Optimizing your images for SEO is an important step in making sure your website is easily discoverable by search engines. By taking the time to properly optimise your images, you can improve your website’s visibility and drive more traffic to your site. t

In this guide, we’ll show you how to optimise your images for SEO, step-by-step. By following these tips, you’ll be able to improve your website’s visibility and drive more traffic to your site.

 

Why is optimizing your images for SEO important?

But before we dive into the specifics, let’s first understand why image optimisation is so important. Search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo use various ranking factors to determine the relevance and authority of a website. One of these factors is the use of images and videos on the website. Search engines crawl the images and videos on your site, and they use that information to understand the context and the content of your website. If your images are not properly optimised, search engines may not be able to understand them, and as a result, your website may not rank as well as it could.

 

A step-by-step guide to optimizing your images for SEO

Choose the right file format

When it comes to choosing the right file format for your images, there are a few key things to keep in mind.

Here is a short list of the best file formats for web images:

• JPEG
• PNG

And the file formats to avoid:

• BMP
• TIFF

 

 

Compress your images

Large, high-resolution images can slow down your website’s loading time, which can negatively impact your SEO. Compressing your images can help reduce their file size without sacrificing quality.

Here’s how you can do it:

• Use a tool like TinyPNG, Compressor.io, or Kraken.io to compress your images without sacrificing quality.
• Reduce the resolution of the images. The higher the resolution, the larger the file size. So, you can reduce the resolution to decrease the file size without compromising on the quality.
• Choose the right format. JPEG and PNG are the best file formats for images on the web, as they are both easily viewable by all browsers. JPEG is good for photographs and images with lots of colours, while PNG is better for images with transparent backgrounds or images with text.
• Make use of sprites. Combine multiple images into one to reduce the number of HTTP requests required to load a page, this will help in decreasing the loading time and improve the user experience.

 

Use descriptive, keyword-rich file names

The file name of your image is one of the first things that search engines look at, so make sure it is descriptive and includes relevant keywords.

Here are some tips to help you create effective file names for your images:

• Use keywords that are relevant to the image. For example, if the image is of a red sports car, a good file name would be “red-sports-car.jpg”
• Avoid using generic file names such as “IMG123.jpg” or “DSC4567.jpg”. These types of file names do not provide any information about the image, and won’t help search engines understand the context of the image.
• Use dashes or underscores to separate words in the file name. This helps search engines understand the structure of the file name, and makes it easier for them to crawl the image.
• Keep file names short and descriptive. Long file names can be difficult for search engines to crawl, and may not provide enough information about the image.

 

Use alt tags

Alt tags, also known as alt attributes, provide text descriptions of images for search engines. These tags should be concise and include relevant keywords.

Here are some best practices for using alt tags:

1. Use descriptive, keyword-rich text in your alt tags. The text should accurately describe the image and include relevant keywords.
2. Keep your alt tags concise. Aim for around 125 characters or less.
3. Use alt tags on all images, including infographics and charts.
4. Use empty alt tags on images that are purely decorative and don’t add any additional information to the content.
5. Avoid using the phrases like “image of” or “picture of” in your alt tags, as they add no value to the description and take up valuable space.

Use captions

Captions are short, descriptive text that appears beneath an image. They provide context for the image and can help search engines understand the content of your website.

Here are some best practices for using captions:

• Use descriptive, keyword-rich text. The text in your captions should be descriptive and include relevant keywords that are related to the image and the context of the page.
• Keep captions concise. Captions should be short and to the point, usually not exceeding a few sentences.
• Use captions for all images. Make sure to use captions for all images on your website, not just the main images.
• Use HTML tags properly. Use proper HTML tags for captions, such as the <figcaption> tag, to ensure that search engines can understand the context of the image.
• Make sure captions are visible. Captions should be easy to read and visible to users, so use a font size and colour that is easily readable.

 

Use structured data

Structured data, such as schema markup, can help search engines understand the context of your images and improve their visibility in search results.

Here’s a list of steps you can take to use structured data for optimizing your images:

1. Use schema markup: Schema markup is a type of structured data that you can add to your HTML code to provide additional information about your images to search engines.
2. Add image information: You can use schema markup to add information about your images such as caption, title, and the date the image was taken.
3. Use imageObject: Use the imageObject schema type to describe your images in more detail, including the image’s URL, width and height, and the image’s contentUrl.
4. Use appropriate itemprop: Use the itemprop attribute to specify the role of an image on the page. For example, use “image” for the main image on the page and “logo” for a logo image.
5. Test your structured data: Use Google’s structured data testing tool to check if your structured data is implemented correctly and to see if there are any errors.

 

Optimize the placement of your images

Make sure that your images are placed in relevant areas of your website, and that they are properly linked to other pages on your site.

Here are a few quick tips to keep in mind:

• Use images in relevant areas of your website and throughout your posts.
• Use images to break up text making your content more visually appealing and easier to read.
• Use images in your blog post and articles making your content more interesting.
• Use images in your product pages for visitors to understand the product better and make it more appealing.
• Use images in your social media posts to promote your website and attract more visitors.

 

In conclusion, optimizing your images for SEO is an important step in making sure your website is easily discoverable by search engines and providing a better experience for your visitors.