When using ALT tags - are spaces, hyphens or underscores preferred by Google when using multiple words?
-
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!
-
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.
-
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)
-
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/
-
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".
-
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.
-
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. 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.
-
Yes, use hyphens for filenames, and lower case.
-
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"
-
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.
-
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
-
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?
-
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
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
-
If I use content from DomainA on DomainB, but spread it - how do I implement the canoncial tag?
Hey community, I have a question regarding canonical tags.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | ElliPirelli
I used the content of one of my domains (nameA.com/ContentA) and copied it to another domain, but on several pages: nameB.com/ContentA1
nameB.com/ContentA2
nameB.com/ContentA3
and so on). So I divided the content from domainA to several pages of domainB. The reason is, that my client wants to build a new business on domainB and wants to use the exact same content from domainA, because he can't afford another copywriter at the moment (and he doesn't want to rewrite it himself). Problem: DomainA is ranking for this content and he wants to keep the rankings, until domainB ranks similar (for the same keywords, of course). So my question is: Can I put a canonical tag on domainA?
My thoughts are: Not a single page of domainB is 100% duplicate content, as it's always only partialy the same. Can I just choose one of those pages from domainB to put as link-goal for the canonical tag? Or do I need to create a "view-all" page on domainB, with all the content put together, so it's 100% duplicate to domainA, and then put a canonical tag to domainA and link to this "view-all" page? If I do so, do I need to also put canonicals on every single page from domainB, to link to this "view-all" page?
IMPORTANT: Would the other pages of domainB then be ranked/listed in the SERRPs, or only the "view-all" site? I would really appreciate your help, as I have been seaching for answers to this specific problem since more than a week... Thank you! Best regards0 -
Use of "/" and using fractions in titles
We are a company that sells pipe and fittings. An example of a part that someone will search for is : 3/4" PVC Socket I am not sure how best to represent the fraction in the title of the page that has such a product. I am concerned that if I use the forward slash it will be misinterpreted by search engines (although it will be interpreted properly by users). A lot of folk search for the product by the fraction size and so it would be good to be able to represent it in the title, but I don't want to get "punished" by confusing search engines. I could replace the forward slash with a hyphen or pipe symbol, but then may look a bit weird to our users... Any recommendations? Bob
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | BobBawden11 -
Google has penalized me for a keyword,and removed from google some one know for how long time is the penalty
i have by some links from fiverr i was ranking 9 for this keyword with 1200 of searches after fiverr it has disappeared from google more then 10 days i guess this is a penalty someone know how long a penalty like this is how many days to months ? i don't get any messages in webmaster tools this is the gig https://www.fiverr.com/carissa30/do-20-unique-domains-high-tf-and-cf-flow-backlinks-high-da?source=Order+page+gig+link&funnel=a7b5fa4f-8c0a-4c3e-98a3-74112b658c7f
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | alexmuller870 -
Blog tags are creating excessive duplicate content...should we use rel canonicals or 301 redirects?
We are having an issue with our cilent's blog creating excessive duplicate content via blog tags. The duplicate webpages from tags offer absolutely no value (we can't even see the tag). Should we just 301 redirect the tagged page or use a rel canonical?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | VanguardCommunications0 -
Should i use Categories or Tags ?
Hi 🙂 My blog is http://www.dota2club.com/ and i am not sure should i use Categories as tags or normally tags like most ? And how much are important tags generally ? Right now you can see that i am using Categories as tags , is this ok ? Thank you !!!!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | wolfinjo1 -
How are pages ranked when using Google's "site:" operator?
Hi, If you perform a Google search like site:seomoz.org, how are the pages displayed sorted/ranked? Thanks!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | anthematic0 -
Geo-tagging using cookie - Is it Good or Bad for Rankings
We have a fairly large site which does a cookie-based 302 redirect to the the specific city page if someone types in the Home page URL. Though if the cookie is not available (first time user) it goes to the Homepage and asks user to select the city as our services are city specific. Everything is working fine with this setup. Though our tech team now wants to display the contents of city page on homepage URL itself if the cookie is available without 302 redirecting to new URL. Though no-cookie available scenario remains unchanged. Technically, I think this change should work fine without any ranking issues as still the first time users see the actual homepage as does Googlebot. Please confirm possible issues in rankings with this change from your experiences as based upon city present in the cookie homepage will display different content.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Webmaster_SEO0 -
Title tag showing in Google that we are not setting
Hello, We've noticed that when we do a specific search (print screen attached), that the business name and/or a completely different title is getting indexed into the search engine that we are not setting. Below is an example from the source code of how we're setting the title, this matches the 2nd listing circled in the attached image. The indexed title tag reflects "Animal Business Card Holders - Kyle Design" Any ideas or feedback on how this is happening? <title>Animal Business Card Cases in Pet, Insect and Wildlife Designstitle> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <meta name="description" content="Eye-catching business card holder cases personalized with custom animal designs for humane professionals and pet owners. Custom select a sleek metal finish, bold aluminum or iridescent accent color, size and unique design for the ultimate self-expressing animal gift!" /> <meta name="keywords" content="business card holder unique personalized custom holders silver gold wood metal cards cases sleek aluminum engraved contemporary case animal animals design designs black color accents iridescent pet insect wildlife cat dog dragonfly butterfly lions sea turtles sea otters elephants animal lover animal activist zoologist veterinarian breeder animal whisperer thin deep large credit Asian size engraving personalize gift gifts special monogram customized corporate logo name professional title meaningful sentiment" /> <meta name="copyright" content="Copyright Kyle Design" /> <meta name="author" content="Kyle Design" />
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | marketing_zoovy.com
<meta name="generator" content="xyz Commerce System http://www.domain.com/" />
<link rel="canonical" href="xyz link"
<script type="text/javaScript"> Thanks,
Jamie0