ContentFree

Media Accessibility

Checks alt text on images and captions on videos. Accessible media helps AI engines understand and reference your visual content.

Why It Matters for AI Visibility

AI engines cannot see images or watch videos. They depend entirely on alt text, captions, transcripts, and schema markup to understand media content. Without these signals, your images and videos are invisible to ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews -- they simply skip over them when building answers. Alt text transforms images into text-based information that AI can extract and cite. A product image with "Red Nike Air Max 90 running shoe, side view" gives AI engines a concrete data point. A missing alt attribute gives them nothing. When Perplexity pulls together a product comparison, it relies on these descriptions to understand what each image represents. Video content is an even bigger missed opportunity. A 10-minute tutorial contains thousands of words of potential citations that AI engines cannot access without captions or a transcript. Adding a text transcript below an embedded video turns that locked-away content into indexable, citable information that AI engines can reference directly in their responses.

How We Score It

The score combines four independent audits based on which media types exist on your page. Images are worth up to 4 points, with 95%+ alt text coverage needed for the maximum. Figure elements with captions contribute up to 2 points, requiring 80%+ of figures to have a figcaption. Video and audio tracks add up to 2 points based on whether your video elements include caption tracks. Media schema (VideoObject or AudioObject in JSON-LD) adds the final 2 points when video or audio is present. Decorative images -- spacers, icons, tracking pixels -- are automatically excluded from the audit so they do not penalize you unfairly. If your page has no media at all, you receive a neutral score of 5. The final score normalizes to a 0-10 scale based on which media types apply. A score of 7 or higher passes, 4-6 is partial, and 0-3 fails.
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How to Improve

  • 1

    Add descriptive alt text to every content image

    Write what the image actually shows, not "image1.jpg" or a filename. For product images, include the product name, color, and key visual details. For diagrams, describe the structure and relationships. Aim for 95%+ alt coverage across all non-decorative images to earn maximum image points.

  • 2

    Mark decorative images correctly

    For spacers, icons, and purely decorative elements, add `role="presentation"` or `aria-hidden="true"` so the analyzer excludes them from the audit. Alternatively, use `alt=""` (empty alt, not a missing alt attribute) for decorative images. This prevents decorative images from dragging down your coverage percentage.

  • 3

    Add figcaption to every figure element

    If you wrap images in `<figure>` tags, always include a `<figcaption>` with meaningful context. A caption like "CDN architecture showing edge servers across 5 continents" gives AI parsers rich contextual information that supplements the alt text.

  • 4

    Provide transcripts or captions for videos

    Add `<track>` elements to `<video>` tags for captions. For embedded YouTube or Vimeo videos, include a text transcript section below the embed. This makes your video content indexable by AI engines that would otherwise skip it entirely.

  • 5

    Add VideoObject schema for video content

    When your page includes videos (native or embedded), add VideoObject JSON-LD schema with name, description, uploadDate, and thumbnailUrl. This helps AI engines understand the video topic and context without needing to process the video itself.

Before & After

Before
<img src="dashboard.png">
<img src="chart.png" alt="">
After
<img src="dashboard.png" alt="Analytics dashboard showing monthly traffic trends with a 40% increase in March">
<img src="chart.png" alt="Bar chart comparing Q1 vs Q2 revenue growth across three product lines">
Before
<iframe src="https://youtube.com/embed/abc123"></iframe>
After
<iframe src="https://youtube.com/embed/abc123"></iframe>
<h3>Video Transcript</h3>
<p>In this tutorial, we walk through setting up a CI/CD pipeline...</p>
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "CI/CD Pipeline Setup Tutorial",
  "description": "Step-by-step guide to setting up continuous integration",
  "uploadDate": "2025-01-15",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://example.com/thumb.jpg"
}
</script>

Code Examples

Image with figure and caption

<figure>
  <img src="architecture.png" alt="Microservices architecture diagram showing API gateway, 3 services, and shared database">
  <figcaption>Figure 1: Typical microservices architecture with API gateway pattern</figcaption>
</figure>

Video with caption track

<video controls>
  <source src="tutorial.mp4" type="video/mp4">
  <track kind="captions" src="tutorial-captions.vtt" srclang="en" label="English">
</video>

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if my page has no images or videos?

The analyzer gives a neutral score of 5. You will not be penalized, but you also miss the opportunity to boost your score with well-described media. Consider adding diagrams, screenshots, or infographics to enrich your content and create additional citation points for AI engines.

Does the analyzer check the quality of alt text, or just its presence?

It checks presence only -- whether the alt attribute exists and contains text. Writing descriptive, meaningful alt text is your responsibility and directly affects how well AI engines understand your images. Generic alt text like "photo" technically passes but provides minimal value.

Do I need VideoObject schema if I use YouTube embeds?

Yes. YouTube's own schema only appears on youtube.com, not on your page. Adding VideoObject schema to your page tells AI engines about the video content in your specific context, which is essential for getting your page cited rather than the YouTube page.

Related Factors

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