Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • MozCon
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      Track AI Overviews in Keyword Research
      Moz Pro

      Track AI Overviews in Keyword Research

      Try it free!
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • MozCon

        Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Intermediate & Advanced SEO
    4. When using ALT tags - are spaces, hyphens or underscores preferred by Google when using multiple words?

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    When using ALT tags - are spaces, hyphens or underscores preferred by Google when using multiple words?

    Intermediate & Advanced SEO
    11
    14
    35270
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • BrooklynCruiser
      BrooklynCruiser last edited by

      when plugging ALT tags into images, does Google prefer spaces, hyphens, or underscores?  I know with filenames, hyphens or underscores are preferred and spaces are replaced with %20.

      Thoughts?

      Thanks!

      sierragarcia 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
      • sierragarcia
        sierragarcia @BrooklynCruiser last edited by

        When using ALT tags for images, it's generally best to use hyphens to separate multiple words in the text. Google and other search engines tend to interpret hyphens as word separators, which can help improve the accessibility and SEO of your web content. While underscores can also be used, hyphens are the more widely accepted and recommended practice. Spaces should be avoided, as they might not work as expected in all situations, as you mentioned, they can be replaced with "%20" in URLs. Using hyphens in ALT tags ensures better readability and consistency.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • educationedge012
          educationedge012 last edited by

          Google prefers hyphens (-) as word separators in ALT tags when using multiple words. Using hyphens helps improve the readability and search engine optimization of the ALT text for images. For example, if you have an image related to project management professionals, it's better to use "project-management-professionals" in the ALT tag rather than spaces or underscores. This practice helps search engines understand the content of the image more accurately. (PMP Exam Prep) (Project Management Professional)

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Moodesburn1991
            Moodesburn1991 last edited by

            When it comes to using multiple words in ALT tags, there isn't a strict preference by Google for specific characters like spaces, hyphens, or underscores. Google's algorithms are designed to understand various formats and interpret them accordingly. However, it is generally recommended to use hyphens or underscores to separate multiple words in ALT tags, as they can improve readability for both search engines and users. Using either hyphens or underscores creates distinct word boundaries and makes it easier for search engines like Google to recognize and index the content accurately. Ultimately, the most important aspect is to provide descriptive and relevant ALT text to enhance accessibility and user experience.

            i am also researching ai at the moment to help me with tech stuff reading this blog

            https://givevaluefirst.com/artificial-intelligence-for-dummies/

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Abbasdms
              Abbasdms last edited by

              Google prefers hyphens to spaces or underscores in alt tags when using multiple words. This is because hyphens are more descriptive and easier for screen readers to understand.

              For example, the alt text "black cat" is more descriptive and informative than "black_cat" or "black cat".

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • MOODYBUTTAR
                MOODYBUTTAR last edited by

                Google recommends using hyphens (-) to separate words in ALT tags when using multiple words. This helps improve the accessibility and SEO of your images by making them more readable and understandable for both search engines and users.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • gravymatt-se
                  gravymatt-se Subscriber @Alex-Harford last edited by

                  YES!!!!

                  Always use lowercase for filenames because if you use Upper and Lower (sometimes called camel case) for your internal and menu linking Google will crawl it and index the U&l. Then the fun begins when you have to match your sitemap to that!

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • rhutchings
                    rhutchings last edited by

                    1. File names- always use the hyphen.

                    2. Alt Text - use spaces and normal word structure.  Ryan is correct on the technical intent behind the alt tag, but it can also be a good SEO tool, and you should treat those as exact phrase keywords.  So nobody is searching for "city-bikes", they are searching for "city bikes".  The alt tag should be what the user will put into google.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 5
                    • Alex-Harford
                      Alex-Harford @BrooklynCruiser last edited by

                      Yes, use hyphens for filenames, and lower case.

                      gravymatt-se 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • BrooklynCruiser
                        BrooklynCruiser @BrooklynCruiser last edited by

                        Thanks Ryan- so as with filenames, is it advantageous to us:

                        City-Bikes

                        or

                        City Bikes

                        with filenames, I am told preference is for city-bikes.jpg rather than "city bikes.jpg"

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • RyanKent
                          RyanKent @BrooklynCruiser last edited by

                          Ryan, it depends on your site design but you are correct.

                          Link Titles will appear when you hover your mouse over the link.

                          Alt tags are designed to display a text description for those who cannot see the image, such as visually impaired readers or crawlers. You can simply type as you would normally with spaces.

                          Alt tags do have a SEO significance, as do the image's file name. Both can be used to associate keywords or phrases with your web page, as well as the image search vertical.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • James77
                            James77 @BrooklynCruiser last edited by

                            It will probably show the link title if the image is wrapped in a link tag and you have no alt tag. Alt tags do have SEO significance - and they do show when you hover on an image. Use normal text

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • BrooklynCruiser
                              BrooklynCruiser @James77 last edited by

                              I am confused - I thought what you see when you hover is the Link Title - at least that's how my site has been functioning.

                              Does alt tag on images not have any SEO significance?

                              James77 RyanKent BrooklynCruiser Alex-Harford 4 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • James77
                                James77 last edited by

                                The Alt tag is primarily there for usaility - ie when you hover the user can see the alt information. Therefore write how you would write normal text

                                BrooklynCruiser 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote -1
                                • 1 / 1
                                • First post
                                  Last post

                                Got a burning SEO question?

                                Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                                Start my free trial


                                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.

                                • See all categories

                                Related Questions

                                • RosemaryB

                                  Is possible to submit a XML sitemap to Google without using Google Search Console?

