image name effect

[jmdb71]

Hi,
How much does the image name effect keyword targeting. For example, a page targeting "oak trees". If you had 20 or so pictures, would naming them "oak-tree-1.gif","oak-tree-2.gif" help in targeting this word? To what extent? Thank you.

[nikao]

im not sure about the image names themselves.. but i think using keywords in your alt tags helps some.

[perl4ever]

Originally Posted by jmdb71

How much does the image name effect keyword targeting. For example, a page targeting "oak trees". If you had 20 or so pictures, would naming them "oak-tree-1.gif","oak-tree-2.gif" help in targeting this word? To what extent?

I do not know for all search engines, but for those that catalog images (like Google's image search), those images would possibly show up on a search for images with "oak tree" key words. That, in turn, would lead folks to your site.

Now, for how well it will help you rank in a textual content search (a normal Google Search) - I have had the impression in the past that an image name does have weight. But, that was my impression in the past. I wait to see if anyone else in here might have some direct experience to confirm one way or other.

[jmdb71]

Thanks for the informative response.
Im going to change the names, because it cant hurt. But does anyone know if the names of your images carry weight regarding search engines ranking a page containing them..?