Best plugin for image SEO

[sssv]

I'm looking for the best way to manage images on a page as well as optimize my image SEO. I've had numerous issues with NextGen Gallery but I can't seem to manage image placement on my pages as much as I'd like without a gallery plug in.

I add the appropriate text when importing images but should I also use an image SEO plug in? Which do you prefer?

Perhaps there is an all-in-one solution?

Thanks!

[NicktheGeek]

Make sure you are writing good alt tags. That is the key to image SEO. I always explain to my clients that a good alt tag should tell a story about the image so someone who can't see the image will still be able to appreciate it. This is a good place to have keywords, but don't try just stuffing a ton of keywords in there. It is a disservice to those who cannot see the image and is something that can get your site flagged by Google. Basically, apply good copy writing practices to describing the image.

[sssv]

What is your rule of thumb for length? Is 4-6 words good or is there a character # limit?

I wasn't doing this from the beginning of our blog, is it worth it to add alt tags to those images (manually or with a plug in) or should I just do it going forward?

Thanks Nick!

[NicktheGeek]

There isn't really a max length. You can't use paragraphs and such so just write a reasonable narrative for the image. For example, lets say you went for a hike and took a picture of the sunset. You might say "This is a picture I took of the sunset capturing deep red and purple hues over the summit of Kennedy Peak near Fort Valley VA"

See how helpful that is for people who might be using a site reader or who may have images turned off? Depending on the post this might have some good key words too. Compare that to "key word stuffing" which might look like "hiking, photography, kennedy peak, picture, sunset, landscape, nature, fort valley, virginia ......." That is worthless to readers who need the alt tag and it might provide a short term benefit for search indexing but Google is always refining their engines to identify this type of stuff.

[sssv]

Gotcha, very helpful. Thanks!