How to fix seo product image alt filename on Squarespace

Steps for Squarespace

1. Open a product page in the Squarespace Pages panel.
2. Click on the product image block to select it, then click the pencil (Edit) icon.
3. In the image editor, click 'Design' and then find the 'Alt text' field (labeled 'Alt Text' or 'Filename / Alt Text' depending on your version).
4. Enter your descriptive alt text and click 'Apply'.
5. For Squarespace Commerce products: go to Commerce → Inventory → open a product → click the product image → look for the alt text/caption field in the image editor that appears.
6. Note: Squarespace 7.1 surfaces alt text in the image block settings; if you cannot find the field, switch to the 'Design' tab inside the image editor.

<img src="red-merino-wool-hoodie.jpg" alt="Red merino wool zip-up hoodie, front view">

What is seo product image alt filename?

Every image on a webpage has an "alt" attribute — a short text description that lives in the HTML code. When a product image is uploaded without a custom alt text, most platforms automatically fill it in with the image's filename (e.g., `IMG_4821.jpg` or `product-blue-v2_FINAL.png`). This filename tells search engines and visually-impaired shoppers absolutely nothing useful about what's actually in the photo. Descriptive alt text, by contrast, reads like a caption: "Blue cotton crew-neck sweater, front view."

Google explicitly uses alt text to understand and rank images in Google Images search, which drives meaningful, purchase-ready traffic to product pages. Filename-based alt text wastes this ranking signal entirely — a competitor with a well-written alt text will outrank you for visual searches on the same product. Beyond SEO, alt text is a legal accessibility requirement in many jurisdictions (ADA, EN 301 549, WCAG 2.1): missing or meaningless alt text can expose your store to accessibility complaints and lawsuits. Fixing it is one of the highest-ROI, lowest-effort on-page SEO tasks available to a store owner.

See the complete Seo product image alt filename guide for every platform and the full background.