Google has always been a text-based search engine. However, with the advent of images and videos, Google had to adapt its algorithm to better display relevant images and videos in response to user queries. This is where Images SEO comes into play. Images SEO is the process of optimizing images on your website so that they appear as high up as possible in Google Image Search results for relevant keywords or keyword phrases.
Google loves images. In fact, a study by Moz found that pages with images rank higher on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) than those without. Images play a very important role on websites. Not only do they make a website more visually appealing, but they also help to improve the user experience. In addition, images are an essential part of SEO. By optimizing your images for search engines, you can improve the visibility of your website and drive more traffic to your site. So it’s important to make sure your website is following SEO best practices for image optimization. This article will teach you how to do just that.
Here are some tips on how to make your image-heavy website rank higher on Google:
1. Use descriptive filenames and alt text: Whenever you save an image, make sure to give it a descriptive filename. For example, instead of naming an image “1234.jpg,” name it “green-tea.jpg” or “fruit-bowl.jpg.” This will help Google understand what the image is about and index it accordingly. In addition, always remember to fill out the alt text field when uploading images to your website. The alt text is a short description of the image that is used by Google when it can’t display the image. By filling out the alt text field, you can help Google understand the context of the image and index it properly.
2. Use appropriate image file types: There are many different image file types, but some are more seo-friendly than others. The two most popular image file types are JPEG and PNG. JPEG images are great for photos because they have a small file size and can be compressed without losing quality. PNG images are also good for photos, but they tend to be larger in file size. If you’re looking to optimize your images for SEO, JPEG and PNG are both great options. Webp is a new image file format that’s supported by Google. Webp images are smaller in file size than JPEG and PNG images, making them ideal for websites that are looking to improve their page speed.
3. Avoid scaling images in code: Whenever possible, avoid scaling images in your HTML or CSS code. Google prefers images that are their original size. If you need to resize an image, it’s best to use an image editor like Photoshop or GIMP. If you are using a CMS like WordPress, make sure to upload different sized images and use the built-in image resize functionality.
4. Compress images for faster loading: Another way to optimize your images for SEO is to compress them. Image compression helps to reduce the file size of an image without reducing the quality. This is important because smaller files sizes mean that your images will load faster, which is good for both users and search engines. There are many different tools that you can use to compress images, but we recommend using TinyPNG. TinyPNG is a free online tool that can help you compress JPEG and PNG images.
5. Don’t embed important text inside images: When adding text to images, avoid using important keywords or phrases. Google can’t read text that is embedded inside images, so you want to make sure that any text on your images is not essential to understanding the content of the image. A good rule of thumb is to only use text on images if it is decorative or adds context to the image.
6. Create an appropriate URL structure for images: Google uses the URL path as well as the file name to help it understand your images. Consider organizing your image content so that URLs are constructed logically. For example, if you have an image gallery, you might want to consider creating a separate URL for each image. This will help Google index your images more effectively.
7. Image placement: Make sure to place images near contextually relevant text so that Google can understand it better. For example, if you have an image of a green tea, make sure to place it near text that talks about green tea. This will help Google understand the relationship between the image and the text, and index both accordingly.
8. Use high quality images: Images aren’t just decorative here. People use these images to look and feel your products. Its also recommended that eCommerce website have multiple images of products. Having just 1 image isn’t a good practice. Users may not be convinced with the fine details if they see just 1 product image.
9. Use structured data markup: Structured data markup is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand your content better. For images, you can use the ImageObject schema. This schema tells Google what an image is, where it’s located on your website, and how big it is. This could help your images appear in Google Image search results.
10. Promote image indexing: You can use Google’s Image Search Console to submit your images to Google and help them index them faster. Also including your images in the Sitemap file will also help Google index them.
If you follow these tips, you can ensure that your website’s images are properly indexed and understood by Google. This will help you improve your website’s SEO and could even lead to your images appearing in Google Image search results. Images heavy websites such as eCommerce stores, or portfolio websites can benefit greatly from these tips as they can also help improve the user experience and increase conversion rates. Hope this helps! 🙂
