[Anonymous]

It's been mentioned recently in the SEO community that this last Google dance has shown a devaluation of alt text. Not all alt text, but alt text on images which are not links.
For a long time, meta keywords were abused horribly by webmasters. This led to most search engines devaluing the meta keywords. It appears the same has happened to Alt Text. We all are familiar with webmasters who go overboard with alt text - some are even placing keywords in alt text on small graphic slices. Google must be fed up with this sort of spam, and has definately devalued it.
However, most people are suggesting that this just affected the stand-alone graphics, but not graphics that are nav buttons or otherwise links. (We use graphic nav buttons on Quality-Web-Hosting.net, and all have appropriate alt text.)

But this page, www.graphicwebdesign.net/eBook/ easy-website-creation.html , used to be #1 for the search "free photoshop graphic". You'll notice that the word "photoshop" only occurs in the Alt Text of a graphic which is a link. So it seems to me that Google has lowered the value of alt text across the board....

Anyone else?

[Redhead]

It's such a shame that had to happen. What are we left with now?


text
title tag
???


:?

[jeremy]

<2cents>

Whilever there is a way to do clever things with website content to enhance rankings, someone will try, and when that method incorrectly weights websites ranking then something will be done to correct that. I remember when I first used the net (like 8 years ago or something?? i forget), and I'd do a search in altavista and the sites that would get top pos. would have the keyword repeated 20 times in the meta and hundreds of times on the bottom of the page... times change and they will continue to, so just build a website that people want to go to and don't waste too much time thinking of clever ways to beat the search engines because eventually someone will get wise and it won't work anymore, SEO can be a pain, it's a challenge, but it can be such a fleeting glory if not ongoing.

</2cents>

[Anonymous]

It's such a shame that had to happen. What are we left with now?

Page titles and anchor text of inbound links, and good copywriting are the most important in my opinion. :)

[Shalinara]

good copywriting[/quote]

BINGO!!!!

[Anonymous]

The amazing thing is, ask several SEO firms what affects ranking, and none of them ever mention good copywriting. Some actually ask, "copyrighting??", and I have to explain, "No, copy-writing, as in writing content."
:(

[jeremy]

It's the hardest one though, because as a web designer it is usually difficult to make up good copy for a client, so u rely on what they already have or their inspiration to write more, which can be very little at times.

[Anonymous]

It's the hardest one though, because as a web designer it is usually difficult to make up good copy for a client, so u rely on what they already have or their inspiration to write more, which can be very little at times.

That is true. Nobody likes to write anymore. But it has to be done. I think it's best to have the SEO do the copywriting. If the client does it, they may or may write it with proper keyword density, ETC.

[Shalinara]

I have a site that's been waiting to go live for 2 months because the client can't get his act together enough to come up with some content. I won't put up a site that's just an empty structure.

[Anonymous]

I have a site that's been waiting to go live for 2 months because the client can't get his act together enough to come up with some content. I won't put up a site that's just an empty structure.

Write it for him, and charge $1 per word.

[Shalinara]

I have a site that's been waiting to go live for 2 months because the client can't get his act together enough to come up with some content. I won't put up a site that's just an empty structure.

Write it for him, and charge $1 per word.

Ah...there's the rub. We worked out a trade for the site design. He's already paid (in product) for the design, but the site won't go up until it has content. I think I'm good on product until next year. It's drum equipment for the other members of the family. Maybe he should get them to write his content.

[apollo]

It's such a shame that had to happen. What are we left with now?
Page titles and anchor text of inbound links, and good copywriting are the most important in my opinion. :)
There is some confusion here ... you are discussing optimisation and in that context you mention good copywriting. In the context of SEO, 'good copywriting' is just any random assortment of words with an appropriate keyword density and associated words and phrases. Search engines do not read text to decide whether it is 'good' or 'bad' from a copywriting perspective. They just search for familiar words and phrases.

The posts after the one quoted discuss copywriting in terms of making a site user-friendly, not in terms of SEO.

[Anonymous]

Apollo,
Welcome to the forum. 8)

The only use I have for copywriting is SEO. Most consumers don't read text, especially not 300 to 500 words of it per page. Most consumers read headlines, or highlighted blurbs
For example, most consumers only read the headlines and the first, and sometimes the second, sentence.
Good copywriting, in the context of SEO, has nothing to do with good writing. It has everything to do with keyword placement and keyword density.
Just my .02
8)