--- title: " without an alt attribute (seo/img-alt-missing)" description: "seo/img-alt-missing: Alt text is how Google Images, screen readers and text-only AI crawlers understand images." canonical: https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/seo/img-alt-missing lastModified: 2026-09-16 --- # without an alt attribute `seo/img-alt-missing` · severity **error** · category SEO · detected by `void seo` and `void audit` ## Why it matters Alt text is how Google Images, screen readers and text-only AI crawlers understand images. A missing alt attribute (not an empty one) is an accessibility failure. ## How to fix it Add descriptive alt text to content images and alt="" to decorative ones. next/image requires alt. ## Example ```tsx Acme dashboard showing weekly active users {/* decorative */} ``` ## References - https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-images - https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/ ## More seo rules `void seo` reports 60 rules in this category. What search engines need from the raw response: status codes, titles and descriptions in , self-referencing canonicals, one h1, crawlable links, Open Graph, icons, robots.txt and a sitemap with real dates. - `head-js-mutation` JavaScript changes canonical, robots, title or description after load — [seo/head-js-mutation](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/seo/head-js-mutation) - `h1-count` Page doesn't have exactly one visible

in the server HTML — [seo/h1-count](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/seo/h1-count) - `h1-title-mismatch`

and share little wording — [seo/h1-title-mismatch](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/seo/h1-title-mismatch) - `heading-skip` Heading levels skip (h2 → h4) or headings are empty — [seo/heading-skip](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/seo/heading-skip) - `img-alt-quality` Alt text is a filename, a generic word, or overly long — [seo/img-alt-quality](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/seo/img-alt-quality) - `links-not-crawlable` Navigation uses elements crawlers can't follow — [seo/links-not-crawlable](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/seo/links-not-crawlable) - `link-text` Links with generic or empty text — [seo/link-text](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/seo/link-text) - `broken-links` Internal links return 4xx/5xx (or go through redirects) — [seo/broken-links](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/seo/broken-links) Detected by `void seo` and `void audit`. Explain it in a terminal: `void rules seo/img-alt-missing`