What is Image Anchor Text?

Image anchor text is a type of link wherein the anchor is not text but an image. When clicked on, it will lead the user to another page.

Since there is no anchor text around the image, we rely on the alt attribute of the image tag to determine what it is linking to. The alt text is equivalent to the anchor text.

How Image Links Work

Normally, a text link will have some text that acts as its anchor. This anchor text tells users and search engines what the linked page is about.

However, in the case of image links, it is different because the link is attached to the image.

For instance, a banner or image on a page may be linked to another page on your site. When clicked, it leads users to another page. However, users are clicking on the image rather than on the text.

From a technical point of view, the image is placed inside a link tag in HTML.

So we have a link but no visible anchor text. Because of this, another signal is needed to describe what the link points to.

The Role of Alt Text as Anchor Text

The alt text is a part of HTML that is used to describe images on a page. It was originally created for users who cannot see images on a page.

When images are used as links, the alt text acts as the description for the anchor.

For example, if an image is used as a link to a webpage about running shoes and the alt text is “lightweight running shoes,” this phrase becomes the anchor description interpreted by search engines.

Although the user is clicking on the image, the alt text provides the textual description of the link.

How Image Anchors Are Displayed on Websites

Image anchor links can appear in many different areas of websites.

Examples include:

• E-commerce product images that link to product pages
• Image banners that link to articles
• Category images that link to sections of a website
• Logo images that link to the home page

For example, a banner image may promote an article and function as the clickable link leading to that article.

Because images are widely used in website design, image anchor links appear frequently across different types of pages.

How Search Engines Interpret Image Anchor Links

Search engines use several signals to interpret image links.

The alt attribute acts as the primary anchor description and helps search engines understand what the link represents.

Other signals may also provide context.

The surrounding text on the page may offer clues about the subject of the image. The file name of the image may also provide minor contextual hints.

When these signals align, search engines can interpret the image link similarly to how they interpret a text anchor.

The alt text remains the primary linguistic signal describing the page the link points to.

Why Alt Text for Image Links Is Important

Image links without alt text provide little information for search engines.

An image alone does not contain readable text that search engines can interpret. The alt text provides the descriptive signal.

Because of this, alt text helps search engines understand both the content of the image and the meaning of the link attached to it.

If an image is used as navigation or as a link to another page, the alt text becomes especially important.

It functions as the text signal that replaces the anchor text used in a regular text link.

Image Anchor Text and the Interpretation of the Link

Image anchor text represents an alternative way for links to exist on the web. Instead of connecting a link to a text phrase, the link is attached to an image.

When the alt text attribute is present, search engines can interpret the image link in a way similar to a text anchor.

The alt text becomes the signal describing the link and helps search engines understand the relationship between the page and the destination it points to.