keywords and phrases in names of jpegs and gifs?

Does it matter what names you give to your images? Will searchengines look?

[geoffhodbod]

Hi,

I am adding some pages with quite a few images to a site.

I would like to know would it be a good idea to include in the imagename.jpg keywords/phrases relating to the subject of the page and image. I am thinking of the fact that search engines look at keyword density. Would the name of the image count to keyword density. I know I should be putting keywords/phrases in the alt tags of the image but should I put them in the name as well or should I stick to some short easy name?

[chris_f]

Hi,

I am a firm believer that images names don't make a blind bit of difference. After all the image is the content, not the filename. This, of course, does not apply to image searches.

Chris

[martinibuster]

never mind.

[dan the whaler]

I've found that giving images keywords is a bad thing as it helps people find them in an image search who may then "lift" them for their own site. Makes it easier to track them down though if they don't have enough brain cells to change the name of the image. Cryptic is better for image names in my book.