Why isn't search engine reading my alt text in SEO?

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

Search engines are not reading the site’s image alt text on a Shopify store. The poster asks how to implement alt text similar to a referenced site and how to change hardcoded alt text via JSON.

  • A responder requests the store and specific page URLs to inspect where alt text is missing.
  • Another recommends ensuring alt attributes are included in server‑rendered HTML (not injected via JavaScript), since crawlers may not index JS-added attributes. They also advise confirming images are accessible and not blocked by robots.txt.
  • An app is suggested (SEOPro) to automate and bulk-optimize alt text; developer affiliation is disclosed.

Key terms:

  • Alt text: alternative text describing images for SEO and accessibility.
  • robots.txt: a site file that controls which resources search engines can crawl.

Status: No resolution yet. Next steps depend on sharing the store URL and verifying HTML rendering and crawl access. The question about editing alt text via JSON/hardcoded templates remains unanswered.

Summarized with AI on January 1. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hello,

Members of the Shopify community,

Regarding my website’s SEO, I need your assistance urgently. The search engines do not appear to be able to read the alt text I have added to my images despite my best efforts. My website has been thoroughly reviewed and necessary adjustments have been made, but the issue persists. Please advise me on how to implement alt text similar to that used on other successful websites, such as the testspeed linked here. If so, how can I modify my alt text using JSON if it’s hardcoded? Any advice or suggestions you can provide would be invaluable. Thank you for taking the time to help me with this problem.

2

Hi @villerpeter6 Without Shopify store URL I can’t help you. please share store URL, page URL where images can’t showing ALT text so I can help you.

1 Like
3

Hi @villerpeter6 ,

It sounds like you’re encountering issues with search engines not reading the alt text for your images. This might be due to how and when the alt text is being added or updated on your site. Ensure your alt text is directly included in the HTML and not added through JavaScript, as search engines might not index it correctly. Additionally, verify that your images are accessible and not blocked by robots.txt.

SEOPro can assist by automating the process of adding relevant and keyword-rich alt text to your images, helping to improve your SEO. The app also provides tools for bulk optimization of alt texts, making it easier to manage large inventories.

Full disclosure: We are the developer of this app.