What should I put in the image ALT and title text for blogger?
-
Hello, I wanted to know what should I put in the image ALT and title text for blogger.
I've read so many damn articles about ALT text and Title text for blogger; nothing explained what I put in it though. What am I supposed to put in it that will help me with my on page optimization? (Stuff like do I use spaces or dashes, do I put my keyword in there, how many characters should I not exceed, do I put one word or two words?)
If I have a picture of a backpack, what should the alt text be?
What if I have 10 different pictures of backpacks on 1 page?
How about if I had a backpack next to a tv in an image?
A specific answer or a detailed one is nice!
-
Please help me on this:
If on one post I use 'napsack' and 'backpack'
And on another post I use 'napsack' and 'backpack' again, is that Keyword Stuffing? I can't really think of synonyms of the keyword I'm using because 'it is what it is'
-
Nope, just use spaces between words like natural language text.
It gets indexed just like the regular text on the page, unlike file names and URLs which do need the dashes.
-
Okay thank you for the reply.
So lets just say this - The ALT text is somewhat like a meta description except it'll only be a few words long?
So take this : My keyword is 'backpacks' and I have 20 images of backpacks (All different styles but 2 colors) on the page. I try to describe each one to how it serves for the post?
Examples:
"Backpacks are used to carry items".
(Backpack image) - This is the image not title
ALT Text = Black Backpack
"Let me show you how to zip up a backpack"
(Backpack image with arrows of how to zip a backpack) - This is the image not title
ALT Text = How to zip a backpack
"This is what happens when you spill something in a backpack"
(Image of a backpack that is wet) - This is the image not title
ALT Text = Wet Backpack
Also, just like the uploading, do I use dashes for ALT text/Title?
-
Hi - i don't use blogger, but generally my policy for image alt text is to make the alt text relevant to the article that I'm embedding the image into. For instance, if I wrote an article about backpacks to consider buying for a trek to the Himalayas, I would probably mention the brand name of the backpack, and that it was for a Himalayas trek.
I don't recall seeing any kind of rule about how long to make the alt text, but based on my usage, my alt texts tend to be between 2 words to a sentence.
Another thing to consider about is that, you're trying to describe why you're using a certain image on the blog you've just posted. So in that regard, you could use the same exact image on different posts on your site, but use completely different alt text. Maybe the first post was about a trek to the Himalayas, while the second post was about how to choose a rugged backpack. In each case, you might want to draw out different characteristics of the backpack, and thus write a different alt text to match the page.
-
Sorry, missed your question about having 10 backpack images on one page...
In that case, you'll want alt text that describes each in a way that clearly differentiates it from the others on the page. You can also use the opportunity to work in some synonyms and closely related terms to help introduce some variety to your keyword use. (Too much use of the same keyword even in alt text is still seen by SEs as keyword stuffing.)
So...
Lightweight blue backpack ideal for traveling.
Expedition pack for mountain climbing.
Knapsack for women hikers.
Comfortable computer daypack for students.
etc....Make sense?
P.
-
The primary purpose of alt text (alternative text) is for usability. It is designed to provide an alternative description of the photo for users who either can't or choose not to view images - blind users using screen readers for example.
If you do it right, you'll also get a little SEO benefit as well. Like all good SEO - do what is best for your reader and you'll get rewarded by the search engines as well.
Specifically, alt text should be a natural language description of the photo. Keep it to one sentence long, and my preference is to keep it under 10 words - usually 5 or 6. Since the photo should be relevant to the page, describing it will naturally include the page's keywords. If possible, try to get the keywords towards the beginning of the description, but don't make it unnatural in order to do this, as the benefit just isn't that great.
DO NOT artificially stuff unrelated keywords into the photo's description. That'll defeat the whole purpose, and the search engines will recognize it and ignore it.
Title text is a little different - it's designed to be the text that shows up in the tooltip as you hover over an image. The reason it gets confusing is good old Microsoft. In IE, if an image has alt text but no title text, the hover text will show the alt text. In other browsers, if there's no title text, there will be no hover text.
So best practice is to include both alt and title. NOTE! Title text is pretty well considered NOT to contribute to SEO. It can be used to describe the photo (you can just duplicate the alt text) but more importantly it can be used to create a call to action or instructions that will show when the photo is hovered over.
So... using your example of the backpack photo:
alt text: Lightweight blue backpack perfect for traveling.
title text: Click for more lightweight backpack ideas for travelersOr for the second example...
alt text: Miniature TV fits in a backpack
title text: See more miniature backpacking TVsThere's no reason not to mention the second item in the photo, assuming it's related to the content of the page.
