The standard for web page navigation is create an image-based menu system that changes in some way as the user rolls the mouse pointer over each. These feedback is an important consideration from a usability perspective. However, the use images in the navigation system is often sited as a missed opportunity for SEO (search engine optimization) since the search engines are unable to "read" the text on the image and are therefore unable to associate a meaning with the destination page.
However I've recently come across a good fix for this problem. The original fix I heard about involved using a Flash file, but since most sites aren't using Flash, I did some searching and found a solution that expands on the tradition use of CSS rollovers. The main idea behind this solution is to place an image AND text in the anchor tag. Some clever CSS can is then used to hide/show the rollover images to the user while the text is picked up by the search engines. This seems to offer web designers and coders the best of both worlds in creating a visually appealing web site navigation system while still abiding by basic guidelines on the SEO checklist.
For more information, see the article I found.
- SEO Checklist
- Tweaking the Cutline WordPress Theme
- Google Webmaster Features Wishlist
- Google Universal is Messing Up My Ranking Reports
- Web Page Size for Search Engines
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