Etsy Alt Text: How to Write It for Every Listing Photo

Alt text is a short description of a photo. Screen readers read it aloud for shoppers who cannot see the picture, and it appears if the image does not load. Etsy lets you add alt text to each photo of a listing, so it is worth writing for every photo you upload.

How to add it

1. Open the listing in the listing editor.
2. Click a photo in the photos area.
3. Choose the option to add alt text, write the description and save.
4. Repeat for each photo.

How to write good alt text

• Describe what is actually in the photo, in plain words, as if telling someone on the phone.
• Say what the product is, and add one or two details you can see: colour, material, setting.
• Give each photo its own description. The close-up, the size comparison and the packaging should not read the same.
• Skip “image of” and “picture of”. Screen readers already say it is an image.
• Do not stuff keywords. A sentence that reads naturally helps shoppers and is all a search engine needs.

Before and after

• Weak: necklace gold necklace gift for her birthday jewelry
• Better: Gold-filled birth flower necklace with a small daisy pendant on a thin chain, shown on a white linen background
• Weak (second photo): necklace
• Better (second photo): Close-up of the daisy pendant next to a coin to show its size

Which photos first

Start with the first photo, since it is the one shoppers see in search, then the rest in the order they appear. If you have many photos, do them all over a few sessions rather than skipping some.