Abstract: ALT tag (alternate text) , hyperlinked images ,
non-hyperlinked images. Longdesc attribute. TITLE attribute.
Definition: (alternate
text) HTML tag that provides alternative text when
non-textual elements, typically images, cannot be displayed. When their
using is correct they can be quite useful.
In example, they provide
more details for an image or the destination of a hyperlinked image and
provide much-needed information to people with text-only browsers; the
"alt" attribute tells the reader what he or she is missing on a page if
the browser can't load images. The browser will then display the
alternate text instead of the image.
<IMG
SRC="../images/jaz.jpg" HEIGHT=327 WIDTH=291 ALT="My pet Jaz and me">
When optimizing a site/web page for Google, remember
that THIS attribute is taken into great consideration by Googlebot when
indexing your pages.
1. Image Alt text NON
hyperlinked.
When an ALT tag is used mainly to describe an
image with some alternative text, this can help your page relevance
ONLY if this is not a unique text. In other words if ALT attribute
contains keywords that are specific to your page's topic will help your
keyword density. Otherwise, unique text into ALT attribute ---- it
means this text doesn't appear anywhere else in the page --- will not
influence Googlebot when spidering and indexing your page.
Google does not index text included into ALT attribute of non-linked images.
2. Image ALT text
hyperlinked.
The ALT tag of an hyperlinked image (which means
the <a href=""> tag seems to have the same importance of a text
link. Therefore google will index it as it was a simple text link. So pay much attention to text you include in this kind of ALT attribute.
If you put some text
into ALT attr. to support a particular keyword dont put hundreds of
words. A couple of specific words and your keywords are enough.
Google will index the text
found in the ALT attribute only on images that are used as hyperlinks.
Image TITLE attribute
sintax:
<IMG SRC="naked-woman.jpg" HEIGHT=400 WIDTH=550 ALT="Naked Woman" TiTLE="Naked Woman">
Many viewers have noticed that when mouse pointer stops above an image, a small rectangle appears for a while. This contains the text of the ALT attribute. This happens with Internet Explorer. Not with Mozilla based browsers such as Firefox. Infact, according to W3C html specifications, this shouldn't happen. The correct attribute to display the rectangular tooltip is "TITLE". The attribute "TITLE" can be also put into Anchor texts tags (see Links section)
While supported by all wysiwyg web editors such as Dreamweaver
"title" attribute inclusion is available when coding...
"title" attribute specification is not available in Dreamweaver's visual environment
Anyway, Linux web editors such as Quanta Plus recommend to use this attribute on each image if you want to display a tooltip:
Screenshot from Mozilla Web Editor
Actually Google does NOT index text included in TITLE attribute, neither if the image is used as a link, nor if it's just a simple image.
BUT let's make two simple considerations:
1. The entire Google software / hardware architecture is LINUX based (see how google works section) and most of all, Google is about to release its own branded version of mozilla based browser. Easy to guess that shortly a great relevancy will be given to webpage that are optimized for Mozilla (even if still not indexed, TITLE attribute belongs to those things a human CAN view). And the total W3C validation will be even more important.
2. A serious webmaster -whether he's optimizing a website or not- should aim to produce pages which any browser can display the same way. TITLE attribute gives Mozilla users the same chance to display tooltip on images that is normally given to Explorer's users by using ALT attribute.
Use TITLE attr. to achieve total browser compatibility. MAYBE in the future this will be a page element Google will take in consideration (maybe!). DO NOT use it to increase Keyword Density, don't keyword-stuff this attribute. Same as META TAGS: "...a correct usage won't help your optimization, but a misleading usage could cause your page to be banned..."
The controversial LONGDESC
attribute
Acronym for "Long Description (of the
image)", LONGDESC gives the URL of a long description of the
image. LONGDESC is poorly supported. Google doesn't neither index nor visits an Url included in 'longdesc' specification.
Remember that the filename is part of a
keyword-rich-path so always prefer keyword-related image names: i.e.
iron-ladder.jpg ; toshiba-notebook.gif .....
A simple tricky (and risky) technique you must carefully use
You could be tempted to add some hidden links to your webpage. You can do it with text by making it the same color of background. Obviously we always discourage this kind of trick. Anyway, you can do the same with images, by creating an image (gif or jpeg) which has the same color of your page's bg. We repeat, this is considered spam, when discovered by Google (or someone who reports your site to Google).
If you want to try this technique DO NOT create a which is 1 pixel * 1 pixel image and add a link to it. Google has the ability to check images' size, and a link on a too small image is automatically considered an illegal technique. Even if you do not specify width and height in IMG tag.
Even if you create some bigger invisible images, this technique can be discovered because of the ALT tag tooltip (applying an hyperlink to an image and leaving ALT attribute blank is almost useless).
By following this ebook guidelines you'll be able to create a website with no need to apply risky and illegal tricks to your webpages.
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