Images play an important role in SEO. They help the user find your site. So, better the optimization, better the findability. SEO’s are well aware of the fact that image optimization deserves equal time spent as do other factors. Well optimized image help the site get better search results which eventually increases the ranking of the site.This article will talk about some ways which optimize image for better search results.
Image optimization provides many advantages like faster loading of page, better user experience and definitely improvement in rankings. But what are the ways we need to know and follow to make sure that our images are findable and increase the page load speed. These images may show up in three different environments.
1. Google images search : This search is specifically for visual searching.
2. Google web search: Conventional Search engine results page includes images whenever they may be relevant to the user’s search.
3. Google Discover: Large sized images may prevail in Discover as a preview of content to explore.
Optimize image for better search results
Here are some ways you can optimize image for better search results. Let’s cut to the chase
✤ Original content
Google rewards original content. This pertains to quality of information in the content and the image too. If the content and images are copied then Google will not encourage it. So to avoid Google’s discouragement try to make your own photos and graphics. And even if you use stock images don’t use them as it is, modify them by editing them, by applying filters or adding text or crop them.
✤ File format
Using the correct and compatible file format is important so that Google can index your image in the search results. Because the file format affects the quality and downloading speed. Most common image formats are-
- JPEG: stands for ‘Joint Photographic Experts Group’ is one of the most used and good image file format. JPEGs image may lose quality but that can be adjusted.
- PNG: stands for ‘Portable Network Graphics’. Quality is not lost in this format. This is good for pics with text and screenshots. But PNG’s sometimes create larger file size for complex pictures.
- GIF: stands for ‘Graphical Interchange Format’. It is used to create animations. The quality is more or less the same.
- SVG: stands for ‘scalable Vector Format’. This is becoming popular. This vector graphics can be really small files that don’t lose quality no matter how much they’re stretched. They are easy to scale and faster to load. This works for logo type graphics and is not right for normal or complex images.
✤ File size
This is a difficult task when it comes to balance the size of the image and quality of the image. Resize the image such that it doesn’t increase in dimension than it’ll be displayed. Use compression tool to decrease the size of image. According to HTTP archive, images make up on average 21% of a total webpage’s weight. You can use various tools like TinyPNG or WP Smush to compress the image. Websites do improve their speed by compressing images.
✤ File name
As a SEO, you must be aware about the importance of creating keyword rich, descriptive file name. You should change the name of the file from ‘IMG123’ to a more elaborate name. For instance, if you have an image of boots then you can name it as ‘High-knee-boots’. It will become easy for the search engine to index your image in the search results because it provides the search engine more context.
✤ Alt-text
The Alt-text is text that is alternative to the picture. It describes the content of an image. This is an important feature of the SEO strategy. It gives information about the subject matter of the picture. Alt-text should be relevant to the picture. It should be an extremely brief description of the image. Adding proper Alt-text to the image on site can help improve your website rankings. Because Alt-text makes it easier for search engine to list the website in the search results based on the keywords of the content and the image as well.
✤ Mobile-friendly Image
It is very important for an SEO to make sure that the image is optimized for the Mobile version of the website as well. Many users are browsing your website on their mobile phones. So overlooking them would be a huge blunder. The image should load as quickly as possible on the mobile version of the website. This again helps improve the website’s ranking as Google definitely encourages Mobile-friendly websites.
Related Post: 7 Ways of Making Your Online Presence Mobile Friendly
✤ No copyright
When selecting images from internet make sure that there is no copyright involved. If you use an image that has a copyright then you can end up in little trouble. Make sure that the image you use is not owned by anybody. Especially while using images from stock photo providers, then image having no copyright should be used.
To conclude
Image optimization is important for a number of things. Indexing in search results that eventually lead to improvement in website rankings. So it should be a priority for every business or brand that use images constantly on their websites to showcase their products.
In a nutshell, make sure that the content is original, file size should be optimal, file format should be appropriate, alt-text should be added that needs to be relevant to the image. Website should be mobile-friendly. And do ensure there is no conflict of copyright.