Adding images to content can boost up the popularity and drive more traffic to your website. Images can support your content and even improve your search ranking. If you want to explore the benefits of adding images to your article, you must understand the title attribute property.
An image title attribute creates a tag for search engines to index your content. It can improve the accessibility of your website simply due to valid and relevant messaging.
In this article, we will explore how to use img title attributes and how you can optimize them for maximum impact on website traffic.
What Is The Title Attribute WordPress?
Below is a sample HTML tag of an image:
<img src=“river.jpg” alt=“image description” title=“river flowing”>
The title attribute is a property of the image file. The title attribute text describes what the image is related to and how it fits in with the rest of the article. So, if you are adding an image that shows a flowing river, you can add the WordPress image description to be ‘River flowing.’ If you have added an image as a button that takes you to the Facebook page of your website, then the alt text should be a Facebook page.
This tag is usually used by screen readers. Screen readers are browsers that enable visually impaired or blind people to read them. These screen readers will read out what is in an image by looking at the tag.
The image title tag comes across when you hover over that image. If your image embedded in the text asks you to perform another action, such as a link to a different article, the image title can contain that extra link. However, that is not advised.
Should I Use WordPress Image Title Attributes?
The title attribute of an image is not mandatory. It might not always be in your best interest to add it. This is something that only people using a mouse or other devices with pointers can access when they hover over that image.
However, you still want to keep them for accessibility reasons. If you want to make sure that the information written inside the title attribute stays on the page, you can also make it available somewhere else on the page as plain text. If not, you can consider removing the title attribute completely.
HTMl title attributes are not supported in every browser. Firefox is one of the few browsers that do support this. However, it is also the third most popular browser on the Internet, so you might have to consider the title attribute of your images. You can add the title attribute via the media library in WordPress.
You can simply click on the image and fill out the title field. It can also be added via the block editor. Explore the advanced settings for your page and go to the image section, where you will find the title attribute field.
By making the title attribute visible while hovering, you are giving additional context to the visitors. For example, some content creators might want to include the name of all the products that are shown in an image, which could be beneficial to visitors.
However, you should not rely on this attribute exclusively. Since this is not seen by all the users in other browsers, you might consider adding it as a caption to make it globally available. Add alt text to the images even if you have already added the title attribute, similar to this casino portal here.
Can Image Title Attribute Impact SEO?
There are different schools of thought when it comes to the importance of the title attribute. Some content creators think that it is an excellent way to add some extra keywords which can boost the search rating. However, others think that search engines don’t look for title attributes, so it has no impact.
To be transparent, the title attribute does not have a direct impact on your ranking. However, it does not also hurt your ranking to add it from an SEO point of view. In fact, it is recommended by Google. In case search engines do consider the keywords added in the title attribute, you get an added advantage in the search results. Besides, it impacts the user experience, which is another crucial factor in improving the website’s visibility and ranking.
Can I Remove The Image Title Attribute In WordPress?
It is possible to find the image title attribute altogether. If you are concerned that visitors will find it distracting or it is not impacting your SEO results, in that case, you can completely remove it by changing the setup from your block editor or media library. However, by removing this, you are also losing out on any potential search engine optimization they were providing. Instead, you can hide the tooltip by adding JavaScript to the website, so it is not displayed on the front end.
Verdict
Even content creators who have been creating content for years might not be aware of image title attributes. However, completely removing them could make you miss out on providing your viewers with the added user expedient. It could also remove accessibility features and impact SEO.
If this is something that will help you boost your search engine optimization, keep it. Use the simple walkthrough to change the image title attribute from the block editor or media library. Experiment for yourself whether there is a significant change in the visibility and ranking of your page. Also, don’t forget to focus on other crucial factors like responsiveness, performance, speed, target geography, and more.