Alt Image Tag

I noticed recently that I received more than a couple dozen visitors to my website through alt tags. An alt tag is the text that will show up on a web page if an image does not load or if it loads slowly. Short for ‘alternate tags’, the alt tag is an important aspect of your webpage for several reasons:

• Alt tags show up if the picture does not.
• Alt tags are visible if someone hovers over the picture with the mouse.
• Alt tags are seen by search engines.
• Alt tags will bring your picture into the top results on Google and other search engines.

Alt html Tag

This is what the html code looks like for an image that includes the alternate tag: scented candles

<a href=”http://howtobuildawebsitequick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/romantic-candles.jpg”><img style=”border: 0pt none;” src=”http://howtobuildawebsitequick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/romantic-candles-150×150.jpg” alt=”scented candles” width=”150″ height=”150″ /></a>

When I first started working on the internet I had no knowledge of alternate tags. WordPress makes it really easy for a novice to do a good job of web design. The “insert” photo feature actually gives you the opportunity to enter your alternate tag into your picture. Since I did not know what it was at first I did not care nor did I take the time to learn what an alt tag was or why it was used. I now have a better understanding of the internet and realize that it is worthwhile to learn as you go because everything serves a purpose and gives your site more visibility.

This picture is tagged with “scented candles”. When you hover over it, you can see that. If for some reason the picture did not load on the page, then the alt tag would show up instead.

When you do a Google search for “scented candles?” notice which pictures come up. There is a good chance that these pictures are the ones that are tagged to match the keywords you just typed in.  If your company sells candles and you write a nice article about scented candles with key words about scented candles then any pictures on the page should use the keywords that match your article. Let’s say that you put a picture of a couple enjoying a romantic dinner with a candle in the middle of the table. The key word should say scented candles, not romantic dinner.

The alternate tags for the photos on a page should go along with or compliment the keywords on the page and they should also compliment the picture.  If I coded the picture of the candles with the key words alt tags html (like I did this one) then it would be spam.

When I first started using alt tags I had no clue what the purpose of the alternate tags was so I would have coded the candle picture as a romantic dinner rather than scented candles. Both are appropriate for the picture and for the article on candles.  If you want your picture to show up on Google for romantic dinner that is fine, but if you code it as scented candles, then some people may see it and actually come to your site through a picture or image link. (Anyway and every way they get to my site is good for me!)

Don’t Forget Your Alt Image Tags

After you take the time to pick good keywords for your article, then go one step further and add your keywords to your pictures by inserting the alternate tags.  In WordPress, after inserting the picture just re-click on the photo,  go to Advanced, then insert the alt tag.