I've been doing search engine optimization since 1997 and have given too much and too little attention to image alt attributes (often called alt tags). It's time to confess that they may have more value and could be worth your time in some situations.

Obviously, it's good to describe some images if it's a usability function, especially for those with disabilities.

From a search engine perspective, it's widely known that image attributes/tags rate fairly low in the ranking influence game. Other SEO consultants have encouraged me - and I have to agree - that it can't hurt and may help to be keyword focused on images that affect the entire website (i.e. the navigation). Depending on the volume of pages, the presence of keywords in the alt attribute could have some influence.

For most websites, this isn't a big time issue either, but it could help in view of related strategies you use on the website. I still meet marketers, however, who believe they've hit some keyword/content impact just because they use keywords with images. They'll never compare to real, visible text.

I'm open to the alt magic. What are your thoughts?