Alt and/or Title

Which to use and where?

[thepcstore]

We all know how important it is adding alt text is to our image tags, but what about the title tag and normal links? Does Google like this?

Will I benefit from using alt/title on my href's? If so which one? I might even have read that using both is good practice...?

[zeus]

Title and links are very important, but alt tags are not that important, I have alot of pictures and maybe 10% of them have alt text.

Try the search function its a great tool to find stuff for your web site.

zeus

[fathom]

Forgeting the weight factor for the moment, Alt="" should be used in all images.

When a link is also an image use title="" in link and alt="" in image. By default the alt="" will display as visibly text vice title="".

tables, rows and cells and objects (movies, flash, shockwave applets, etc.) can also use title="".

Special note: when title="" in used as a link, the keyword/keyphrase should reflect keyword, keyphrase, page topic, page theme or site topic/theme of where the link is going not the one where the link is on.

[NameNick]

1.) Alt or title

We all know how important it is adding alt text is to our image tags, but what about the title tag and normal links?

The title parameter in textlinks is not the counterpart of the alt parameter in image tags. In new browsers (and they do it right) text in alt parameter will only be shown, if an image cannot be loaded/displayed. If you need a tooltip on mouse over an image or a link, you should use the title parameter too.

2.) The Users

Will I benefit from using alt/title on my href's?

Your visitors will benefit from using alt and title. Alt and title parameter in HTML tags are not SEO tools. The alt and the title parameters are designed to help users to navigate the site and to grasp the content. So why should Google do not like (or worse penalize) the using of title?

3.) Google

As I learned from this forum and from the recent Google updates, Google cannot identify many of those abuses automatically. GoogleGuy himself asked here on WW for reporting abuse. So I think, as long as nobody (human) consider something as spam, everything's all right. And that means as long as you do not abuse the alt and title parameter, everything is fine. :)

NN

[fathom]

As NameNick has correctly pointed out -- what is good for Google users, is good for Google, and what is good for Google, is good for you.

[Onza]

I love titles in Links, I think they are a great help for User Navigation and also help your SEO.

On a classifieds site for example, I use the title Tag to dynamically fill the Title Tag for the Category Links with the number of Ads and a description of the Category.

I know that my users find out pretty fast about the content in the title tag and pay attention to the titles on the whole site, because they have important information.

It is a good way to keep a clean design but provide all the information the user and, of course (!) the spider needs.