How do I best SEO optimize a landing page that is mostly graphics?

[KimCalvert]

I have a social networking website built on a SocialEngine platform. All of the pages (except the home page) are password protected for members only.

My web designer wants the home page to be primarily graphics - not text. It looks nice, but with no substantial copy on the page, can I still get the page to rank well with just meta title, description and keywords (even when those keywords aren't actually on the page?)

What's the best way to handle this?

Kim

[KimCalvert]

Now THAT's why I wish I could afford an SEO consultant!

[BrianCrouch]

Open graph protocol for Facebook and FB apps, and http://Schema.org microdata markup, for semantic web search. For images, It can only help you to make sure the bots get as much info as possible about what is in those pictures.

[BrianCrouch]

Open graph protocol for Facebook and FB apps, and http://Schema.org microdata markup, for semantic web search. For images, It can only help you to make sure the bots get as much info as possible about what is in those pictures.

[KimCalvert]

Thanks Brian,

Good answer, thanks, but what is OGP and schema markup?

[alankoen123]

I would encourage you to think of images as a content asset. You can also make use of video that is a similar content asset, yet easier to leverage for SEO purposes. So, consider reserving one or more placeholders on the homepage for one or more videos. Upload to YouTube where you'll get the most link juice and include keywords in your title and description.

[BrianCrouch]

1. Expandable divs. You can feature each image as the visible portion of an expandable div. It's fairly easy to code.

Check out @ipullrank Michael King's  presentation which touches on the subject: http://www.slideshare.net/ipullrank/ux-seo-lets-be-friends-by-michael-king

This is entirely white-hat btw: it's creating a cleaner user experience, while allowing visitor to read more if they want, without being directed to a new page.

2. Put text portion, such as a feed with excerpts from a blog, "below the fold."

That said, be sure to name your image files with relevant keywords as well as appropriate alt-text and description. And don't forget the OGP and schema markup too.