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It’s a fact: Most websites display at least one picture.
Did you know by changing a simple setting on your website pictures, your website could get found more often?
But more importantly, search engines such as Google, will scan this setting and take it into consideration when displaying the search results page. This could result in your site being shown higher in the rankings.
In techie talk…it’s called the “alt tag”.
And every picture on your website has one.
In non-techie talk, it’s a place where you can include text to describe the picture. So when someone’s computer can’t display the picture, it will show this “alt tag”, so you know what it is, even if you can’t see it.
Unfortunately, when most websites are created, these fields are often left blank.
Generally, pictures don’t help Google figure out what your web page is about, so it looks for the “alt tag” for that information.
So what I recommend is to put an “alt tag” on every picture on your site, so Google will see it.
And use your keywords in the alt tag anytime you can, as long as it’s relevant to the picture.
Just make sure it’s descriptive and accurate, though.
Example: If you’re a plumber in Boston…
Let’s say you have a picture of yourself in the sidebar to give your readers a face and a personality to your site.
You’d create an alt tag that says:
“John Smith – Master Plumber in Boston MA”
Google will see this text (and also some great keywords), ultimately helping improve your site’s search rankings.
To see if your pictures have alt tags or not, just move your mouse over the picture for a few seconds, and see if a little text box pops up.
If it does, it will be your alt tag. If nothing happens, the picture probably doesn’t have one.
Your web people can help you make these changes, and a good web copywriter can give you the right text for them.
What are your thoughts?
And if you need offline direct response marketing copy and advice, go to www.crestviewmarketing.com
Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter
