Replace Header Text With Image

[getbigyadig]

I have a static website that I would like to retheme. I have the mockup, and its spliced. The website holds nice rankings right now, and I want to keep them in place. The one thing that will change with this new design is the header will no longer be text, but instead an image.  Is there a way to ensure googlebot still sees the H1 tag header exactly how it is now but use an image for the header instead?

I dont want any blackhat tricks that will get me banned. Just wondering if there is a simple way to have googlebot see the header as text (not ALT img txt) so the site does not appear to have changed at all. (It hasnt, I only am changing the graphics and colors of background, and header image for better branding.

[wojkwasi]

To achieve a balance between visual aesthetics and search engine interoperability, you could use a Javascript font renderer like cufon: http://cufon.shoqolate.com/generate/ - which will give you nice anti-aliasing.

Look at Google Fonts too - http://www.google.com/webfonts#ChoosePlace:select

I would redesign & work towards getting a H1 on there rather than working backwards

[AlanMosley]

Egol is correct.

your redesign has a cost, the desision is yours, what is more important, the HI or the design, only you know that.

[rsanchez]

You just need to make sure that the search engines will see your site exactly as visitors would see it.  Don't try and hide anything.  And I agree, try and keep the H1 tag.

And to answer your original question, the search engines have come a long way in terms of sophistication, but they still do not do so well with interpreting graphics, cookies, or javascript.  Just good 'ole text.

[getbigyadig]

I can leave the H1 tag in, I just dont know where to put it. Its my header, and the website now is VERY ugly. Maybe I will just put the H1 in there above the image, and then use a negative margin.  Is that allowed?

[EGOL]

You are going to use different html mark-up for the image and the h1.

They are not equivalent.

If you use the image you can add alt text but that is not going to be the same as H1 - less effective in my opinion.

If you can't get H1 into your site any other way then loss of the H1 will be part of the cost of your redesign.

If this was my site I would not give up H1 for an artsy image.