ALT Text: Is Your Law Firm’s Website ADA Compliant?
Visual marketing - graphics, photos, videos, infographics, charts, quote memes - is an important content marketing strategy because they provide a good UX experience - your visitors like and remember visuals better than the written word. And, what’s important to users is important to Google, so easy-to-navigate visual marketing is a key ranking signal for Google.
Search engines such as Google can’t read or understand pictures. ALT tags – alternative text – tell search engines about that image. Google’s UX and Core Vitals ranking signals continue to emphasize accessibility and ease of navigation in recent Google algorithm updates, including the recent May 2022 update. Every image such as a photo, chart, diagram or any other visual aid on a website page or social media post should have ALT text to tell visitors and search engines the meaning of the image.
Website Accessibility Lawsuits Under ADA
Over the past five years, businesses with an online presence have been pummeled with lawsuits accusing them of having websites that are supposedly inaccessible to the blind and hearing impaired in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
- jdsupra.com
According to Title III of the ADA, companies cannot discriminate against disabled people “in the full and equal enjoyment of public accommodations.” The internet and social media are considered public accommodations, and ADA compliance and accessibility are required. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against galleries, hotels, universities, restaurants and other businesses because their websites are not compliant with ADA guidelines.
Fixing the problem of website and social media ADA compliance is relatively easy and straightforward.
Are the images on your sites named img123.jpg or ALT text tips.jpg?
Do Your Law Firm’s Website and Social Media Images Have ALT Text?
ALT text is also an important content optimization opportunity.
Today, nearly 38% of Google’s SERPs show images — and that's likely to increase. That means, despite your best SEO efforts, you could still be missing out on another source of organic traffic: your website's images. How do you get in on this traffic source? Image alt text.
- blog.hubspot.com
All images have a default name, such as img123.jpg. Anyone uploading an image onto your website or your social media sites can change the name of that image to be something meaningful and useful so that screen readers and search engines understand the image. ALT text is also an important content writing SEO strategy to help your images rank higher by naming them using your law firm’s keywords and services, when appropriate.
Content management systems provide a way to add ALT text to images, including:
Website platforms such as WordPress or SquareSpace
Social media platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter
Email service providers such as MailChimp or Keap
Video transcripts, closed captions and subtitles
Tip: Your website designer should be using ALT text on nearly all your law firm’s website images. There are some best practice exceptions, such as CTA buttons with text copy.
ex: Add ALT text to your LinkedIn images
6 Reasons to Use ALT Text on Images
ALT text helps people who can’t see your images in Search, which helps SEO accessibility rank.
ALT tags are SERP (search engine results page) signals that impact your rank
ALT tags help search engines understand what your page or social media post is about.
ALT tags make your images discoverable in Search
If an image fails to load, the ALT text displays in place of the image.
ALT text on images is required under the American Disabilities Act (ADA) to make the internet accessible to the visually handicapped. Screen readers help the visually impaired hear the ALT text.
How A Content Audit Can Improve Your UX - and Compliance
SEO Content Audits + Online Visibility,
User Experience & Competitor Analysis for Law Firms
Increase Your Rank, Online Visibility and UX
Our content SEO audit is a digital deep dive into your online visibility and competitive analysis, including strategic use of optimization strategies such as ALT text. We provide strategic, actionable recommendations and thought starters. After we complete your audit, you may want to hire us to help you increase your rank, online visibility and UX using strategies and guidelines recommended by the recent Google Experience Algorithm.
Questions? catherine@seomylawfirm.com
