SEO - ALT tags vs Title tags - what are they for?

When should I use ALT and TITLE tags on my websites or blog websites?

Many people want to do SEO, Search Engine Optimization, but they don't put into practice some of the basic tasks that will often benefit greatly. Here is one of them. If you use images on a website and the images are related to the topic of the pages that they are on, you need to add both ALT and TITLE Tags to them, so that the search engines and people using text-based browsers know what they are for.

Alt tags show whatever text that is added to the HTML code when the image doesn't load whether it is corrupt, missing, or if the visitor has a text-based web browser. In Internet Explorer these tags will normally show up as hover text however this use is not covered by standards. When has Microsoft ever followed standards? On web browsers that follow standards, ALT tags correctly show only when an image does not.

It is important that any and all images that are related to your content contain ALT tags, otherwise a visitor will be very confused when an image does not load.

Title tags according to web standards and most web browsers are for hover or tool or tool tip text. The image loads and the text appears when the cursor is over the image. This is very useful for SEO because the search engines, like Google, know what your image is about and use the text like keywords which in the end can bring you more relevant traffic.

Title tags are also very useful because they allow you to add descriptions, or more description, to your images without taking up more space, so you see there is also an educational benefit to adding TITLE tags.

Examples of ALT and TITLE tags

Here are some examples of ALT and TITLE tags used for website images.

Notice Images 1 and 2 contain both ALT and TITLE Text so the information will be viewable on Text-browsers and the description will appear as hover or tool tip text. If you see "relevant ALT text" with your image then your web browser is not standards compliant.

Sample Image 1:

HTML CODE USED:

Sample Image 2:

HTML CODE USED:

Sample Image 3:

HTML CODE USED:

Notice how Image 3 (which doesn't exist) does not load and therefore the ALT text is displayed. Normally, the ALT tag would be the name of the image.

Imagekind Print-on-Demand Review

Imagekind POD is different from the others I've mentioned because it is only for high-quality prints and framed prints. They are a niche site to focus on that need.

A huge number of printing and framing options

You have the option to print on different types of papers and even canvas. They offer many different sizes and many different frames and mats. No other POD comes close with paper or frames.

Payment options include PayPal and check

You get paid after 45 days if your account has reached the minimum payment.

Commissions and Royalties

Affiliate commissions are handled by Shareasale which won't offer PayPal (yes I asked)

Earning for your art is either by check or PayPal

You can set the markup as either a fixed amount or as a percentage.

Gallery Creation depends on account type

There are three account levels Free, Pro, and Platinum. The free account gives you one gallery with 24 images (each image can be as big as you can manage to upload.)
UPDATE: Now the free account allows unlimited images in 3 galleries.

The pro and Platinum accounts give you unlimited galleries, but the pro version limits the number of images per gallery and the amount of disk space for your photos. Many people have done test prints and the quality is the highest that they've seen.

Lack of gallery and profile page modification.

You can add links and text to your profile, but you can't change its layout or its colors. I'd like to have my profile and gallery pages use the same link, text, and background colors as my related websites, but you can't.

SEO is limited

You can add tags, titles, and descriptions to each image you upload as well as a description to each gallery. You cannot modify your meta tags. The URLs that the system generates for each image are randomly created so they are not indexable. It would improve Search Engine Optimization greatly if they'd just use image and gallery names instead of random code.

Marketing tools

You can add a widget that shows photos from one gallery with Javascript to a blog or other website. You can also easily make a product link with an image using their tools.

Conclusion

If you are serious about selling high quality art then I think it is worth it to at least set up the free account for your best images and then a paid account if you can get a sale. If you are only casually into selling your images or you have a huge collection of good images, then you might want to try Redbubble.

You can see an example profile with galleries at Imagekind here.

Print-on-Demand or POD services can give you another income stream

Make money at home with PODs

I've mentioned different ways people make money online, but here is one that I have only mentioned in passing. Print-on-Demand services, or POD are relatively new to the internet and have been getting better and better.

