SEO Tycoon

**horseygirl** · 09-22-2007, 09:03 AM

just trying to balance the keywords in my alt tags. i know they are not really for seo but is there a rule to follow?

**chrishirst** · 09-22-2007, 10:05 AM

Yes

None at all, because there is no such thing as an alt tag, it's an alt ATTRIBUTE

**rogem002** · 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrishirst

Yes

None at all, because there is no such thing as an alt tag, it's an alt ATTRIBUTE

I think thats a bit mean, most people know that The Alt Attribute means "alternate text" and everyone makes mistakes (getting tags and attributes mixed up).

Let me explain:
A tag is (for example):

Code:

<p></p>

The attribute is the bits inside it, for example:

Code:

<p title="This is my title"></p>

See W3C for more details.

Now back to the original question:
There is no rule to follow; but try to make it so your keyword/alt attribute is similar to the image's content. As if images are disabled, what's in the alt will show up, and people may get confused if (for example) a image with 'home' written in it has a alt saying 'Web Development'.

I have a feeling (cannot confirm that this is true) that Google may have image reading software that could tell how similar the alt is to the image. The reason I think this is because if spammers can read text in an image, Google should be able to.

**ForrestCroce** · 09-22-2007, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogem002

I have a feeling (cannot confirm that this is true) that Google may have image reading software that could tell how similar the alt is to the image. The reason I think this is because if spammers can read text in an image, Google should be able to.

I would hope not ... the only text they're going to find in any of my images is © Forrest Croce. The alt attributes say things like "A gentle stream in Big Basin State Park" though.

**mhaye_01** · 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by horseygirl

just trying to balance the keywords in my alt tags. i know they are not really for seo but is there a rule to follow?

using alt is part of on page optimization..
since that search engine can't read image.

alt is an attribute of img tag where we can put certain words that best describe the image or much better put a keyword

**CSS4Life** · 09-22-2007, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhaye_01

much better put a keyword

Only as long as the keyword is completely relevant to the site. You might be able to get lots of visitors by messing with the alt attribute, but they are useless if they aren't your target audience!

**rogem002** · 09-22-2007, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whym

Only as long as the keyword is completely relevant to the site. You might be able to get lots of visitors by messing with the alt attribute, but they are useless if they aren't your target audience!

I second that, try to navigate around your website with images disabled to see if your ALT attributes are correct.

**Sandman420** · 09-22-2007, 07:06 PM

I usually go for 1-3 words, try to keep it short, sweet and descriptive. Not sure if its the best way for SEO, but i'm sure the search engine bots don't like to see alt attributes that are obviously stuffed.

**mhaye_01** · 09-24-2007, 04:48 PM

but some says that meta tags now are useless...
Is this true? In what way?

**vangogh** · 09-24-2007, 04:56 PM

What do meta tags have to do with this thread?

**Learning Newbie** · 09-24-2007, 05:15 PM

Asking about them increases post count, thereby presumably making a blog hosted on WordPress rank #1 for a very competitive (and useless) phrase.

Just a guess.

**horseygirl** · 09-25-2007, 03:36 AM

good answers guys

as for meta tags. google does not really use then i understand but plenty do.

from using web ceo software it says that about 30 % keywords in alt tags is a good guide.

**gringo** · 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by horseygirl

from using web ceo software it says that about 30 % keywords in alt tags is a good guide.

If you let a percentage guide what you put in your alt attributes, they might not read well to your visitors.

Ironically, search engines try to detect unnaturally written text (i.e. text written in a way that manipulates search engines) and following percentage guidelines is a good way to write something unnaturally. When trying to get a message across to someone, do you really try to say the key points 30% of the time?

**Popeye** · 09-25-2007, 09:35 AM

I use one keyword or keyword phrase per image. Don't stuff them.

Google reads these alts. Go to Google and type in your keyword and then click on "Images" in the menu above. You'll see a lot of images that have the same name as the keyword you typed into the search field.

These images can also bring in a little bit of traffic if your images are labeled correctly.

Don

**skyblue** · 09-25-2007, 10:06 PM

Agree with Popeye. Google definitely reads Alt tags from images. But don't try to fool SE with using your main keyword to many times, you might get some cool penalties, i did

Anyway, like somebody said use keyphrases with 1 to 3 or 4 words, and of course don't place alt tags on every image. For example some parts of the graphics like borders, corners..etc.