Attorney Marketing News

Posts Tagged ‘disability accessibility’

Since day one we have been adding alt tags to images and hyperlinks on all our clients’ websites.  What is an alt tag?  An alt tag is a coded instruction for search engines to tell robots something more about an image or a hyperlink.  Many popular web development application user interfaces allow you to add alt tags without having to know code (WordPress is one example.)

Why are alt tags important?

Alt tags help search engines (not just Google) and people who use screen readers.  It is also a great way to add keywords and more information about your site to help robots better classify and index your web pages.

Unfortunately, FindLaw does not alt tag nor does their (current) user interface allow you to tag images or hyperlinks.  They do provide an HTML editor, however, if you add certain HTML commands they are later stipped out.

Do I need to alt tag all images?

Yes, you do.  (See video below what Google has to say about alt tags in images.)

Do I need to alt tag my logo and decorative images?

Yes, you do. (If someone else designed your website, then they should do it for you — for free.(

What about that list of 500 hyperlinks on one page?

Yes, you do (but why the heck are your link lists so long in the first place?)

Will I be penalized if I do not add alt tags to everything?

In some places of the world, yes (the UK is wonderful about encouraging site owners to build sites accessible to the disabled.)  In the U.S., you may not actually penalized, but you certainly won’t get full brownie points either.  If you competition is using alt tags on everything they have a leg up on you.  If your competition is not alt tagging (the vast majority of attorney websites we see do not alt tag) get a leg up on them.  Alt tag.

Google on the Importance of Adding Alt Tags to Images and Hyperlinks