.
So... after your other video, I put Alt text in the first photo of each one of my listings. I have a website. :( ... Should I delete all the Alt text from Etsy- am I understandting correctly? Thanks Kara.
Honestly, it’s not that big a deal if you’ve already done it. I would just put the priority on making your website better than your Etsy shop as far as google goes. The likelihood that this will work to get Etsy photos showing more in google search is low.
@@KaraBuntin Thank you!
Thank you, I was told I need to add alt text 😊
Definitely don’t need to. If you have photos that have text on them, though, it can be helpful to add it.
Helpful, as always. Thanks. 😃
Glad to hear it!
Dear Kara,
Can I add multiple alt tags in one picture?
My single listing have 10 images so can I use alt tags on all 10 images?
Thanks Have good day👍🏻
You can add an alt tag to each one if you want to
Oooh I do wonder if this is more relevant now that Etsy descriptions are used in the algorithm. I just discovered this by mistake when listing. I'd never seen it before, but I wish that I'd known about it previously. There's no overt prompt from Etsy to fill this in.
No, i think it’s still a google thing and google likes Etsy market pages. The descriptions are a separate issue.
ALT tags also tell the Search Engines what the picture is of.
Yes, but google says they don’t really use it for web results, they said in a recent office hours that they might use it for image results but not really for web results. So it’s not something that plays a big role in getting your listings included in search results at all.
@@KaraBuntin one could argue getting good image results is a good thing. Especially as more folks look at images instead of reading text. I try to hit all the angles for best results.
@@thebikeracer With Google you have to think about searcher intent, though. If people are looking for something to buy they're much more likely to go to the shopping tab or web results, not images. IT's a matter of deciding what effort is going to bring the fastest result, then going back later if you want to to fill in gaps.
@@KaraBuntin Agreed. My problem is I never go back to fill in the gaps!
So if I am not subscribed to off-site ads... how do my Alt Text photos help Etsy's SEO ?
It helps because google shows images and organic search results, not just ads, from Etsy. Etsy gets a ton of traffic from organic search on google, so they’re interested in being found there since that doesn’t cost then anything.
@@KaraBuntin thank you for the clarification, because I've been doing Alt text truly just to be able to offer this service for the blind..... I never really understood the collateral impact 💜
@@ClarissaJulian The thing about it is that it will read the title if you don't have the alt text, so it doesn't really matter!
@@KaraBuntin but my title won't necessarily describe the photo.... So if one photo is showing pattern detail, I'll add the Alt text to describe it. If another photo is showing size, I'll add the alt text dimensions. If there is a compatible item, I'll add the discount link etc etc .... So none of the details I add to my photos can be found in my listing title. My Alt text is very customized to the individual photo👍🏼
Hm, my alt text might just say "colorful bar of soap" for every listing hahaha :)
Mine is just going to read the title because I'm not putting anything in there unless the title is a hot mess
@@KaraBuntin All my titles are a hot mess haha :(
I don’t get what’s the point of me doing alt text
It's more important on your own website than on Etsy.
The point of alt text is to provide users that rely on screen readers to derive the same understanding from images as sighted users. While "decorative" images, like a filagree spacer between paragraphs, should not be alt-texted, images about your product really should be. Imagine a blind person is trying to use Etsy to buy a gift for a friend. You are not helping them by not having alt-text. If you sell soap, what's more appealing? Only having your description vs. "photo of soap bar" vs. "vibrant rectangular soap bar with lime green and blue swirl pattern topped with rose petals." You can bet they're buying from the person that writes the 3rd way. Anything not present in your description a non-sighted user won't know about if you don't use alt text. Etsy hides the alt text box so it's really on them that most sellers don't realize they can do this or understand the value. Personally I think Etsy is skirting WCAG guidelines by not requiring alt text. Adding this to even 1-2 of your primary images may be a big help to someone out there, although for compliance purposes it'll likely be Etsy that gets sued for not having it, not you.
@@mintgreen292 Etsy defaults to the title of the listing if alt text hasn't been added to the photo, so the info will still be provided.
@@KaraBuntin Good to know! Feels like compliance from a technical standpoint as opposed to meeting the spirit of the reason behind providing it. I don't expect most shop owners to do it, Etsy makes it a slow and painful process they way they have the UI setup.