Why you should use a Print-on-Demand Service

Lets say that you are creative and you write books, paint, draw, take photographs, etc. That's great. You probably have CDs full of your photos and sketch books full of drawings, right? Probably only your closest friends have seen any of your work. Why not share it with the world and make some money so you can by more paint, paper, computer memory, a better digital camera, etc.?

Perhaps the money isn't important to you, but I bet you could use the money to buy better supplies or pay your internet or web hosting bill.

With these systems you upload images or text, make your products, set markups, and then you just get the word out while the sales slowly trickle in. You don't have to worry after that.

The process

1. You should first compare the pods for the features and the type of printing that you're looking for art, text, gifts, etc.


2. Once you have selected your first POD, create an account. If your funds are limited go with a free account.


3. Create a shop or store. Typically the name of the store is the same as your user name (if your username isn't your e-mail address)


4. Configure your store's title, your photo, your profile or shop info, etc.


5. Configure your shop or store's colors and log. Not all PODs allow this, so do what you can.


6. Upload your images. Upload only images or text. Only upload what you plan to use. You can always upload more files later.


7. Create categories and subcategories for your products. No one wants to scroll through hundreds of mixed up products.


8. Create products using your images or text (depending on POD) and add titles, descriptions, and keywords.


9. Set prices and price markups for your products and shops if you haven't already in the shop preferences.


10. Check your payment preferences and address, If this information isn't correct, you might not get paid!


11. Get the word out! Promote your shop, store, or products sold on the POD via your website, blog, by word-of-mouth, etc.


12. Cash your checks, buy more supplies and then go back to step 8.

The benefits of using a Print-on-Demand Service

There are many benefits to working with a POD. Here are a few:

• You don't have to bill any customers


• You don't have to worry about shipping


• You don't have to worry about printing


• You don't have to worry about product returns


• You don't have to worry about Customer Service


• You don't have to worry about the web server or hosting for your shop

The disadvantages of using a POD

• You lack some creative control over your products since you are limited to what they offer.


• You have to play by the POD's rules


• You have to wait between 30 and 45 days to get paid


• You can't host the shop on your own website.


• If the POD shuts down, you'll have to set up everything on another.


• Your POD shop customization will not be as good as you could do on your own web server.


• You'll typically have header or footer links to the POD's home page which are potential sales leaks.

Here are some PODs that I have tested:

Fine art prints and framed art

• Imagekind - See example store/gallery


• RedBubble - See example store/gallery Note: Not as high in Quality as Imagkind.

Image gifts and collectibles

• Cafe Press - See example store - not recommended for wall art


• Printfection - See example store - ´plenty of Shirts


• Zazzle - See example store - Plenty of products to choose from
  

When selecting a POD consider the following:

• Payment options. If you don't live in the United States, it is great if they offer PayPal or you'll be waiting weeks to get your check.


• Store and Gallery design and optimization. Can you add categories, unlimited products, change site design and colors?


• Product offering. Do they offer the products that you want to sell?


• Product base prices and markup options


• Search Engine Optimization - especially if you are not planning to market your products.


• Account fees. Compare base prices to fees. Sometimes a free POD charges a higher base price to cover the costs.


• Product Quality. Check each POD's forum and see what people say about product quality.


• Shipping costs

Conclusion

Above all you should be realistic. Whether you use a POD or not, it takes effort. Don't expect to get rich on a site that you only work on a few hours a week. Expect to get out of it, what you put in. Just like any business it takes time to get recognized. If you like being creative then this might not feel much like work at all. It could be a good opportunity to get a second income since you can do it on the weekend or in the evening after your normal full-time job. Do you use a POD other than one I mentioned here? Please tell me about it by e-mail or in this post's comments. Good luck!

Consider adding content description meta tags to each of your webpages for better search traffic (SEO)

Would you like more traffic to your website?

