CrazyLeaf Editorial If you have a website, you will want to include images on it regardless of the type of business you have. The images that you place on the website also needs to help support your SEO efforts. Many of the tips that you can use for image optimization are simple to implement, but they will make a big difference in terms of greater visibility.
The Size
According to an SEO provider in Perth, Australia, called Digital Monopoly the first thing that you need to consider when looking at search by image is the size of the file. If the image does not load quickly, your user’s patience will not only be tested, it will send a negative signal to Google. Site loading speed is an important ranking factor and this will include all of the images you have.
To prepare your image for the internet, you need to make the right choice when creating the file instead of trying to manipulate it after uploading it to your website. You should never upload a large image and then force it to be viewed in a smaller resolution via HTML attributes. When you are optimizing your image, you want the dimensions to be as large as possible, but the storage space to be as small as possible.
You will be able to achieve this by compressing the image. This means that the file size is reduced, but the image will retain the quality appearance. There are a number of free compression tools that you can use to achieve this.
Use Informative File Names
When you download images from your camera, you need to give them names that are descriptive and easy for the search engine to find. While the file name should be something that is descriptive, you do not want it to be too complicated. Simple file names are good because it is easier for the search engines to find and rank. The name will tell the search engines what the image is related to and what keywords it should be ranked under.
Choosing The Right File Format
There are a number of different image file formats that you can choose from and each will serve a different purpose. If you choose the right type of file, you will see a huge improvement in the ranking of the image. According to Neil Patel, JPEG file formats are ideal when you have an image with a lot of color, shading and color gradients.
However, if you are uploading a logo or a picture that has a lot of solid colors or some transparency, you should look at using the PNG format. GIF formats are only when you have an animation or when you are using the image in a similar manner to the PNG.
Using Alt Text
Search engines are still not very good at seeing and identifying the content of an image, even with all the advances that are still happening. This is why you need to look at embedding alternative text in the image. This text will help describe the content to the search engines.
If you are a business that wants to gain attention for search inquiries including a location and services they provide, you need to add certain things to the alt text. A keyword and local modifier are important alt text to include as they will help the search engine understand the relevance of the image.
When you look at adding keywords, you have to consider one point and that is to avoid over-optimization. This will cause you more problems than benefits when it comes to the search rankings. You will not only create a poor experience for people using screen readers, you will also look like you are spamming the keyword.
Surround The Image With Relevant Text
When you look at the HTML coding of your website, you will get a better idea of the proximity of keywords to your image. When you surround the image with relevant text such as keywords, the search engines will better understand the content of the image and what it is related to. This post from Matt Diggity is worth a read.
Geotagging
The most accurate way to tag your image with a location is to add latitude and longitude to the metadata. This will ensure that your images are picked up by the search engines. There are a number of tools that you can use to help with this.
Creating Image Sitemaps
Google and other search engines encourage you to use image sitemaps to give them more information about the images on your website. This allows them to find the images even if they are loaded by a JavaScript code. If you already have a sitemap for your website, you can add this information to it or you could create a separate one for your images.
Creating a sitemap is not actually that complicated. You will simply be listing all of the URLs on your website with some additional information about the images on the page.
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