alt image = anchor link ???

[edmc]

Just wondering if an alt image has the same benefits of an anchor link?

What Im saying is sometimes I would be happy to add a 5 or 6 word alt text for a clickable image but would never add it as an accompianing anchor link so is it possible to use say "click image" for anchor text & use the alt image text for the phrase I am targetting in the search engines?

I hope I have made myself clear but I doubt it

[edmc]

What im saying is by using a banner with a clickable link, does the "alt text" act as if I was using a standard link with the anchor "term"?

[PPP]

Yes, although the consensus is it isn't as strong.