Pinterest Alt Text: Making Your Pins Accessible and Discoverable

Alt text (alternative text) is an essential feature on Pinterest that helps make your content accessible to people with visual impairments while potentially improving your Pins' discoverability. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Pinterest alt text - from adding it to your Pins to maximizing its benefits for SEO.
What is Pinterest Alt Text?
Pinterest alt text is a descriptive text that you can add to your Pins to describe what appears in the image. This text is read aloud by screen readers, making your Pinterest content accessible to visually impaired users. Beyond accessibility, Pinterest's algorithm uses this text to better understand and categorize your content, potentially improving your Pins' visibility in search results.
Why Pinterest Alt Text Matters
Adding alt text to your Pinterest Pins offers several important benefits:
- Accessibility: Makes your content available to the 285+ million visually impaired people worldwide who use screen readers
- Improved Discoverability: Helps Pinterest's algorithm understand your content, potentially boosting your visibility in search results
- Better User Experience: Ensures all users can engage with your content regardless of ability
- SEO Advantages: May contribute to better search ranking both within Pinterest and on search engines
- Competitive Edge: Many Pinterest users don't utilize alt text, so implementing it can distinguish your content
How to Add Alt Text to New Pinterest Pins
Adding alt text when creating a new Pin is straightforward:
- Start creating a new Pin by clicking the "+" button and selecting "Create Pin"
- Upload your image
- Add your title and description
- Scroll down to find the "Alt text" field (It appears under the "Tell everyone what your Pin is about" section)
- Write a descriptive alt text that clearly explains what's in your image
- Complete the rest of your Pin details as normal
- Click "Publish" to share your Pin with alt text
This simple addition takes only moments but makes your content accessible to a wider audience.
Adding Alt Text to Existing Pinterest Pins
You can also add alt text to Pins you've already published:
- Go to your profile and find the Pin you want to modify
- Click on the Pin to open it
- Click the three dots (…) in the top-right corner
- Select "Edit Pin"
- Scroll down to the "Alt text" field
- Add your descriptive alt text
- Click "Done" to save your changes
This allows you to gradually improve the accessibility of your Pinterest profile by updating your most important existing content.
Pinterest Alt Text Best Practices
To create effective alt text for your Pinterest Pins:
- Be Specific: Clearly describe what appears in the image, including important visual elements
- Be Concise: Keep descriptions under 100 characters when possible
- Include Keywords: Naturally incorporate relevant keywords that reflect your Pin's content
- Avoid "Image of" Phrases: Screen readers already announce that an item is an image
- Consider Context: Explain why the image is relevant to the Pin's topic
- Describe Text in Images: If your Pin contains text overlay, include this text in your alt text
- Highlight Unique Features: Mention distinctive aspects that make your Pin special
How to Use Alt Text Generator for Pinterest Pins
Creating quality alt text for numerous Pins can be time-consuming. Our AI Alt Text Generator can help streamline this process for free:
- Upload your Pin image using the upload button on our homepage
- Select your preferred language and detail level
- Wait a few seconds while our AI analyzes the image
- Review the generated alt text
- Copy the text and paste it into Pinterest's alt text field
- Make any necessary adjustments to customize it for your Pin
Our tool provides an excellent starting point, especially when you're creating multiple Pins and need efficient, accurate alt text.
Pinterest Alt Text and SEO
Pinterest is both a social platform and a visual search engine. Adding proper alt text to your Pins can improve:
- Relevance Signals: Helps Pinterest understand what your Pin is about
- Search Ranking: May improve your position in Pinterest search results
- Cross-Platform Visibility: Pinterest content often appears in Google Image search results
- Topic Association: Helps Pinterest connect your content with relevant topics and trends
When crafting alt text, include your target keywords naturally where they accurately describe the image.
Pinterest Alt Text for Businesses and Creators
For businesses and content creators, Pinterest alt text provides strategic advantages:
- Product Visibility: Highlight key product features in your alt text
- Brand Consistency: Maintain your brand voice in all aspects of your content
- Expanded Audience: Make your products accessible to all potential customers
- Professional Impression: Demonstrates attention to detail and inclusivity
- Marketing Integration: Reinforces your marketing messages across all elements
Implementing alt text should be part of your comprehensive Pinterest marketing strategy.
Common Pinterest Alt Text Mistakes to Avoid
Watch out for these common mistakes when creating alt text for Pinterest:
- Keyword Stuffing: Overfilling your alt text with keywords makes it unnatural
- Using Hashtags: Save hashtags for your Pin description, not your alt text
- Neglecting Emotion: When relevant, describe the mood or feeling conveyed by your Pin
- Inconsistent Application: Add alt text to all your Pins, not just some
Conclusion
Pinterest alt text is a powerful feature that serves the dual purpose of making your content accessible while potentially improving its discoverability. Taking a few extra moments to add thoughtful, descriptive alt text to your Pins creates a more inclusive Pinterest experience while potentially boosting your content performance.
As digital accessibility becomes increasingly important, features like Pinterest alt text will become standard practice. By implementing good alt text habits now, you're not only doing the right thing for accessibility but also positioning your Pins for better engagement in Pinterest's competitive environment.
Start adding alt text to your Pinterest Pins today and see how this simple addition can make your content more accessible, discoverable, and effective.