2 replies to this topic

[qwerty]

I think we're all in agreement here that Google only indexes the alt attribute of an image if that image is the anchor of a link.

Does anyone have an opinion, just from an SEO standpoint and without any usability questions, of whether having an alt attribute increases the weight of an image link? Does the absence of any alt text lessen the value of the link?

I ask because I was reading through a thread about a site with no PR and (obviously) no backlinks showing in Google. I did a check on the site's backlinks in ATW and I came across this page. It has a toolbar PR of 5, the cache appears to match the current version of the page, and it has an image link to the site in question, but the image has no alt attribute.

Now, it's possible that the site in question is being penalized (that's certainly what appears to be going on based on what the site's owner wrote) and that's the only reason G isn't reporting this link, but it's got me wondering if alt text affects the way Google views an image link.

[SearchRank]

I think that if Googles factors in the surrounding and anchor text of a standard text link and also factors in alt attribute text for images with hyperlinks, then the absence of an alt tag WOULD have an effect on the weight of the image link as there is no real way for Google to define the referring link. That's my opinion.

[Haystack]

I'm with David.

Google indexed the ALT tag, but doesn't seem to give much, if any, weight to this copy. However, they do seem to give it some weight as anchor text in links. This shouldn't have any effect on the level of PR passed through.