ALT attribute – Used to specify the alternate text that is displayed inside the image placeholder while the page is loading. ALT text plays a role in optimizing a website for SEO, ADA compliance and overall web accessibility.

With the ALT attribute

You can tell if an ALT attribute is added to an image by hovering over the image and looking for the little box that shows up.  THAT is what Google and other search engines can read.

HI! I AM AN ALT TEXT ATTRIBUTE

Without the ALT attribute