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As part of an ongoing series of SEO posts, I present the second article…

Many SEO specialists believe that graphics only play a small role in SEO. I disagree with this view. My belief is that this assumption is wrong and naive.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of graphics and SEO is ALT tags - for obvious reasons. Well-described ALT tags are definitely an important and integral part of a well-designed SEO strategy. They are a great way to increase the keyword density ratio of a page while maintaining the theme of the page.

However, many people overlook another important aspect of graphics.

Graphics are a great place to insert marketing messages in text form. That way, the content on the page remains ‘well-described’, but you are able to convey quirky, enticing messages to potential customers and users.

For example, suppose you operate a travel website. Now suppose your theme of the page is ‘mexican hotel’, or whatever it may be. But let’s say you want to use the tagline ‘Get away and relax’. If you inject that tagline into a header or page title, all of a sudden your page theme becomes inconsistent and less relevant.

The way to avoid this yet still display the tagline in a prominent way, while keeping a consistent, relevant theme, is to insert the text into a graphic. This guarantees the best of both worlds.

Nevertheless, ensure that you still use ALT tags to describe your images. But do place marketing messages and catchy slogans in graphics and always be sure to remain consistent with the theme(s) of the page.

For more information, view: Strategic Use of Images in SEO.