Image search can generate a ton of traffic. Not all that traffic is going to be worthwhile, but in many niches you can find ways of turning that into leads, subscribers or, if nothing else, a sweet link opportunity. However, to generate that traffic to your images, you need to understand alt text. The purpose of alt text is to provide an alternative description for an image, specifically so that a search bot can better understand what the image is and context behind it. Additionally, alt text is a user-experience booster, providing users that can't see, or choose not to view images within their browser, an idea of what should be in its place. Think of it from the standpoint of a visually impaired reader. Those with visual impairments use screen readers, which are unable to portray images, but will allow the user to read the title, alt text and captions - if they are provided. With image search providing additional means of funneling traffic to your site - all with minimal time commitment - it would be silly not to optimize your images. Below are some alt text best practices to start winning more traffic.