Don't use generic file names for your images! Before you upload them, give them a sensible file name that includes their keyword. So instead of uploading _DSC459083748.jpg, rename the file to lightweight-blue-backpack.jpg. Sensible means a couple of words long max, and separate words with a dash - not spaces or underscores. (This goes for any file you upload to the web.) Again, search engines assume the file name likely relates to the file contents, so that's another slight ranking signal.
To get the greatest benefit out of your posted images, it's also a good idea to include a caption for the photo that includes a slightly more thorough description of the photo as well. This can be in actual caption code, or just text entered right under or beside the image. Search engines assume text close to the image is about the image (since they can't understand the content of the image on their own).
There's a whole separate area of SEO dedicated to getting images to rank specifically in photo searches, but the above will serve you well to optimize them to help your page rank for your chosen keywords.
Paul
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Generating Dynamic Meta Titles for SEO - Advice?
Hi, I'm working with a new client that works with a lot of suppliers and they want to have their titles built in a specific way. If I generate a template (so to speak) will generating dynamic meta titles have a negative effect on their SEO and is this even possible? If so, what would be the best way to handle this? There is approximately 100 suppliers. Any feedback/advice is appreciated!
On-Page Optimization | | daniel-brooks0 -
Classified ads site and thin content + titles
Hello, i have two questions. Issue 1 is that we are a classified ads site. I started thinking, analyzing why im not ranking even tho i have a lot more content than others and my backlink profile is also better. Googling the advertisements i see that 95% of it is duplicate content. People usually who advertise, add the same add to 10 maybe 30 sites. For google this is duplicate content. Any ideas what to do? I can manually edit ads, to write a bit of unique content, but that is not a long term startegy. Question 2: My titles are all the same - Unique Name - Keyword im trying to rank for. There is around 1000 of such pages. Should i mix the titles up or it is still better to have 1 keyword which will help me to rank?
On-Page Optimization | | advertisingcloud0 -
Google Indexing Wrong Title
Hey guys ! I have a wordpress website and also yoast seo plugin . I've set up a meta title which is : TV Online | Assistir Filmes| Notícias | Futebol |GogsTV . (I checked on some free tools to see , and they also show up this) but .... google is showing this : GogsTV: TV Online | Assistir Filmes| Notícias | Futebol . Seems they are trying to show my brand name first instead of my main keyword . I'm not sure why it doesnt indexes as i want ... Does anybody know how can i fix this . Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | tiagosimk0 -
IMG ALT tags - should they be the same or the product title?
I have about 300 products. Should I make all my IMG ALT tags with my keywords, such as sea glass jewelry, sea glass necklace, sea glass bracelets? Or, should I make them what their title is, some of which do not pertain to the keyword, such as By the Sea. Some of my products do have keywords in them, but not all. I am hesitant on changing all the titles, as almost all URLs are indexed.
On-Page Optimization | | tiffany11030 -
Title Tag duplication.
Hi Guys/Gals, We do a lot of work in a very competitive space (personal injury) and are having an internal debate on the best way to implement title tags for new sites. We understand that keywords, title tags, etc., don't possess the power they once did, but we have yet to see conclusive proof of this in our space. The vast majority of competitors still rank very well for keyword focused content, title tags, etc., while having average link profiles and little content. We write a lot of content for our clients and want to know if someone can offer their opinion on the question that follows this example: "Top 5 Injuries Caused by T-Bone Collisions | Indiana Accident Lawyer" Would it seem repetitive or manipulative to construct title tags as shown, always placing "Indiana Accident Attorney" or "Indianapolis Accident Lawyer," or similar of at the end of each title tag? Thanks, gang!
On-Page Optimization | | Wayne760 -
Catergory keyword word in every post title
Will i get slapped by Google if i use the following post titles in my wordpress blog Category keyword : name of post
On-Page Optimization | | umkhy0 -
Home page mostly graphic image
I have a new customer that is redesigning her website. The graphic designer has designed a lovely homepage that is mostly an image with some navigation and footer area for text information. My concern is that there isn't any real call to action or anything on the homepage design other than an interesting and fun graphic. It seems like years ago this was a common practice and then later it was looked down on as not good for the user experience or SEO. What is the latest thinking on this type of design? Should the homepage (www.mysite.com) be allowed to be mostly images? Or should we focus on the optimizing the internal pages and let the homepage be more creative?
On-Page Optimization | | ChristiMc0 -
Title tag for category page
I’d love some clarification on what would be the best title tag for a shopping category page. The category page is “prams” , the brand is Baby Huddle and the top keywords in order of importance are pushchairs, strollers and buggies. Here are the options I suggest: Buy Prams | Pushchairs, Strollers, Buggies | Baby Huddle Buy the best prams, pushchairs, strollers and buggies on Baby Huddle Buy prams with free delivery and great prices on Baby Huddle
On-Page Optimization | | walidalsaqqaf0