If your website is targeting the local market then you need to maximise something called “ALT Tags”

What are alt tags?

Alt tags are little descriptions that appear over images when you hold your cursor there. Alt tags display when an element of a page, such as an image cannot be shown, instead alternative text is shown , this helps the visitor to your website know what the image should be.

Alt tags are also used by “screen reader” which enables the blind to use the web, the alt tags are read out to the visitor who cannot see your page.

How to use alt tags

Alt tags are commonly used on images and they should be applied to all images on your website.

Alt tags can be used in two ways:

  1. As a descriptive way to let your visitor know what is missing, or to assist the blind
  2. For seo keywords

Your typical image html tag will look like this <img src=”Walsall-web-designer.jpg” alt=”web design birmingham”> That is an example of an image tag optimised for SEO containing my local keyword “web design birmingham”  My image packs a further punch by also containing my keyword.

However the above isn’t very descriptive – it’s mainly for SEO and doing the above too often on your page can do more harm than good – try to use it only once or twice.

When you are using the ALT tags correctly and for the benefit of your visitors then the above would change to something more like the following <img src=”Walsall-web-designer.jpg” alt=”a photo of the 4 members of our Walsall web design team, with our director, Craig Murphy stood in the foreground”>   that’s a basic example for a photo that is of your team, however you made need something more descriptive such as:

<img src=”red-ferrari-car.jpg” alt=”a photo of the new and modified Ferrari f430 which contains modified wing mirrors and much lower rear end. The rear exhaust is also positioned lower than on previous models”>   this is much more detailed and try’s to describe a car to the reader – something like this would be very beneficial to those who are blind.

When you are targeting your local market remember to use your alt tags to compliment your SEO and use your targeted keywords such as “web design Walsall” “a web designer based in walsall”

Since publishing this article back in 2012 a lot has changed in the world of SEO as your SEO / Digital Marketing agency will tell you.

Alt tags have become a little more important and it is important now that all your alt tags show on your images. You are ok to use your main keyword once on a page, but the rest must offer value and not keyword spammy.

With alt tags you offer a better user experience to your visitors and this is something that google loves in 2019.