The Single Pixel Gif Trick

We learned this technique a long time ago but for a different application. Web designers have long used this trick to position text more accurately in Web pages. Now it seems this technique can do double duty by providing a canvas on which Web site promoters can paint their keywords.

We've mentioned before that some engines will index words found in the ALT tag, the tag that describes a graphic image. For this reason, it's a good idea to stuff as many keywords as you can into these tags.

One problem with this technique is that people who browse with their graphics turned off will see only these lists of keywords where a graphic might otherwise be seen. Studies have shown that there are still a good number of people with slower connections who browse the Web in "graphics off" mode. If you stuffed dozens of keywords into this tag, your Web page will look awful to these folks. For this reason, exercise prudence when you fill up the ALT tag with keywords so that your page doesn't look like a hideous gallery of keywords to these folks.

Using single pixel gifs allows you to have your ALT tag cake and eat it too. Use the ALT tag normally (a short description of the graphic only) for the primary graphics on your Web site.

Then, open your favorite graphic editor and create an image that consists of just a single dot (one pixel) the same color as your background (you can even define it as a transparent gif if you want to be extra stealthy). Insert that tiny graphic into your page, preferably near the top for the best effect.

Example:
<img src=" tinyimage. gif" HEIGHT= 1 WIDTH= 1 BORDER= 0 ALT=" keyword1 keyword2 keyword3 keyword1">

Pretty simple, isn't it? This is just another technique to add keywords invisible to those viewing the Web site but still visible to search engines and valuable for search engine positioning.