How to Optimize Images for SEO
(8 Must-Know Tips)
Most people focus on high-quality content, strong internal and external linking, and good site loading speed for their SEO approach. If you have all these boxes ticked, you're considered to be doing pretty good.
But what about the images? Are you adding multiple meaningful photos per page to keep the audience interested?
And most importantly: Are you optimizing the images as per the SEO standards?
Image optimizing is one of the most important - but ignored elements of an overall SEO strategy. As search engine algorithms are evolving, so are SEO practices. Optimizing your visuals helps them rank for image searches, leading to more traffic on your page.
To a naive mind, image SEO may sound like a complicated task. But it's not! You only have to make some adjustments to how you add the pictures, and you should be on your way to achieving higher image search rankings. In this guide, let's learn how to optimize the images for ideal SEO.
The obvious first step is to add high-quality images to your website. Here, marketers often debate whether to opt for original and custom images or consider stock photos as well.
The selection is primarily dependent on your needs. If you have a specialized product or service, you should hire a professional to take custom photos. This will help bring your creativity to use and deliver a solid message to your audience.
If taking original photos is not practical or feasible, you can benefit from stock photos available at low prices. These offer a wide range of options available for instant download. However, you should look to ensure that your chosen images are relevant to your brand and not extensively used by competitive websites.
Proper image optimization helps search engines know what each picture represents. The name you give to an image is crucial. When you download media files, you may see pictures with the default file names such as 'img_29385567' as the title.
Instead of using the default tag, create a file title relevant to the image's subject. Make it descriptive with keywords (if applicable). But don't try to stuff the image name with keywords since that can backfire on your search rankings.
Take, for example, the above image. You downloaded it with a generic file name such as 'img_298457'. However, change it and be more specific regarding the illustration, so search engine algorithms get better context. In the above case, 'black-coffee-mug' will be a more appropriate name.
An Alt tag is a brief written description of an image. It offers more information to the search engines about the picture. If an image fails to load for some reason, the written description appears in place to aid users. Alt tags also help visually disabled people, who hear image descriptions through the screen readers.
Google recommends that you post meaningful descriptions and avoid keyword stuffing.
A 'plain black cotton t-shirt' will be a helpful Alt tag for the above example. However, something along the lines of "black shirt" is correct as well, but would be less descriptive.
Captions are not an outright ranking factor for Google, but they undoubtedly improve the user experience. Unlike filenames and Alt tags, they are displayed to the website visitors and give much-needed information about a specific image.
They are also helpful as some images need elaboration to be fully understood. Well-written captions help lower the bounce rates and allow the audience to maintain their interest in the information they offer.
Page loading time is critical for SEO. As per Google research, the chance of a bounce increases by 90% when a page takes five seconds to load. Selecting the correct image format can help with the page loading speed.
Generally, you will come across the three standard image formats when selecting pictures for your webpage: JPEG, GIF, and PNG.
Joint Photographic Experts Group or JPEG is a standard image format typically used to compress image data without compromising the quality. JPEG files take the least storage space compared to other similar formats.
Graphics Interchange Format, or GIF, is a commonly used format for images and short animations. No data is lost in the compression with GIF format.
Portable Network Graphics, or PNG, is a file format used for digital arts like logos, icons, and flat images. It makes a good candidate for websites since it also offers lossless data compression.
Choosing JPEG seems to be the apparent option at face value since it takes the least space compared to the other two commonly used options, GIF and PNG. However, that is not always the case. The choice you make merely depends on the type of picture you are using. For example:
JPEG format is perfect for most images due to its smaller file size.
PNG is ideal for vectors and text images.
In the case of a moving image, GIF is the preferred option.
You can compress image file sizes without compromising the image quality to boost the loading speed further. Multiple tools are available that can reduce the image size without significantly affecting its quality.
But do note that some of these tools can strip the image's EXIF data, which carries information about the format, and the camera used for the picture. Do not opt for removing EXIF data since it has a minor effect on the file size, and Google has called it one of the ranking factors for images.
A vector graphic is a computer-generated image that utilizes points, lines, and curves based on mathematical equations instead of pixels. They are generally used for logos and similar elements on websites.
Scalable Vector Graphics, or SVGs, are the most commonly used type of vector. They are compatible with all browsers and do not pixelate no matter the size of the screen, which is a massive advantage over traditional images.
An image sitemap is critical from the SEO perspective. It is a separate sitemap for the website that specifically lists the media files to help Google discover them. The sitemap also provides additional information about the pictures.
If you use Yoast SEO for WordPress, it automatically adds images to a sitemap. The map also has pictures from non-indexed pages as a standard. The information you can add through the plugin is limited. You can further add image-related details to the code.
Images are an impregnable part of any web design. Without images, the web page becomes bland, boring, and uninteresting to your audience. This is why it is essential to present your pictures the right way. By integrating the above strategies with your existing SEO plan, you can benefit from a substantial boost in traffic and ranking. Good luck!
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