What are alt tags and why are we telling you to do them?

Alt tags are alternative text for images in the content of your website.
They had their origins way back in the early days of the internet when some browsers didn’t display images. The text literally displayed to show people what image would have been there! But nowadays you should be interested in them because they provides Google with useful information about the subject matter of the image.

Google uses this information to help determine the best image to return for a user’s query when they are searching in Google images.
With image search, just as with web search, Google’s goal is to provide the best and most relevant search results to users. The filename is also important in giving Google clues about the subject matter of the image. So its worth considering renaming image files before you upload them to your website. Google does have some pretty clever technology going on with facial recognition and object recognition, but I would imagine these image tags will be relevant in your SEO in some way or another, for quite some time to come.

For example, swimming-with-the-dolphins-in-christchurch.jpg is a lot more informative than IMG00023.JPG.

 

So what is the task this week?

1 Check one page per day on your website, or 5 minutes per day.

2 For each image on the page in the editor, right click on the image and select Image Properties, complete the Alternative Text field and click OK. Here is a good example of size and content for alt text – “Christchurch activities – swimming with the dolphins”.

NOTE: Most people don’t bother doing this. It’s a good way to get ahead of the pack!

The secret of Meta Titles is there is NO secret! Most people just don’t bother doing them properly (or at all) on their website, and they are missing out. You may remember this one from some time ago!

We are repeating it because your Meta Title is SO important to Google we want you to check or finish the work you did last time. Also check any new pages you have created recently. This is a task that is on-going, there is no harm in reviewing your Meta Titles on a regular basis and tweaking them to your key phrases. It can also help to look at competition website that rank well. If you right click (depending on your  browser) and view the source code, you will be able to see the Meta Title they use. The homepage one is probably the most interesting. Don’t rely on what they have done, just use it for reference.

Meta Titles are the most important elements on your website when it comes to the search engines and Google. Your task for the next three weeks is easy-

1 Bookmark in your calendar to check one Meta Title a day.

2 Open the admin and click on Manage Pages.

3 For each page click on edit, then the SEO button on the editor toolbar.

4 Create an EFFECTIVE meta title by sticking to the following-

* It must be unique to the page i.e. can’t be the same as other pages!
* Think about what the page is about
* Think about the search phrases you are trying to optimise your site for
* Maximum length is 70 characters (there is a handy countdown next to the Meta Title field in the editor).
* Write it kind of like a sentence but with all those good search phrases in it that are specifically about this page! E.g.-
“Christchurch attractions & activities – dining out, Canterbury wines”

Watch our video on how to complete Meta Titles here.