                                  We have a client that will not grant us access to their Google Search Console (don't ask us why). Is there anyway possible to submit a XML sitemap to Google without using GSC? Thanks

                                  Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | RosemaryB
                                  0
                                • SolveWebMedia

                                  My site shows 503 error to Google bot, but can see the site fine. Not indexing in Google. Help

                                  Hi, This site is not indexed on Google at all. http://www.thethreehorseshoespub.co.uk Looking into it, it seems to be giving a 503 error to the google bot. I can see the site I have checked source code Checked robots Did have a sitemap param. but removed it for testing GWMT is showing 'unreachable' if I submit a site map or fetch Any ideas on how to remove this error? Many thanks in advance

                                  Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | SolveWebMedia
                                  0
                                • PeteC12

                                  H2 Tags- Can you have more than 1 H2 tag

                                  Hi All, Screaming frog has identified that we have a few H2 tags on our pages , although we only have 1 H1 tag. We have numerous H3,H4's etc. I am wondering, is it good SEO to have only 1 H2 tag like with H1 tag or can you have more ? thanks Peter

                                  Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | PeteC12
                                  0
                                • edward-may

                                  Ranking on google but not Bing?

                                  Any reason why I could be ranking for Google but not Bing?  

                                  Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | edward-may
                                  0
                                • fablau

                                  Number of images on Google?

                                  Hello here, In the past I was able to find out pretty easily how many images from my website are indexed by Google and inside the Google image search index. But as today looks like Google is not giving you any numbers, it just lists the indexed images. I use the advanced image search, by defining my domain name for the "site or domain" field: http://www.google.com/advanced_image_search and then Google returns all the images coming from my website. Is there any way to know the actual number of images indexed? Any ideas are very welcome! Thank you in advance.

                                  Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | fablau
                                  1
                                • SEOSponge

                                  Multiple Authors Google + Authorship

                                  Hello, I took a look through past questions but can't seem to find a definitive answer on setting up Google + Authorship credit (for multiple authors) using a Wordpress blog. Has anyone had experience setting this up? Or could you recommend solid reading/research? I took a look at a couple of Wordpress plug in's but just found them very confusing (so did our IT contact who will ultimately be setting up code for this.) Any direction or advice is appreciated.

                                  Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | SEOSponge
                                  0
                                • Omnipress

                                  Do I need to use canonicals if I will be using 301's?

                                  I just took a job about three months and one of the first things I wanted to do was restructure the site. The current structure is solution based but I am moving it toward a product focus. The problem I'm having is the CMS I'm using isn't the greatest (and yes I've brought this up to my CMS provider). It creates multiple URL's for the same page. For example, these two urls are the same page: (note: these aren't the actual urls, I just made them up for demonstration purposes) http://www.website.com/home/meet-us/team-leaders/boss-man/
                                  http://www.website.com/home/meet-us/team-leaders/boss-man/bossman.cmsx (I know this is terrible, and once our contract is up we'll be looking at a different provider) So clearly I need to set up canonical tags for the last two pages that look like this: http://www.omnipress.com/boss-man" /> With the new site restructure, do I need to put a canonical tag on the second page to tell the search engine that it's the same as the first, since I'll be changing the category it's in? For Example: http://www.website.com/home/meet-us/team-leaders/boss-man/ will become http://www.website.com/home/MEET-OUR-TEAM/team-leaders/boss-man My overall question is, do I need to spend the time to run through our entire site and do canonical tags AND 301 redirects to the new page, or can I just simply redirect both of them to the new page? I hope this makes sense. Your help is greatly appreciated!!

                                  Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Omnipress
                                  0
                                • Sayers

                                  How do you implement dynamic SEO-friendly URLs using Ajax without using hashbangs?

                                  We're building a new website platform and are using Ajax as the method for allowing users to select from filters. We want to dynamically insert elements into the URL as the filters are selected so that search engines will index multiple combinations of filters. We're struggling to see how this is possible using symfony framework. We've used www.gizmodo.com as an example of how to achieve SEO and user-friendly URLs but this is only an example of achieving this for static content. We would prefer to go down a route that didn't involve hashbangs if possible. Does anyone have any experience using hashbangs and how it affected their site? Any advice on the above would be gratefully received.

                                  Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Sayers
                                  1

                                Get started with Moz Pro!

                                Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                                Start my free trial
                                Products
                                • Moz Pro
                                • Moz Local
                                • Moz API
                                • Moz Data
                                • STAT
                                • Product Updates
                                Moz Solutions
                                • SMB Solutions
                                • Agency Solutions
                                • Enterprise Solutions
                                • Digital Marketers
                                Free SEO Tools
                                • Domain Authority Checker
                                • Link Explorer
                                • Keyword Explorer
                                • Competitive Research
                                • Brand Authority Checker
                                • Local Citation Checker
                                • MozBar Extension
                                • MozCast
                                Resources
                                • Blog
                                • SEO Learning Center
                                • Help Hub
                                • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                                • How-to Guides
                                • Moz Academy
                                • API Docs
                                About Moz
                                • About
                                • Team
                                • Careers
                                • Contact
                                Why Moz
                                • Case Studies
                                • Testimonials
                                Get Involved
                                • Become an Affiliate
                                • MozCon
                                • Webinars
                                • Practical Marketer Series
                                • MozPod
                                Connect with us

                                Contact the Help team

                                Join our newsletter
                                Moz logo
                                © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                                • Accessibility
                                • Terms of Use
                                • Privacy

                                Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.