How to Add Alt Text to Instagram Posts

Adding alt text to your Instagram posts is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to make your content more accessible and discoverable. It’s a small step that makes a huge difference. This guide will walk you through exactly how to add it to new and old posts, and share best practices for writing descriptions that actually help your account grow.

What is Alt Text, Really?

Alternative text (or alt text) is a written description of an image. Its primary job is to help people who are visually impaired understand your content. When someone uses a screen reader to browse Instagram, the device will read your alt text aloud, describing the photo or video for them. Think of it as painting a picture with words for someone who can't see the image visually.

But that’s not its only job. Alt text also provides valuable information to search engine crawlers - including Instagram’s own search algorithm. It gives them context about what your image contains, making it more likely to appear in relevant search results and on the Explore page.

Instagram does use object recognition technology to create automatic alt text if you don't provide any yourself. You may have heard a screen reader describe a photo as, "Image may contain: 1 person, smiling." While this is better than nothing, it’s generic and misses all the important context. Manually writing your own alt text allows you to be specific, on-brand, and strategic - which is always the better option.

Why Alt Text on Instagram Matters More Than You Think

Many brands and creators overlook alt text, treating it as an optional, technical task. But it’s an essential part of a modern social media strategy for several compelling reasons:

• It Makes Your Brand Inclusive and Accessible: The most significant reason to use alt text is for accessibility. Over 2 billion people worldwide live with some form of vision impairment. By providing written descriptions of your images, you’re not just following best practices - you’re intentionally welcoming a larger community to engage with your content. An inclusive brand is a stronger brand.
• It Boosts Your Instagram SEO and Discoverability: Instagram is no longer just a social feed, it’s a powerful search engine. Users are searching for keywords to find products, ideas, and inspiration. Detailed alt text helps Instagram’s algorithm understand what your post is about, which significantly increases the chances of it showing up when someone searches for terms related to your content. A well-described post about a "ceramic coffee mug" will rank higher than one without that context.
• It Can Improve Your Reach on the Explore Page: The Explore page is driven by an algorithm that tries to show users content related to their interests. By providing clear signals via alt text, you’re helping Instagram categorize your post and show it to people who are already engaging with similar topics, aesthetics, or products.
• It Acts as a Failsafe: Have you ever been on a website with a poor connection where images fail to load, and all you see is a broken image icon? Alt text can save the day. When an image doesn’t render properly, browsers will often display the alt text in its place, giving the user an idea of what they’re missing.

How to Add Alt Text to a New Instagram Post (Step-by-Step)

Adding alt text while creating a new post only takes a few extra seconds once you know where to look. Making it a part of your regular posting routine is a fantastic habit to build. Here’s how to do it:

1. Start creating your post as you normally would. Upload your photo or video, add any filters, and make your edits until you get to the final screen where you write your caption and tag people.
2. On this final screen, scroll all the way to the bottom. You should see a line of gray text that says “Advanced Settings.” Go ahead and tap that.
3. Inside "Advanced Settings," scroll down again until you see a section labeled “Accessibility.”
4. Tap on “Write Alt Text.” This will open a text box.
5. Now, simply type in your descriptive text for the image. We'll cover what to write in the next section. For carousels with multiple photos, you can scroll through and write a unique description for each one.
6. Once you’re finished, tap "Done" (or the checkmark icon in the top right). Tap the back arrow to return to your caption, then hit "Share" to post it. That’s it!

How to Add Alt Text to an Existing Instagram Post

Realized you forgot to add alt text to a post you already published? No problem. One of the best things about this feature is that you can go back and add it to any post on your grid at any time. It's a great task for a quiet afternoon - go back through your most popular posts and update them with keyword-rich alt text.

1. Navigate to the post on your profile that you want to update.
2. Tap the three dots (...) in the top-right corner of the post.
3. From the popup menu, select “Edit.”
4. You'll see a small button appear over your image, typically in the bottom-left, labeled “Edit Alt Text.” Tap on it.
5. A text box will pop up where you can write (or edit) your alt text.
6. Tap "Done" (or the checkmark) on the image, and then tap it again to save the edits to your overall post. Your post is now updated with the more accessible and SEO-friendly description.

Best Practices: How to Write Effective Alt Text

Knowing how to add alt text is the first step. Knowing what to write is what makes it powerful. Here are some simple guidelines to make your descriptions shine.

1. Describe, Don't Interpret

Your goal is to convey what's in the image objectively. Focus on the facts: the subject, the action, the setting. Instead of saying, "A beautiful landscape," describe what makes it beautiful: "Rocky mountains covered in green forests under a bright blue sky with a few wispy clouds."

2. Be Specific and Add Context

Details matter. Mention colors, shapes, textures, locations, and any other unique details that bring the image to life. If the context is important for understanding the post, include it.

• Vague: A dog on a beach.
• Specific: A golden retriever smiling with its tongue out as it runs along the shoreline of a sandy beach at sunset.

• Vague: A skincare product.
• Specific: Our Vitamin C Brightening Serum in its orange glass bottle, sitting on a white bathroom counter next to a lush green plant.

3. Weave in Keywords Naturally

Think about what someone would search for to find your post. If you're a baker sharing a cake photo, use terms like "homemade vanilla cake," "birthday celebration," or "buttercream frosting." The key is to do this naturally, as part of the description, rather than just stuffing a list of keywords.

• Okay: Woman at a laptop.
• Better (SEO-friendly): A female freelance graphic designer working on a new logo design on her laptop in a cozy home office.

4. Keep it Concise

While newer screen readers don’t have a hard character limit, best practice is to keep it to the point. A good rule of thumb is no more than about 125 characters, similar to a tweet. This is usually enough room to be descriptive without being overly verbose. Write a full sentence or two with proper punctuation to make it easy to understand.

5. Skip the Fluff Phrases

You can leave out phrases like "A photo of..." or "An image of...". Screen reading software already identifies the media as an image, so it’s unnecessary and makes the description clunky. Just jump straight into what you’re describing.

By putting a little thought into your descriptions, you can transform alt text from a simple accessibility tool into a major asset for your brand's growth and inclusivity on Instagram.

Final Thoughts

Adding descriptive alt text is a simple habit that carries a powerful punch. By taking an extra minute on each post, you make your Instagram content more welcoming for all audiences and more likely to be found in search. When you bake it into your content routine, you improve both the user experience and your discoverability at the same time.

Building good social media habits like writing thoughtful alt text is much easier when your workflow is simple and organized. At Postbase, we designed our platform to streamline the entire content creation process, from planning your posts on a beautiful visual calendar to scheduling them reliably across all your social channels. By giving you a single, modern tool that just works, we give you more mental space to focus on creating great, accessible content for your community.