img alt="" or title"" or both?

[tonynoriega]

i have been using alt="" since i can remember... now i see alot of talk about title="" for my images...

is it preference? does one weigh more? can using both benefit me?
should they be the same, or variations of the tag used?

[robzilla]

In terms of importance, I think the ALT attribute is given more consideration compared to the TITLE attribute. I'm not sure if using both could benefit you, but, if used properly, it shouldn't hurt you. I don't think their contents should be the same, though. You can focus on a particular keyword in both, but I would suggest using the ALT attribute to describe the picture and the TITLE attribute to write a caption for it, when possible, or to describe the page linked to if it's a linked image. Does adding a TITLE attribute (the "tool tip" on mouseover) to your photos add value to your visitors?

[BradleyT]

In firefox ALT doesn't show but TITLE does. Use em both but don't really worry about SEO, worry about describing the images for users with images turned off.

[Pico_Train]

Both...

[g1smd]

I use title on LINKs and alt on IMAGEs.

Both come in to play when an image is linked.

[Receptional Andy]

From a standards standpoint, the alt and title attributes have very different functions. Alt is an alternative for an image for those who are unable to see it, a title is a way of "annotating" or adding further information about an element.

Alt:

For user agents that cannot display images, forms, or applets, this attribute specifies alternate text

[w3.org...]

Title:

This attribute offers advisory information about the element for which it is set ...[it] may annotate any number of elements

[w3.org...]

By their nature, alt attributes are a more important part of a document, since they are an essential part of it, as opposed to a title which just provides (optional) additional information.

Additionally, an alt attribute is an accessibility feature, whereas titles are something of a usability enhancement.

I always use alt, and add titles if I have the time and they seem like they'll genuinely add something.

[tedster]

I used to test whether title content was part of ranking on Google - and it never was. Then at a Pubcon I asked several Google engineers and spokespeople, and they all said it wasn't a signal that they measured because it's not in common use. So I gave up checking.