Member Avatar for seo2005

Hi,

I would like to know that if I hyperlink a image to another page, would this be counted as a backlink by Google ?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by chronocommando

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A short, practical follow-up that builds on replies from , , , , , and .

The high‑level point in the thread is useful, but real-world results depend on a few technical details and verification steps. To get predictable SEO value from an image link, confirm the link is crawlable, descriptive, and supported by nearby text. Below are concrete checks and quick fixes.

  • Use a normal anchor around the image (so the href exists in the raw HTML). Example:

    <a href="">
    <img src="/images/product.jpg" alt="descriptive phrase for accessibility and context">
    </a>

  • Do not rely on JavaScript-only links or CSS background images if you need the link treated like a regular backlink.

  • Avoid rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc" on that anchor if you want the link to pass ranking signals.

  • Keep the alt attribute useful for accessibility first; make it a short, natural description rather than a keyword list. Use a visible caption or surrounding paragraph to reinforce topical relevance.

  • Match image filename and page content to the same topic for clearer context.

How to verify:

  • View page source (Ctrl+U) to ensure the anchor and alt are present in the served HTML.
  • Use Search Console (https://search.google.com/search-console) Links report and the URL Inspection tool to see how Google renders the page and what linking text it records.
  • If results look off, check server logs or a fetch-and-render to confirm Googlebot can fetch both the page and the image.

For alt/HTML specifics see MDN on the img element (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/img) and practical guidance on alt text from Moz (https://moz.com/learn/seo/alt-text).

Recommended Answers

All 8 Replies

Member Avatar for canadafred

Oh, the search engine knows all about the linked image and it's subsequent linked webpage but you may not necessarily be able to verify it.

For SEO, how it scores image links is obviously a bit lower than it would a textual link but the image link can still be quite usueful and it can create some important value; for relevancy purposes moreso than for developing Backlink volume.

Linked images can be used, lightly, to fuse two credible webpages together in order to support each other with related content. It's a win-win deal. Be sure to make good use of the alt attribute and give the image a logical-name.jpg [doean't hurt if the subsequent webpage is also logically-named.htm . Throw in some related textual content (Hx tags are good for this) near the image too (such as in an image caption) to make little concentrations of keyphrases.

Member Avatar for ChiefLee

I would assume (but I don't know this for sure) that good keywords in the alt text for the image might play a part in how much link juice gets passed along with the link. Does anybody know for sure?

Member Avatar for seo2005

So, the image link does count as backlink, but does it help in ranking also if alt attribute is my keyword ? Just like anchor text in hyperlinks.

Does the benefit of alt attribute pass to the linked page.

Member Avatar for almostbob

Does the benefit of alt attribute pass to the linked page.

Yes, there have been a number of SEO articles where the only instance of a phrase has been in the alt text of a linked image. The tyext appeared in google almost immediately, and hit on searches as highly ranked as other text from the same site.
Don't have a cite for it, the text I copied to my notes "The ALT tag of an hyperlinked image (which means the <a href=""> tag seems to have the same importance of a text link. Therefore google will index it as it was a simple text link. So pay much attention to text you include in this kind of ALT attribute. "
likely from

Member Avatar for phoenix06007

i think an alt tag will help for images

Member Avatar for canadafred

So, the image link does count as backlink, but does it help in ranking also if alt attribute is my keyword ? Just like anchor text in hyperlinks.

It counts as a backlink but one that is not as strong as a textual link and usually cannot be degtected in the backlink results meaning that it is considered as an auxiliary link. Your alt attribute should contain more than just a keyword. Write actual complete sentences to describe the image appropriately and cleanly (naturally) insert your keyphrases in there when the situation merits.

Does the benefit of alt attribute pass to the linked page.

I would think it does, indirectly; particularly in cases when the alt text is on a webpage whose content is related to the linked webpage's content.

Member Avatar for HazeyDaze

Hi,

I would like to know that if I hyperlink a image to another page, would this be counted as a backlink by Google ?

The short answer: Yes.

So, the image link does count as backlink, but does it help in ranking also if alt attribute is my keyword ? Just like anchor text in hyperlinks.

Does the benefit of alt attribute pass to the linked page.

The short answer: Yes.

ALT text in images that are linked are counted as anchor text.

Member Avatar for chronocommando

Hi,

I would like to know that if I hyperlink a image to another page, would this be counted as a backlink by Google ?

Yes it will be counted as a back link! as long as it is linking to the website. Image link building is also a good way to get back links.

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