Images bring blog posts to life and help the writer convey the article’s context easier. Optimizing images helps in improving your site’s SEO. This article discusses important tips about image SEO.
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Why Is Image Optimization Important?
According to data from Jumpshot from 2018, Google Images is used in over 20% of all U.S. web searches. Both novices and SEO experts know how important optimizing your website’s images is. There are even digital marketing services for this.
Without effective image optimization, you’re throwing away a useful SEO resource. Numerous benefits result from image optimization, including improved user experience, quicker page loads, and more opportunities to rank. Additionally, the role is becoming more crucial.
10 Useful Tips For Image SEO
There are a lot of things you can do without paying for SEO services and image SEO is one of them. Here are essential tips you need to know to optimize images for your website:
1. Selecting The Right Format For Images
It can be similar to placing your first Taco Bell order when decoding all the different image formats. However, you must select the best file type before adding images to your website.
Although numerous image formats are available, PNG and JPEG are the most popular for use on the web.
PNG: Produces images of higher quality but has a larger file size.
Jpeg: Image quality may be compromised, but you can change the quality setting to achieve a good compromise.
WebP: This is the only image format supported by Chrome and Firefox. You can choose between lossless and lossy compression.
Be cautious if you embed.jpg images; you should use them in an SVG format since Google’s indexing software cannot read these.
2. Compress Images
Yes, a bloated web page caused by an uncompressed image upload makes hell rage like never before. Search engines will examine your website the same way you might examine a large vat of Crisco: You can’t think about doing that on your website, can you?
According to HTTP Archive, images account for an average of 21% of the weight of a webpage. I strongly advise compressing your images before uploading them to your website. You can accomplish this using Photoshop or a tool like TinyPNG.
Find a plugin that compresses the images externally on their servers, regardless of the plugin you use. The strain on your website is reduced.
Use an image CDN that recognizes the device and optimizes the image before delivery, or go one step further. You can try Cloudinary and Imgix as two options.
3. Use Unique Images
On your website, you want your photos to stand out. Suppose you overstuff your website with stock photos. In that case, it will appear unoriginal and blend in with the thousands of other unremarkable websites. The same generic stock photos are overused and clog up too many websites.
Consider a corporate website, a consulting firm, or a company that takes great pride in customer service. Each of these websites features a stock photo of a businessman grinning that is identical. The user experience and chances of appearing in relevant searches improve with the number of unique images you have.
Remember that Google Discover is more likely to feature large images.
4. Consider Copyright For Image SEO
Ensure there are no copyright conflicts with the image files you use. You risk spending much on legal fees if Getty, Shutterstock, DepositFiles, or another stock photo provider owns an image you use without permission.
If you have violated any copyright issues, you may receive a notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). A DMCA Takedown request may be made by the owner of a piece of content who discovers it on your website, and you must abide by it.
5. Use Unique File Names
Creating defining and keyword-rich file names are essential for SEO. It’s like ordering a burrito with no filling if you don’t customize the file name for your image. It isn’t very good.
Google and other search engine crawlers are informed about the image’s subject matter by the images’ file names. File names typically start with “IMG 722019” or a similar phrase. That is equivalent to placing a menu order in a foreign language. Google isn’t aided by it.
Change the file name from the default to improve your SEO value and make it easier for search engines to understand your image. Depending on your media library size, this may take some time, but changing the image’s default name is always a good idea. You can read this on every professional digital marketing agency‘s blog.
6. Optimize The Alt Text
When an image can’t be rendered properly by a browser, alt tags provide text alternatively. The alt attribute is used to define the contents of an image file, just like the title.
You will see an image box with the alt tag in the top left corner if the image won’t load. Make sure they complement the picture and add context.
The overall on-page SEO plan benefits from paying attention to alt tags. Although you should check that every other area of optimization is in place, users will still see the intended image if the image fails to load for any reason.
Additionally, linking keywords to images in the alt tags you add to your website’s images can help your website rank higher in the search engines. Google itself has noted the importance of alt text in image files.
It gives Google important details about the image’s subject matter. With the aid of this data, we can decide which image will best satisfy a user’s request.
For people unable to view images themselves, alt text is required by the American Disabilities Act. Users can be informed what is in the image with descriptive alt text. Write your alt text like you’re writing a blog title.
7. Optimize The Page Title And Header Tags
Google also acknowledged that your page’s title and description are considered by its algorithm for image searches.
The basic on-page SEO elements you use, such as header tags, page copy, structured data, and meta descriptions, impact how Google ranks your images.
It’s similar to adding all the toppings to a burrito. With guac, it tastes much better. So, if you want to increase image rankings, add guacamole.
8. Optimize Images for Mobile
Mobile SEO! It can, at worst, result in a high bounce and low conversion rates. But it can increase your ranking power and improve user interaction when it works best. But how do you make your images mobile-first index-ready?
Fortunately, Google provides recommendations for image best practices.
You should produce responsive images, to put it briefly. This means that whether a user is using a desktop or a mobile device, the image will resize to fit the size of the site. It changes to fit the size of the gadget.
9. Add Them to Your Sitemap For Image SEO
You want images in your sitemaps, whether adding images to your existing sitemap or making a new sitemap just for images. Search engines are much more likely to crawl and index your images if you include them in a sitemap. As a result, website traffic increases. Yoast and RankMath’s plugin for WordPress includes a sitemap solution.
10. Adding Structured Data
Your content types should be marked with structured data to help Google and other search engines produce better visual results. If you include structured data, Google might serve your images as a rich result.
Google might associate an image with a price tag if you use schema markup on a product page and label the image as a product. Search engines use the information in the structured data instead of the algorithm to provide the appropriate image.
Final Words About Image SEO
Therefore, adhere to the image optimization practices listed above before uploading your image to your website.
Making sure the image and alternative text are appropriate for the page is crucial. Other important lessons:
- Select the appropriate file format. My preferred format for screenshots is PNG.
- To speed up page loading, reduce file size.
- Ensure your image pairs with your on-page SEO components (metadata, structured data, etc.).
- Create an image sitemap for crawlability, or make sure your sitemap includes your images.
