Bilingual eCommerce: The (Hidden) Importance of Alt Text

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September 18, 2023

Earlier this decade, the Pew Research Center released data showing Hispanics at almost 20% of the U.S. population—a number that may have already been surpassed.¹ As consumers with access to the same online shopping platforms as everyone else, their eCommerce buying power should not be ignored.

But brands should also be aware of the extent to which U.S. Hispanics speak both English and the dominant language of their ancestral lands—usually Spanish. The same Pew data found that 72% of U.S. Hispanics ages 5 and older speak English proficiently, but also, a similar number—70%–speak Spanish at home.² The obvious conclusion that is many people in this demographic group are employing some mix of the two languages in their everyday lives.

Previously, we’ve looked at why it’s a good idea for brands to harness the value of hidden keywords—also known as backend keywords—to include some strategically selected Spanish word choices that do not otherwise appear on the product page. Now let’s turn our attention to a similar facet of online life.

Making alt text work for your brand

Alt text is the invisible text behind an image, generally input by the person in charge of a page. Its primary purpose is twofold. First, it provides a description of the image to visually impaired users, generally with the help of a screen reader that recites the text out loud. Second, it feeds into SEO ranking, potentially boosting the overall visibility of the page.

Keep in mind that alt text is subject to character limits. To use the example of the world’s leading eCommerce platform, Amazon imposes a maximum of 100 characters of alt text for A+ images. Taking full advantage of this limited unseen real estate is one of the bedrock principles of a winning alt text strategy.

Other things to keep in mind: There is no need for punctuation or correct grammar, repetition of words should be avoided, and some words may be restricted by the platform. The best alt text strikes a balance between the descriptive and SEO functions—that is, making the contents of an image truly clear while also making sure to include some words or terms for which people are actually searching. (The latter can be revealed through a tool like Jungle Scout.)

Can you see why alt text is the perfect venue for a bilingual approach? Imagine a visually impaired Amazon shopper of Mexican origin who is more comfortable speaking Spanish, but whose English is solid and steadily improving. The screen reader presents her with a description of the A+ images succinctly but accurately describing what she would be seeing under perfect conditions. The words might break down to 75% English, 25% Spanish.

The best alt text strikes a balance between the descriptive and SEO functions—that is, making the contents of an image truly clear while also making sure to include some words or terms for which people are actually searching.

This hypothetical shopper not only comes away with an understanding of the brand and product; she also experiences the comfort of having her impressions confirmed in a somewhat more comfortable language. But the brand benefits, too, because if the English and Spanish words are both informed by solid SEO research, the page will rank higher for all potential customers (whether they need the alt text or not, and no matter which languages they speak).

Keep in mind, too, that the applicable languages need not be limited to English and Spanish. While this will be the most common language combination from a U.S. standpoint, the world is always getting flatter, and the true language of eCommerce success knows no geographical boundaries.

Sources

Cary Funk and Mark Hugo Lopez, A brief statistical portrait of U.S. Hispanics, Pew Research Center (June 14, 2022). https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/06/14/a-brief-statistical-portrait-of-u-s-hispanics/
Funk and Lopez.

Contributors

SAm Paciello

Sr. Art Director

ERIC MILLER

Copywriter

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POST TAGS: bilingual, Lanuages, multilingual, spanish

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