Too many B2B tech companies overlook important SEO elements that can actually make a significant difference. One of the most forgotten - but highly effective - tools is the use of ALT tags on images.
If you work in a tech company based in the B2B sector with a well-stocked product portfolio, it's crucial to ensure that your digital visibility is optimised from A-Z, including at image level. In this article, we take a closer look at how you can use ALT tags to boost SEO results and reach your potential customers earlier in their decision-making process.
ALT tags (also known as “alternative texts”) are short descriptions you give to images on your website. Primarily, they were originally intended as a feature for people with visual impairments so that screen readers could describe images. But they also serve an important function for search engines like Google: they tell what the image shows.
Imagine your website contains technical diagrams, screenshots of software or images of complex machinery - all of this is “black screen” to Google unless you put it into words via ALT tags.
Search engines can't “see” images. They understand the content of images through the text around them and, more importantly, through the ALT text. Therefore, images with meaningful ALT tags are better indexed and can show up in image searches, which is often an overlooked traffic link.
Here are some of the most direct SEO benefits of good ALT tags:
It's not just about stuffing keywords. ALT tags should be descriptive, natural and relevant - without being keyword-stuffed. Here are some good rules of thumb:
Example of a bad ALT tag:
“image1.png”
Example of a good ALT tag:
“Industrial flow chart for water treatment in B2B manufacturing”
You probably have a website filled with technical content, product images, schematics and data visualisation. Many of your competitors neglect image optimisation - and this is where you have a great opportunity to stand out.
By adding thoughtful ALT tags to your existing and future images, you have the opportunity to customise them:
Especially for technical audiences - who often work with complex solutions - your images become extra important in the research phase. Make sure the customer's first encounter with your brand via Google shows the right image - and the right text.
Are you working with WordPress as a CMS? Then the process is fortunately quite straightforward:
For those who work with a lot of product images and datasheets, this can also be automated in certain plugins - but we always recommend manually quality assuring the ALT text so that it makes sense in context.
No, definitely not. Images that are used purely for decoration (backgrounds, frames, patterns) do not need ALT tags. In fact, an empty ALT tag can tell search engines that this image is deliberately unimportant.
However, if the image has a function - such as an infographic, product photo or technical illustration - then you should always fill in the ALT field.
Many people only see ALT tags as a technical checkpoint, but they can actually contribute to much more:
The latter is especially important. When Google sees a connection between your texts, ALT tags and meta data, it is interpreted as high professional relevance.
It's not just about writing them - you also need to track the impact. Use tools like:
A concrete tip? Go through the 20 most visited pages on your site and do an audit of all the images. Do they have meaningful ALT tags? If the answer is no, you've got your work cut out for you.
As a B2B tech company focused on data-driven solutions, you already know that small optimisations can have a big, cumulative effect. ALT tags are one of those low-hanging fruits that yield measurable results if used correctly.
You can be analytical here. Use data to find out which types of images drive the most traffic - and optimise ALT tags around that content. Over time, you'll build both a stronger user experience and better search rankings.
If you already have a lot of images on your site today that aren't optimised with good ALT tags - don't be discouraged. It's never too late to improve. Use this as an opportunity to clean up and give your image library an overall SEO overhaul.
So ask yourself now - do your potential customers see the right images with the right texts when they search for a solution like yours? If not, you now have the tools to change that.
If you need help structuring your captions or need help with SEO in general, we're happy to help. As a digital agency with a focus on data and impact, we work to make technical companies more visible online - both in text and images.
Reach out to us if you're ready to utilise your website's full potential.
Do you have a project you would like to discuss with us, or would you like to hear how we can help you achieve better results?
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