Search Engine Optimization helps you rank in search results. As new techniques and strategies come up, people have realized that images also play an important role. However, image SEO is not as simple as finding the right image and uploading it for search engines to find them. There is a lot that goes into how you can take full advantage of image SEO. You need the following strategies and a white label rank tracker for checking your ranking.
Choose The Right Format
When it comes to uploading images on the site, you have to first decide the best type of image. Considering the types out there, it could be really difficult to go with the perfect one. Typically, PNG and JPEG are the most common types uploaded on the web.
The difference between the two is that PNG has a better quality but comes in a larger size. Whereas JPEG has a relatively low quality, but you can easily adjust the quality level to find a good balance. For the majority of the site owners, PNG happens to be the winner as the images can be formatted in various ways to suit the purpose without losing the image quality.
Compress The Images
One of the most important things site owners are either not aware of or come to find out late is that larger-size photos tend to make the site heavy. As a result, it takes a lot of time for the user to gain access to the information. This is why experts suggest compressing the images.
Search engines have powerful and smart algorithms to find the right images in the right place. Even if the images are appropriate, the search engines will still find it confusing to come across heavy images. There are a lot of tools that you can download online allowing you to compress the files.
Most people avoid compressing the images thinking it would reduce the quality. However, if you were to use the right software or plugin, you wouldn’t have to worry about it. On top of that, if the visitors have to wait a few seconds until the site fully uploads, the images no matter how good quality they are, won’t help.
Create Unique Images
One major factor that reduces the chances of your images or site showing up in search results is generic photos. You might have come across many sites on the internet that are using more or less similar photos. The fact is there are many sites offering photos that you can purchase and have the license to share on your site.
However, if everyone can pay the price, your site won’t stand out. That said, it is always better to create unique images. If required, you should be able to put in extra effort to do a photoshoot. This way, the images created and uploaded on the site will be unique. No other site is going to have access to it.
Beware Of Copyright
If you have decided to choose images from the internet and upload them onto your site, beware of the copyright issue. These lawsuits can put a severe dent in your site’s image and reputation. Some photos on the internet need to be purchased for you to upload them on your site.
However, many other sites allow you to use images for free. Some site owners tend to underestimate the power of copyright issues. Even today, various multinational brands are fighting a legal battle over the content they have used without the owner’s permission.
Apart from the monetary compensation, it is the reputation at stake. Unfortunately, once it is gone, you cannot buy it back.
So, try to use your own images if you have a team for this. If you want to use images from the internet, make sure to read the terms and understand how you can use the image. Some free licenses require you to use the name of the owner while some others require you to not make any changes to the original image before uploading. Use the images correctly and then check website ranking on Google to see the difference.
Customize Image File Names
As mentioned earlier, finding an image on the internet and uploading it to your site is of no use. When it comes to SEO, you have to create descriptive and keyword-rich file names for the search engines to find your images. Keywords help search engines detect the subject matter of the image.
At the same time, you should not upload files with the same titles. Creating unique titles will help your site stand out as well. Instead of using typical image titles, you should change the file name for the search engines to find you and improve your SEO.
For instance, if you are selling chocolate on your site. Uploading images with titles such as ‘Chocolate-1’, and ‘Chocolate-2’ won’t help. You will have to come up with titles like ‘dark-chocolate-coffee’ for search engines to understand the image.
Write SEO-Friendly Alt Text
Sometimes, browsers are not able to under the text or subject of the images. This is where alt text come in. It helps the search engine know what is the content of the image. When the image does not load, you will get an image box with an alt tag located in the top left corner.
You need to make sure they fit with the image and help make it relevant. Plus, understanding the importance of Alt text also helps you improve your overall SEO strategy. Even if the site is fully optimized but the images are failing to upload, the users will not be able to see what they want to see.
Furthermore, Google tends to rank sites and images relatively better that have descriptive keywords and appropriate alt tags.
Consider The Image File Structure
Google continues to introduce new guidelines as part of its growth. Recently, the company has stated that it uses file names and paths to rank images. In simple words, if you have a site that is selling multiple types of products, instead of placing all your products in one generic folder, you should create subfolders to cater to different categories.
Make Your Images Mobile-Friendly
There was a time when users relied on personal computers to access sites, locations, images, and other important data. We know that more people are using smartphones to access the internet than personal computers.
Therefore, users have every right to do business and search for relevant information within seconds on their smartphones with just a single tap. Keep in mind that a site optimized for personal computers does not necessarily mean it will be friendly for mobile devices as well.
You will have to put in additional effort to make sure the site does not take long to load whichever device the visitor is using. Every image on your site must adjust to the size of your mobile and other personal device. If the case is otherwise, do not be surprised if your site does not get any visitors.
Conclusion
Finding or creating the right images for your site is not enough. You have to follow the optimization rituals above to show up in the search results. Because every year we witness the introduction of new SEO strategies, optimizing images is no joke. You will have to be consistent with your efforts to stand out and keep an eye on your site’s SEO rank report.
