almost eight Image SEO Best Practices to Make Your Content More Discoverable

Posted on Posted in Blog

To consider the importance of visual search in 2021, let’s start with an example.

A few days ago, I Googled “how to conduct a vlookup in Excel”. I skimmed several articles but still felt dissatisfied — I actually didn’t want to read about vlookups, I wanted to see it.

Enter: The ability of images.

Once I clicked on “Images”, I found what I needed quickly:

how to conduct a vlookup in excel image results page

I know I’m not by yourself. In fact , nowadays, half of all Google queries end on the search results  page, with no user clicking through to any results.

Within 2021 and beyond, it’s critical marketing experts begin paying attention to the importance of visual images as a powerful opportunity to reach new audiences over the SERPs.

Plus, as HubSpot’s Marketing Manager Kristen Baker told me, “After working an image experiment in the HubSpot Blog, I recently found that ranking within Google’s image packs increases impressions plus clicks to our content. ”

But… easier said than done, right?

Here, let’s explore what image SEO is, and the best practices you’ll want to follow to create your webpages more discoverable in picture search results.

→ Download Now: SEO Starter Pack [Free Kit]

Image SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Best Practices

1 . Use related, accurate alt text for user accessibility and SEO.

As a fast refresher: Alt textual content is written copy that describes an image. For instance, if you select Pipcorn’s popcorn product and inspect the page, you’ll see the alt text describes the product image precisely as “Popcorn Family members Pack Popcorn Pipsnacks LLC”:

the alt text of popcorn family pack pipsnacks product

Alt-text plays two critical tasks in SEO.

First, alt text — also known as alt tags, or betagt descriptions — helps search engine crawlers index your website more effectively, that has a positive effect on search engine results.

In fact , Search engines states on its Developers page, “You can aid in the finding process by making sure that your images and your site are optimized designed for Google Images . [and] increase the likelihood that the content will appear on the internet Images search results. ”

Second, altbier text improves the consumer experience. Alt textual content can describe an image to a visually impaired reader, and also helps if a reader aint able to load or view the image correctly on the device.

To get a full run-down of how to write high-quality alt text, take a look at Picture Alt Text: What, How to Write This, and Why It Matters to SEO.

2 . Consider using captions to describe an image.

Captions aren’t generally necessary if the framework of the page can help readers understand what the is depicting — for instance, in this article I haven’t utilized any captions due to the fact I’ve used text to introduce each image I’ve shown.

However , if you have a visual-heavy internet site, consider using captions to help readers understand an image in context. For example, on Tom Hull’s photography portfolio, he captions his pictures so viewers can contextualize where, or even what, the image represents:

Tom Hulls photography portfolio

Use good view when it comes to adding captions, but if you feel it will help readers (and bots) better discern a picture, then it might be an experienced addition to a page.

3. Shrink images for faster weight time.

Compressing images is a vital component of any good website optimization technique.

Why?

Because, simply put, it helps your web pages insert faster, which provides a better user experience and also helps boost your home page’s search engine rankings.

To compress your images efficiently, try a tool like Compress JPEG  or Squoosh.

Usually, less than 100 KB is ideal in terms of great file size.

Nevertheless , it’s important to note — Google doesn’t look at each individual image dimension. Instead, it discusses complete   page size.

Therefore , if you have a small picture where quality differences are less substantial, then you might try compressing that image to 30-50 KB … which gives you additional room to keep one more image 30 KB bigger, particularly if that will image loses quality after compression.

If you’re still worried about image quality after compression, take a look at Learn how to Ensure Your Images are High Resolution.

4. Post original images — not just stock photos.

Ultimately, Google (and readers) prioritize original content — which means, if you’re expecting your images will rank on image search engine pages, it’s vital you use initial, unique images.  

This is particularly essential if you work for an ecommerce website and you’re posting visuals of your product. Several shoppers use pictures to shop for consumer goods. In fact , 50% of online shoppers say images helped all of them decide what to purchase.

If your image does not accurately demonstrate your product, it will get buried under much better, higher-quality images from competitors.  

Consider using items like Canva to design in-house infographics, charts, or animated pictures to help your brand stand out on search results pages and make your images more shareable.

5. Name your file images prior to uploading them.

Your file name can impact how easy it is to get search engine crawlers in order to interpret your picture, so it’s helpful to rename your file before uploading this onto your webpage.

Rather than keeping the name a generic “IMG_0883”, try using relevant key phrases to describe what’s in the image, similar to your alt text. This can also help make certain your image appears on the image search results page, which will boost traffic to your site.

6. Make use of responsive images.

Responsive pictures are critical for ensuring your readers can see your images on any type of device. Nowadays, it’s vital your pages are usually optimized for mobile  to impact search engine ranking positions, as well as user experience.

If your images aren’t responsive, the particular page won’t show up as clean upon mobile as it really does on desktop — which negatively impacts SEO, as well as your reader’s perception of your brand.

Fortunately, some website hosting services, which includes HubSpot, automatically assure your images are receptive.

However , when need be, you can make your pictures responsive by using fast code. For instance, you can include this code to your HTML:

< img src=”nature. jpg” alt=”Nature” class=”responsive”>

Or this code to your CSS:

. responsive

  width: 100%;

  height: auto;

7. Power images as a backlinking opportunity.

Creating high-quality, distinctive, original images isn’t just great for your own web site — it’s also an impressive opportunity to earn backlinks when other   websites use your image for their own web pages.

For instance, consider the following graph developed by Broadband Search:

mobile share of organic search visits graph

The image currently ranks in the first spot on the image search results page for the keywords, “how many people use mobile in order to search”.

Additionally , according to Ahrefs, your blog post has more than 3, 000 backlinks. I’m willing to bet that those backlinks are usually, in part, due to other companies wanting to use High speed Search’s unique graphs for their own content material.

In case you create high-quality pictures, other companies may want to display those images by themselves sites — along with links back to your company. This means, ultimately, images can have a direct impact on the amount of traffic, network marketing leads, and customers you obtain for your business throughout your marketing efforts.

8. Add images to an current sitemap.

Search engines suggests adding images to an existing sitemap  — or making a separate sitemap only for images — to help search engines discover your pictures. In particular, this is helpful for images Google still cannot find through moving, such as those utilized via JavaScript forms.

Here’s a example sitemap, with two images included:

code to add images to an existing sitemap

Thankfully, if you don’t want to add images to a sitemap manually, you’re within luck — there are tools, such as Angeldigital. Marketing  (one of the only free ones available! ), that will automatically generate an image sitemap once you input a URL.

Hopefully, you can use these best practices to level up and earn brand new traffic through search image results pages. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words… so just imagine the value of an SEO-optimized picture.  

marketing

Spread the love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *