Alt Text (alternative text) is a description added to images on your website. Search engines like Google rely on this text to understand what an image is about since they can’t “see” the image itself. Properly adding Alt Text improves your chances of appearing in image search results, which can drive more traffic to your store.
Why is Alt Text Important?
Without Alt Text, your images are invisible to search engines. By incorporating relevant keywords into your Alt Text, you enhance your website’s SEO and make it more likely that your images will appear in search results, potentially leading to higher visibility and traffic.
Automating Alt Text with AI
Manually adding Alt Text to every image on your Shopify store can be a tedious task, especially if you have many products. Fortunately, there’s an app that uses artificial intelligence to automate this process—Alt Text.ai.
Step 1: Install the Alt Text.ai App
- Visit the Shopify App Store and search for Alt Text.ai.
- Install the app on your Shopify store.
Step 2: Create a Free Account
- After installation, you’ll be prompted to create an account. Click on Create a Free Account to get started.
- You can sign up using your Google account or other credentials.
Step 3: Choose Your Plan
- Alt Text.ai offers various pricing plans, starting with a Free option for up to 25 images. Other plans include:
- $3 for 50 images
- $5/month for 100 images
- $19/month for 500 images
- $49/month for 2000 images
- Choose a plan that best suits your needs.
Step 4: Generate API Key
- Once your account is set up, you’ll need to generate an API key to link the app with your Shopify store.
- Go to the API Key section in the app dashboard, create a new API key, and copy it.
Step 5: Configure the App in Shopify
- Return to your Shopify dashboard, navigate to the Alt Text.ai settings, and paste your API key.
- Select the language for your Alt Text (e.g., English).
- Decide whether you want Alt Text to be generated for product images, collection images, or images in product descriptions.
Step 6: Set Up Automation Rules
- Choose how you want Alt Text to be applied:
- You can generate different Alt Text for each image or apply the same Alt Text to all images in a product.
- Specify if you want to include attributes like color, vendor name, or keywords from the product description in your Alt Text.
- Decide if you want the app to update Alt Text when a product is updated.
Step 7: Bulk Update Alt Text
- To update Alt Text for multiple products at once, go to your Shopify products page.
- Select the products you want to update, click on the three dots, and choose Alt Text AI – Update Alt Text.
Step 8: Verify the Alt Text
- After updating, inspect a product image to ensure the Alt Text has been correctly applied. This can be done by right-clicking on the image, selecting “Inspect,” and checking the
altattribute in the HTML.
Conclusion
With these steps, you can easily automate the process of adding Alt Text to your Shopify store images, improving your SEO without the manual hassle. Give Alt Text.ai a try and see how it enhances your store’s visibility!
