Number of Images without ALT Text counts the recognized image elements on a page whose alt attribute is missing or empty after trimming. It flags images that may need accessibility review — but it cannot tell whether an empty alt is a genuine gap or the correct treatment for a decorative image, so the right target is rarely zero.
| Factor ID | RG-MED-006 |
|---|---|
| Family | Media & embeds |
| Measurement | Image-element count |
| Measured zone | Rendered page body |
What it measures
This factor counts recognized image elements whose alt attribute is absent or empty once surrounding spaces are removed. It surfaces the images on a page that may require accessibility review. It does not judge quality: the count alone cannot determine whether an empty alt attribute is an oversight or the correct treatment for a purely decorative image.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear parses image tags in the rendered, script-free page body. When an alt attribute is missing, RankGear treats its value as empty. It trims surrounding space characters from the alt value and counts every image whose remaining value is empty. Repeated image elements are counted separately, so the same graphic used ten times contributes ten to the count. CSS background images and media not represented by a recognized image tag are excluded.
What RankGear looks for
<img src="chart.png"> <!-- no alt attribute → counted -->
<img src="logo.png" alt=""> <!-- empty alt → counted -->
<img src="hero.png" alt=" "> <!-- whitespace-only → trims to empty → counted -->
<img src="team.png" alt="The founding team"> <!-- has text → not counted -->How to optimize it
Treat the count as an observation to investigate, not a number to drive to zero. Review each counted image by its purpose: add concise, contextual alternative text to informative images, and describe the function of controls and linked images. Preserve an intentionally empty alt attribute for purely decorative images so assistive technology can skip them — those correctly-empty images still contribute to this count. Do not add generic filenames, repeated boilerplate, or keyword-stuffed text merely to lower the number; the goal is correct accessibility behavior, not a value of 0.
| If the count is… | Do this |
|---|---|
| High or rising | Audit the listed images and add contextual alt text to the informative ones; confirm any empties are genuinely decorative. |
| Low but non-zero | Verify each remaining empty alt is intentional (decorative), not a missed informative image. |
| Zero | Don’t assume the page is done — a zero count says every image has some alt text, not that the text is accurate or useful. |
Important considerations
- Empty alt text can be the correct choice for decorative images — a non-zero count is not automatically a defect.
- Both a missing alt attribute and an intentionally empty one contribute to this factor; the count does not distinguish them.
- A low count does not guarantee that the existing alternative text is good or descriptive.
- Review the page manually or with accessibility testing tools to classify each image by purpose.
- Use the companion image and alt-text factors together for a fuller interpretation.
- This is a prioritization signal that relates to a page’s accessibility posture within a measured result set, not a cause of ranking; correlation is not causation.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.