Image ALT Attribute
-
Hi,
Got a message from the On-Page Optimizer to update the ALT Attribute in an image. Does that mean just rename the image and re-upload it on to the site?
Thanks!
-
Hi Heather,
Thanks for the reply. The site uses FCK Editor + Smarty + PHP. It's super easy to use when you are uploading content, but I think it might be very poorly set up for SEO.
On the FCK Editor there is a SOURCE button that shows the HTML. I'm not sure, but that MAY be the only place to put in the meta descriptions and ALT Attributes.
It's unfortunately very confusing!
-
Just to add to this:
Adding an ALT attribute (alternative text) to all of your images is a usability best practice and can also help with your SEO efforts.
Here's a (fairly old) video from Matt Cutts, head of Google's web spam team, that highlights the importance of not ignoring ALT attributes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NbuDpB_BTc
And here's an article from Rand Fishkin that briefly touches on the topic:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/perfecting-keyword-targeting-on-page-optimization
Specifically:
"Alt Attribute - Surprisingly, the alt attribute, long thought to carry little SEO weight, was shown to have quite a robust correlation with high rankings in our studies. Thus, we strongly advise the use of a graphic image/photo/illustration on important keyword-targeted pages with the term/phrase employed in the alt attribute of the _img _tag."
-
Could you tell us what CMS you're using and perhaps your site URL so we can take a look at the code.
The ALT attribute has to be added into the HTML and cannot to added to an image before upload, but there should be an option in your CMS to add this. If there isn't, you need a new CMS!
-
When you upload your image does the CMS not ask for a test description of the image? What CMS is it?
You can't do anything to the image files itself in order to do this. You could rename the image so that it has a meaningful filename which may help, but it still won't provide an ALT atribute.
-
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the detailed replies. On my CMS I can't really edit the image. Is it possible to edit the image before I upload it? That way the information I'm trying to include will be added.
Thanks!
-
The ALT attribute is part of the HTML code used to include the image on your page. It should look something like this:
The ALT attribute is displayed when the browser can't display your image (and used by screen readers).
The reason this is important for SEO is that it can help provide search engines with a clue as to what the image is about (and if you can use keywords that you're tying to get your page to rank for it should also help overall page relevancy). The text surrounding the image will also be used by search engines to provide more information for what the image is about.
Hope this helps.
-
Hi,
No it means that in your HTML-tag you should have an ALT attribute.
Like so:
-Rasmus
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
-
Is using a H1 tag in a logo image bad for SEO?
We have brand logos on certain pages that have H1 tags in them - the H1 text being the brand's name, as this is what we'd want the title of the page to be. The logos are at the top of the page instead of a written title. But is this the best option for SEO? Do search engines value H1 tags in images as highly as a standard H1 tag?Would it be better for SEO to add an alt tag to the logo and add a separate H1 tag on the page that's also the name of the brand?
On-Page Optimization | | DVLighting0 -
Alt tags advice
Hello, When describe an alt tag from what I understand you need to put your keyword when you can and not literally describe the image. For example let's say I have a picture with 2 cyclists on a road in the dolomites. I would tend to describe it saying " 2 cyclists riding in the dolomites" But for google it is better to describe it saying "Bike riding in Italy and through the dolomites" based on the fact that I am looking to rank on "italy bike tours" Isn't it ? Thank you,
On-Page Optimization | | seoanalytics0 -
How to deal with hundreds of externally-generated images with no alt text?
Hi all This is a good one. I work for a webdev company who has clients in the transport industry. Part of our work on their sites involves pulling in transport-related offers from a feed. This includes both text and images, which our site template turns into viewable pages. The problem is that Moz has flagged that these images don't come with alt text, and there are _hundreds and hundreds of them. _I can't add alt text to them all, there just isn't the time or resources. Besides, the list is updated frequently, and new images are pulled in. So... what do? Would it be prudent to noindex them all by default setting? I'm stuck! Many thanks,
On-Page Optimization | | tomcowles
Tom0 -
Is the HTML content inside an image slideshow of a website crawled by Google?
I am building a website for a client and i am in a dilemma whether to go for an image slideshow with HTML content on the slides or go for a static full size image on the homepage. My concern is that HTML content on the slideshow may not get crawled by Google and hence may not be SEO friendly.
On-Page Optimization | | aravinn0 -
On page/site - Images & bold text
As I understand it on a page where you are going for the keywords 'Metal gates', you have an image titled 'Metal gates' (Lets say MG for Metal gates to save on my typing!) with the alt tag being 'MG' Now as I also understand it, if an image is also used as a link the Alt tag is also the anchor text? So, I have a page on Metal gates using the above methods, from this page I have image links to a metal driveway gates page (as well as text links), would I be best using an image titled 'Metal driveway gates' with the alt text as ' Metal driveway gates' to link to my metal driveway gates page (if you follow me)? Also on the image question, what if you have say six images (that are all links) on the metal gates page, how would you title the images and alt tags? Variations on Metal gates? Or using the keyword on the page that the link points to? (I'm not looking to keyword stuff but want to get it right! ) Also is it important to have your on page keywords in bold still? i ask because I've bolded text on my pages but not the main keywords - I've bolded text that I want people to see, but do not want to take away any power from my keywords if you follow me?
On-Page Optimization | | Jon-C0 -
Image titles and alt tags for multiple images
I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me understand the best way to optimize my image titles and alt tags for a specific situation. I'm working on an interior design website and they have hundreds of pictures. each of their projects has about 10 pictures. Is it best for me to us the key phrase in each title and tag? or is that to repetitive? here is what I mean: A project called "urban interior design" all images are of urban interior design, just different angles and features, so my initial idea is to just have each image title like this: Title: "urban interior design dinning area" Alt: "urban interior design dinning area view" Title: "urban interior design living room" Alt:"urban interior design living room couch view" Is this the best way or will it actually hurt my ranking with too much exact keyword use? Thanks for your help!
On-Page Optimization | | TBSEO0 -
Alt Text On Buy Buttons
Hello, On a E-commerce site with multiple buy buttons on the page (11 by Default). Should I be blocking the alt. img on these? when I use the seomoz toolbar and view my page I see this Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • Buy Now • along with other alt imges on page, Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | TP_Marketing0 -
The SEO and CRO Value of an Image Next to Page Content
If given the choice to add an attractive stock photo to a conversion focused page, do the pros out number the cons in terms of SEO and CRO. Some pros are that you can include the keyword in the image filename and image alt tag. It can also increase user experience by making the page more attractive. Some cons might be that it increases page load time which can have a negative impact on SEO and user expereience. Also the visitor might get distracted away from the lead form button.
On-Page Optimization | | SparkplugDigital0