What Amazon asks for
Amazon's Create A+ content help page says alt text "should be a simple sentence describing the image", and gives this example: "Blender on kitchen counter next to fruit, yogurt, orange juice, and a smoothie glass". It adds that alt text "does not show on the product detail page, but is used by visually impaired customers and screen reader apps, and helps your products in search results".
The A+ guidelines then set the limit on what you write: alt text "that does not describe the image and that would not be useful for a customer using a screen reader application can result in content rejection".
The length limit is in Amazon's A+ Content API model: every image's alt text is required and runs from 1 to 100 characters.
Examples for each kind of A+ image
Say what a shopper would see. Name the product, what is around it and anything the image is there to show.
| Image | Too thin or stuffed | Better |
|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle photo | best ceramic planter pot indoor outdoor gift succulent | White ceramic planter with a snake plant on a wooden shelf by a window |
| Detail close-up | drainage | Underside of the planter showing the drainage hole and a matching saucer |
| Size image | planter size dimensions inches | 6 inch planter next to a coffee mug to show its size |
| Image with text on it | infographic | Three planter sizes side by side: 4, 6 and 8 inches wide |
| Logo banner | brand logo | Brand logo above a row of three white ceramic planters |
| Comparison chart photo | compare | Front view of the 6 inch white planter |
When an image carries text, put that text's point in the alt text. A shopper with a screen reader cannot read words baked into a picture.
Keywords: what to do with them
Some agency guides say to fill all 100 characters with keywords and drop the punctuation. Amazon's own example is a plain sentence with commas, and its guidelines say alt text that does not describe the image can be rejected. A good description already carries the words a shopper searches for: the product type, the material, the use. Put your main keywords in the title, bullets and the visible A+ text, and let the alt text describe the picture.
Where to add it
- In Seller Central, open the A+ Content Manager. It needs Brand Registry.
- In each module, every image has its own alt text field.
- Reusing an image from the Media Library? Amazon lets you keep the alt text it already has or change it for this module. Change it if the module uses the image for a different point.
- Preview the content, then submit. Amazon says approval can take up to seven business days.
Before you submit
- Read each alt text with your eyes closed: could you picture the image from it?
- Keep each one under 100 characters, and different from the others.
- Check that it only describes what is really in the picture, with no "best" or "#1".
- For images with text on them, make sure the alt text carries the main point of that text.
Related
The claims Amazon rejects are in our A+ Content rules guide, and how A+ looks on a phone is in A+ Content on mobile vs desktop.
The faster way
ReddStudio makes the A+ modules from your product photos, and each module has an Alt Text box capped at Amazon's 100 characters, so the text is ready when you build the page in Seller Central.
FAQ
How long can A+ alt text be?
100 characters. Amazon's A+ Content API sets the alt text of each image to between 1 and 100 characters.
Is alt text required for A+ Content?
Yes. Amazon's Create A+ content help page says you are required to submit alt-text, and the A+ Content API rejects an image without it.
Does A+ alt text help SEO?
Amazon says alt text "helps your products in search results". It does not say how much. Write it for a shopper using a screen reader first: a sentence that describes the image will use the words people search for anyway, such as the product type, material and use.
Can I stuff keywords into the alt text?
It's risky. Amazon's A+ guidelines say alt text that does not describe the image, and would not be useful to a customer using a screen reader, can result in content rejection.
Do my main listing images have alt text?
Not a field you can fill in. The alt text field is in the A+ Content Manager, which needs Brand Registry.
Can I use the same alt text on every image?
Each image shows something different, so each needs its own sentence. When you reuse an image from the Media Library, Amazon lets you keep its earlier alt text or change it for this module.
