Important Image SEO Techniques for Website Success

Optimizing your website's images is crucial for search engine rankings.

Using descriptive file names is a great place to start. By including relevant keywords in your file names, you can help search engines understand the content of your images.

For example, using "beach-vacation.jpg" instead of "image123.jpg" is a simple yet effective way to improve image SEO.

Properly sizing your images can also improve page load times and user experience.

Optimizing your images is crucial for SEO, and it starts with something simple: renaming your files. Change default names like "IMG_722019" to descriptive, keyword-rich names that alert Google to the subject matter of the image.

Creating unique images is just as important. Avoid using generic stock photos that can be found on other websites, as Google will treat them as duplicate content. Instead, opt for original, high-quality images that will make your website stand out.

Images should be at least 1200px wide to increase their chances of being featured in Google Discover. Make sure to include the max-image-preview:large setting in your robots meta tag to ensure your images are surfaced as large thumbnails.

Defining your image dimensions is crucial for preventing Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) issues. This can interfere with your Core Web Vitals optimization and cause the page to jump when it loads.

Including width and height attributes for every image and video element is key to preventing CLS issues. This tells the browser how much space to allocate for the resource.

A page can shift up and down, lowering your CLS score, if images don't have their width and height attributes set.

Using generic stock photos can make your website look unoriginal, and Google will treat it as duplicate content. This can negatively impact your SEO.

Stock photos are easily recognizable and can be found on multiple websites, making them less effective than original images. I've seen it happen on corporate websites and consulting firms, where the same stock image of a businessman smiling is used.

Original images can greatly improve user experience and increase your chances of ranking on relevant searches. The more original pictures you have, the better.

Large images are more likely to be featured in Google Discover, and Google recommends images be at least 1200 px wide.

Creating descriptive, keyword-rich file names is crucial for SEO, as it helps Google understand the subject matter of the image. Typically, default file names like "IMG_722019" don't provide enough information.

Optimizing images involves compressing them to reduce load times and using responsive images for different screen sizes. This ensures a better user experience and improves SEO.

Setting alt text for images is essential for SEO and accessibility. Alt tags provide context to what an image is displaying, informing search engine crawlers and allowing them to index an image correctly.

High-quality images can significantly boost SEO efforts, but they need to be optimized with relevant keywords and descriptive alt text. This is because some search engines, like Google, have a unique index for images.

Writing SEO-friendly alt text is crucial, as it describes the contents of an image file. Alt tags should fit with the image and make the picture relevant, and they should be short and descriptive, using just one or two keywords.

Adding alt text to images is essential to ensure a website is search engine optimized. It's a good idea to set the time aside to go through images and add relevant, descriptive alt text throughout the website.

Image files can be a real pain to manage, but there are some best practices to keep in mind.

Organizing your image files into folders with clear names is crucial for easy access and retrieval. This will save you time and reduce frustration in the long run.

You should also consider using a consistent naming convention for your image files, such as including the date and a brief description of the image. This will make it easier to identify and locate specific files.

Having a clear understanding of image file formats, including JPEG, PNG, and GIF, is essential for choosing the right format for your needs.

Mobile-friendliness is crucial for images, especially with the srcset and sizes attributes. These attributes enable responsive images that scale according to the user's device or resolution, saving bandwidth on slow network connections.

The srcset attribute specifies different image files and their widths, while the sizes attribute helps the browser choose a resource based on the viewport size. For instance, for viewports up to 600 px wide, it will choose a 300 px wide image, and for larger viewports, a 1200 px wide image.

You can also use the “x” descriptor to choose the most suitable image size based on the device's screen resolution, like 1x, 2x, or 3x for standard, retina, and super retina screens.

A screen reader is a form of assistive technology that allows blind/low vision to read digital information. It's a game-changer for people like me who use it to navigate the digital world.

Screen readers are often referred to as text-to-speech, and they're not always on all the time. Some users, like me, use them on demand, activating them with a gesture, shortcut, or button press on our phone.

If an image doesn't have alt text, it will likely be ignored by the screen reader, making it difficult or impossible for the user to know what's in the image. This is a crucial consideration for anyone creating digital content.

Some screen readers can be connected to a refreshable braille display, which will display alt text, emoji names, and other text-based content in braille. These displays come in different sizes, with the most common models displaying 40 characters at a time.

For users who don't need a full screen reader, there are "on demand" tools like select-to-speak, read aloud, and speak text. These tools are only used to read text or alt text, and they're a great option for people who need occasional assistance.