SEO improvement on images

This reply is an appeal for this feature, but its purpose is to make it easier to make content accessible for those who have low vision, no vision, or who have insufficient resources to load images. Building an inclusive culture by using accessibility aids such as “Alt text” enables more internal and external users to contribute. Let’s make it easier to build inclusive cultures by not requiring authors to edit code to make content accessible.

Backing up a bit from the original request, when we insert an image, Insided inserts an HTML img tag into the HTML. Its purpose is to identify the location of the image file from which to load the image onto the page, and to specify metadata about the image. The metadata includes the default "Alt Text" attribute, inserted by default as alt="". To see it in edit mode, select the Source tool (< >) and search for it if the content contains an image. To see it on any webpage, right-select the image and select Inspect.

The alt attribute has three functions:

1. Signal when an image is decorative.
   A decorative image is one that adds no substance to the content. If someone else were to read the content to you, you wouldn’t miss anything important by not seeing the image. The default  alt="" attribute contains no characters between the quotes, meaning the image is decorative. Instead of announcing “Image” to indicate an image is present, screen readers bypass the image when the quotes are empty, presumably because the image is content-free. Thus, by default, every image you insert into content is marked as decorative unless you insert its purpose into the quotes.
2. Describe an image for those who cannot see it.
   If you insert the specific purpose of the image between the quotes, users who use a screen reader to search, navigate, and benefit from content will hear “Image,” a pause, and the text between the quotes. For other users, the browser displays the alt text in place of the image if it failed to load.
3. Provide search engines with information about the image to improve search results.
   Given that the purpose of the alt text is to provide essential information about an image’s purpose for those who cannot see it, the SEO function is only a beneficial byproduct. Imagine what a user with low vision or no vision would think about your content upon hearing alt text that had the sole purpose of improving SEO.  

Why not just use a caption instead of alt text? The two features are similar, but the purpose of the caption is to provide information about the image for those who can see it, whereas alt text explains the role of the image within the content for those who cannot.