Alt Text

There are often questions in Facebook groups about Alt Text and does it help your listings on Etsy and other platforms.

So what is it.
Alt Text (Alternative Text) is text you add against an image that describes it for people who may be blind or have limited vision, who use screen readers.

On sites like Etsy it doesn’t help with your SEO (search engine optimisation) directly, but it can help your items be found via search engines like Google.

Do you have to use it, no! But even it helps to bring one person to your store then it’s a bonus. And if they know that you have taken the time to think about their needs, then it can lead them to becoming a repeat customer.

One error some people make is to think it is a place to stuff with keywords, to help their items be found, but this is a dis-service to those who need to use it – it would be like adding tactile pavements to help blind/visually impaired people to find where to cross the road, but then not putting in a dropped kerb.

On Etsy, adding Alt Text is nice and easy. You go into your Photo editing section and there is a box next to the photo to type it in.

When adding your text you need to avoid using some characters as this can lead to your text not saving, for example if saying how big something is, don’t use abbreviations like ” for inches.
Today I’m listing some items on eBay, and the only way I found to add Alt text was by editing your description using HTML code here’s the YouTube video I followed

It does show it being done on an old listing screen, but the basics are the same

There may be an easier way, and if I find it in the future I will update this post
One important thing to remember, don’t assume that you know the person who may be looking to purchase your items.

Some of my eBay listings are sewing patterns. Now people may assume that someone who is blind or has limited vision can’t possibly sew. Well, many of us with disabilities are very good at finding alternative ways of doing things. They may also be looking for a pattern for someone else to sew for them, or it may be a gift they are purchasing.

I will admit that I am not very good at remembering to add it when I do my listings, but fortunately, it is something that can be added at any time, so there is no excuse for me to go back and rectify this.