In my last entry I talked about the all important meta tags; title, description and keywords. Well, another one that is just as important, but often forgotten is the ALT tag on your images.
When you casually run your mouse cursor over an image, have you ever noticed the words that appear, describing what you see? Sometimes it may be a single word, but it might also be a long description of what you see.
The ALT tag is very useful in that it adds a bit of context to the image at hand. For users with disabilities, who may be using special equipment such as screen readers, ALT tags are essential - otherwise it is the equivalent of reading a piece of swiss cheese - too many holes.
From the search engine perspective, ALT tags can be used to further boost the concentration of specific keywords. This is especially effective if your image is directly related to your keywords.
So, check your images. Are they properly tagged?
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2 Comments»
Essential Keystrokes » Best of Essential Keystrokes
9. October 2006 | 11:44 h[...] Tag your images, too. [...]
Essential Keystrokes » Thirteen Things Every Website Needs
9. February 2007 | 11:31 h[...] Images - A picture is worth a thousand words and a well-placed picture or graphical element will save your web site from eternal loneliness. There are plenty of places to get images for free or at a small cost. And don’t forget to tag those images, too!!! [...]