We all know that
search engines can’t “see” or “read” graphics on our pages. We also know that we need to provide text on a page, so spiders will have something to crawl and index.After all, we have to prove to search engines without a shadow of a doubt that our pages are about what we say or claim they’re about if we want to achieve top rankings. That’s why I believe so strongly in focusing each page on one single keyword phrase only. As soon as a spider hits a page, I want spider to know exactly what that page is about.
But, many sites out there are graphic intense, often by virtue of their very nature. The sites may sell prints, wallpaper, pictures, graphics, or posters. Or, sites may sell hats, for example, so that each page is full of pictures of a particular type of hat.
Many Web site owners don’t want to add text to those pages, because they want to highlight exactly what they’re selling. They’ve created site with their audience in mind, which is as it should be. After all, when visitors stop by a wallpaper site, they want to see loads of pictures of different wallpaper samples. They don’t want to read about them!
So, being careful to adhere to Google’s Guidelines that prohibit hiding text, what options do we have with our graphic-intense site?
Let’s look at some possible solutions.
1. Can you put visible text above or below graphics on page? If so, this is your best solution, because you’re giving engines some content to crawl.
Simply add a paragraph of content above graphics, and then a paragraph or two of content below graphics. Make sure content focuses on your keyword phrase and that it describes page accurately.
If you don’t want to add a full paragraph of content above graphics, try adding a heading tag containing your keyword phrase. Then, add content beneath graphics.
The bottom line is: you want to start page with text if at all possible, not graphics.
2. Be creative! Can you add descriptive text about each graphic under or beside graphic? Can you add little “Tips” or “More Info” boxes on page that contain valuable information for your users and keyword-containing text for engines? Can you include testimonials from happy customers that will add valuable keyword-containing content to your page?
3. Leave your existing graphic-intense pages way they are, and create some new text-based interior pages that are full of valuable content related to your graphics. Pull in traffic through those pages, and provide text links to your pages full of graphics. Be sure to use your important keyword phrase in link text that links to pages of graphics.
