WEB1000 - The 'alt' attribute of the <img> or <area> tag begins with words or characters that provide no SEO value

An alt attribute should not start with the word "copyright," the copyright symbol [© or (c)], or any other character or symbol that has no search-engine relevance.

Explanation

Every <img> tag and <area> tag for an image map should contain an alt attribute that describes the image in 150 characters or fewer. The alt text cannot start with the word "copyright" or with the copyright symbol [© or (c)].

Details

Place relevant text near the beginning of the alt attribute to enable search engines to better correlate the keywords with the image. A copyright symbol or other copyright notice at the beginning of the alt attribute will indicate to the search engines that most search-relevant aspect of the image is the copyright, rather than what the image actually depicts. If you require a copyright notice, consider moving it to the end of the alt attribute text.

For information about customizing the parameters for rules in the SEO Checker, see Customizing SEO rules .

Example

The following is an example of correctly formatted alt attributes in <img> and <area> tags.

<img src="https://www.proseware.com/images/reader_in_action.png"
     alt="A computer screen showing the Proseware reader in operation. Image copyright (c) 2009.">

<img src ="menu.gif" width="300" height="120" alt="Planets" usemap="#menumap" />

<map name="menumap">
  <area shape="rect" coords="0,0,99,120" href="index.html" alt="Home" />
  <area shape="rect" coords="100,0,199,120" href="products.htm" alt="Products" />
  <area shape="rect" coords="200,0,300,120" href="about.htm" alt="About Us" />
</map>

See also

Concepts

Image guidelines for SEO
Search Engine Optimization

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