Whether it is a blog or a shopping site you need traffic for your website to be a success. One way to do so is to work on your SEO, otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization. Typically people optimize for Google, but it is also good to consider traffic from Yahoo and ask.com as secondary targets.

Content First, SEO Second

Once you have good original content on your website, it is time to consider SEO. There are many different tasks involved in SEO, and I admit that I still need to do many tasks on my websites as well, so I've added the webmaster and SEO category and a SEO series for these articles that any website can use to improve its results.

The main problem is that it is a lot of work! SEO is not yet automated. If you use a CMS like Wordpress or Joomla, you might find special plugins and modules to help you, but you still have to type in the information that the system needs.

The focus in this post is in adding a Meta content description tag to each page of your website. Meta tags are nothing new. Meta tags are informative HTML tags placed in the header of a web page's code. There are many meta tags used for many different reasons.

Adding meta page descriptions to static HTML is simple

Add the following to each of your page headers describing that page:

<meta name="description" content="Brief description of the contents of your page.">

Add a description of that specific page instead of the 'informative description here'. If you use static HTML pages on your website then simply go into your code with your favorite editor and add the code in between the head tags. You should be concise and descriptive. You should not repeat the title since that is going to be seen in the search result above the description.

Dynamic pages often require coding or SEO plugins

If you use a dynamic header through a CMS or website template using PHP then it is trickier, since one header is used for all of your pages. In this case you could perhaps make your own PHP modification if you are a programmer, or you could search for a plugin or module to add that information for you. Even with a plugin, you will still have to add that data in your CMS software. In a wordpress blog, you'll probably see it as an extra field in your writing admin. page after the plug in is activated. Once you activate a plugin with this functionality you'll have to go and add meta data to each page, post, and article you have.

Meta page descriptions improve search click through rates

You won't see results until Google's webcrawler rechecks your site. It doesn't matter if your pages are static or dynamic. This could take between hours and weeks. After Google's search engine updates your information and a page on your site appears as a search result, your description will appear after your page's title. By giving a more detailed description of your page, your page will be more interesting to the person searching and you should get more clicks. It should also lower your bounce rate, since people know what your page really contains.

What meta descriptions won't do for you

Adding meta descriptions will not improve your page ranking. Your web pages will appear at the same rank. This optimization is for increasing clicks on your pages when seen in the listing. You will need to do other optimizations to improve page ranking.

Things all good business websites should include SEO, Search Engine Optimization, opt-in marketing, dynamic content, interactivity, and good links/navigation

All business web sites regardless of their primary objectives, should be:

• 
  

  designed considering search engines; search engine optimized

  
  

A website designed for search engines will have descriptive titles, headers, page titles, image alt tags, and descriptive meta tags. It can be a big task but it can greatly increase traffic to your web site.

• 
  

  easy to navigate.

  
  

A site map, clear and consistently placed menus, and menus with titles will all help. Menus should be organized logically.

• 
  

  interesting enough that the visitor has a reason to return later.

  
  

A forum, an advice column, contests, personalized user accounts, games, and a blog can all motivate people to return.

• 
  

  opt-in friendly for Newsletters or e-mail notifications for different products

  
  

Visitors should be given the opportunity to select information that they'd like to receive later.

An opt-in list of services, newsletters, blog subscriptions, and RSS feed subscriptions will keep them informed. Also give the visitor the opportunity to recommend your site, product, or page to a friend. Referrals bring more customers than search engines because there is automatically a little trust established by the referrer.

• 
  

  interesting enough to guide the user from one section to the next though links and menus.

  
  

A web site will be more successful if it leads the visitor from one section to another. On a blog you could include related articles to the end of a post. There could be a page grouping the articles as a series. Give the visitor navigational clues on where to go or they might just leave.

• 
  

  designed to encourage loyalty

  
  

You could reward new users who register, allow them their own opportunities to help and get involved.

A site could have a members only area or a blog could have members only articles. You could send them holiday and birthday e-mails and incorporate autoreplies and e-mail visitors who comment on your site or e-mail you.