<title> versus <alt>

[wwwizzard]

Hi everybody

A simple question from a simple mind:
I have seen people use <title> where you would expect <alt>, for examle to describe a picture.
What is the reason (if any) and does it affect search engines?

Cheers

[paulhiles]

Hi John,

Really it's not a question of <title> versus <alt>. They both have a specific purpose, and perform different roles, which is probably why they are still part of W3C recommendations.
Briefly, the <alt> attribute is used as an alternative description for an image. Originally introduced to cope with non-graphical browsers, now its main purpose is to improve accessibility for screen readers.
The <title> attribute provides feedback to the user on what they may expect on visiting a link. The link can contain either anchor text or a linked image. In the case of a linked image, you will often see both title and alt attributes used.

Here are a few relevant discussions from WebProWorld:

Alt text for images tags

Alt tags

Google Ranking Benefit For Link Titles?

As you can see, this question or variations on it, come up quite regularly...
I guess I'd better start putting together an FAQs section, eh? ;o)

[wwwizzard]

Thanks a lot Paul! That answers even questions I did not have, what more can I wish for?!

Thanks