Naming images for SEO

[nobbyy]

Hi all

Thought that it had been a few days since I asked a stupid question or two, so here goes.

My understanding is that for SEO purposes it is advantages to name images using the ALT Text function.

Can I can I confirm that this is not possible to do for images either in slideshows or galleries?

Many thanks

Neil

[gwpriester]

You can also name images so instead of 235.jpg, which means nothing to a search engine, "chestnut tree in fall."

Select the image, then click the yellow tag Names icon on the Infobar and add a name using this method, filename=the name of the image. Press Add. Now if you publish and look in the index_htm_files folder, you will see the image with the appropriate name.

I recently did this for a site I am creating for a businessperson whose photo appears numerous times on the site and will not be searchable by name.

[Egg Bramhill]

Having re-read your post I understand that you're wanting to add Alt's to images in Slideshows & Galleries. To the best of my knowledge this isn't possible. I have tried adding alt="Smiley face" to a couple of Galleries and this doesn't seem to change anything, the alt field remains blank. Also it doesn't seem possible to name & alt images within a navbar.

Perhaps Acorn or siran have a method to do this?

Re Gary's reply:

Also be aware there are issues with using named images. Firstly I tend to use a hyphen (-) as a seperator, so in Gary's example chestnut tree in fall.jpg would read as chestnut%20tree%20in%20fall.jpg but using a hyphen as a seperator would read chestnut-tree-in-fall.jpg more user friendly and readable. The use of the underscore (_) as a seperator seems to have been downgraded. I wouldn't recommend using no seperators however as chestnuttreeinfall.jpg is not always human friendly to read either.

Secondly when Xara creates images for a Desktop & Mobile variants, it creates two different images. However if you select an image and name it via filename=chestnut-tree-in-fall and share it across variants, it creates only one image shared over both/all variants. Not only this but on each publish setting it creates only one image but Xara alternates between creating a desktop sized image and a mobile sized image.

That said, I like to name as many images as practicle. I dislike the numbering of images that seem to change with each publish. A good work-around is to stop sharing & give each copy of the images in both variants different names. chestnut-tree-in-fall.jpg and chestnut-tree-in-fall-mobile.jpg for example.

[gwpriester]

Good points and clarification, Egg. I do have a question though. I wonder if search engines when they see a % in a image name, assume the the % is a space? And another question, and I do not know the answer to either of these, if you enable Retina (hi-def) images, won't Xara use the hi res image for the mobile version? e.g. chestnut-tree-in-fall@2x.jpg

[Acorn]

It is truly banal on Xara's part to still fail to pass through Alt text for images added to their carousels and other slideshows.
It totally breaks basic W3C rules on making sites accessible.

I have tried with Alt. I have tried with filename=. I have added my own code.
None are satisfactory.
Xara should include an appropriate WTag for Alt text and filenames.

I build my own carousels now mainly using CSS3 and jQuery.
I have also bought WOWSlider.

I don't care a jot for SEO but accessibility is high for me.
The other benefit in having named images is it saves on re-uploading files just to massage xara's idea of having a different number for a filename each and almost every time.

Rantingly,
Acorn

[Egg Bramhill]

Please rant on Acorn. I agree totaly.

[Egg Bramhill]

I wonder if search engines when they see a % in a image name, assume the the % is a space?

It's actually 20% for a space Gary. I'm sure SE's see this as a space. However a human viewing such a filename won't see %20 as a space.

For example if I look at image info on a page, as per the screen-grab, which makes more sense to you as a human reader? If you right click & 'view image' the filename you use is served up in the url bar. So it's what makes more sense to the human viewing the site than what the SE see's.

[Egg Bramhill]

...if you enable Retina (hi-def) images, won't Xara use the hi res image for the mobile version?

I honestly don't know. I believe the browser examines the device requesting the image and if it's capable of serving up the higher resolution image it will, if not it serves up the none hi res image.

[nobbyy]

Good morning all

Many thanks Acorn, Egg and Gary for taking the time to respond.

From your responses it seems to confirm that at this stage Xara does not appear to support the naming of images in slideshows and Galleries, but I am now a bit unclear as how best to name single images.

In the past I have always used the process of right clicking on the picture, selecting web properties and then the image tab and then used the 'image caption' field.

Finally I am also a little confused re the variant issue - am I actually better off by stopping sharing between variants prior to adding a name to the image on each of the variants? If so this will multiply the time by the number of variants.

This is really turning into a bit of a 'fractal' issue, every time I think I am getting to close to understanding there is a another new level! LOL

However I now think that does not name the object, but just gives it a named caption - is this correct.

Gary, I tried to follow your instructions (Select the image, then click the yellow tag Names icon on the Infobar and add a name using this method, filename=the name of the image) but could not see a yellow tag Names icon on the infobar - maybe I have not got the correct view?

So sorry to be thick, but if I change the filename of an image prior to importing into Xara will that work, or will I then need to 'name' it in Xara after importing

On another level of detail, I think I am now best to use - rather than space or underscore?

[Acorn]

The Names tag icon is visible when the Select tool is active.
I use filename="aMeaningfulName" rather than "A Meaningful Name" or "A_Meaningful_Name" or "A-Meaningful-Name".
Computers add %20 for spaces automatically, so SEO is OK. Underscores are not easily discoverable or visible in a browser's address bar so don't use then for page URLs.
Almost anything that you can think of works. For SEO, I would use spaces and ensure the Image caption is always populated in correct prose; solid SEO and accessible for those with impaired vision.

Having a prenamed image doesn't work.

I stop sharing in Variants.

Acorn