Image Optimization For SEO: Tips For How To Optimize Images For SEO
For a website to rank better, image optimization for SEO plays a crucial role. The images on your site should be optimized for ranking in search engines. Image SEO has a huge impact on increasing traffic and improving user experience and user engagement. Effective SEO strategies, like image optimization, ensure that your website is fully optimized to boost visibility and attract more organic traffic. What exactly is image optimization? Let’s have a look.
What Is Image SEO?
Image optimization for SEO uses techniques to increase visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs). These techniques are based on how we know search engines crawl, interpret, and rank images.
It involves compressing images to reduce loading times, using responsive images for different screen sizes, and implementing lazy load. You can also add relevant alt text to improve the user experience, use descriptive file names, and implement structured data.
It is not only about aesthetics but also about functionality. Why is it important?
Increased website traffic: Optimized Images boost your website’s presence in Google Images Search Results, driving organic traffic.
Faster loading times—Image optimization will ensure that your website loads faster. This will improve the user experience and reduce bounce rates.
Better engagement: Well-optimized images increase the appeal of your content, increase the time users spend on your page, and improve user interaction.
Now let’s look at the steps to optimize your images for search engine optimization.
How To Optimize Images For SEO?
1. Resize Your Images
Image size and file size are not the same things. Image size refers to the dimensions of an image (e.g., 1024 pixels by 680 pixels). File size is the storage space (e.g., 350 kilobytes).
Images with larger dimensions and higher resolutions will slow down your page loading times. They work great for printed materials but should be scaled back and sized to fit the web.
2. Choose The Right Compression Rate
File size and image quality are affected by the quality of the compressed image.
Test different file types, and compare compression rates. Most image-editing programs, including Adobe Photoshop, have a Save-for-the-Web option. This automatically reduces the file size, while maintaining image quality.
3. Save in the Appropriate Format
It is essential to choose the correct image format to maintain image quality and optimize file size.
1. Webp: Helps the users to create smaller and high-quality images for the web.
2. JPEG: Ideal for photos or images with many colors. It balances quality with file size.
3. PDF: Useful for images with high-quality detail or transparency. The file size tends to be larger.
4. GIF: Perfect animations and images that have fewer colors.
When to use JPEG Or PNG: Use JPEG for large images. The PNG format is ideal for images that cannot compromise on quality or require transparency.
4. Optimize Image File Names
Use descriptive, relevant keywords when naming the file to maximize its SEO power. Include the target keyword in the file name and separate it with hyphens. Use underscores sparingly because search engines will not be able to “see” individual words.
File names must make sense for both humans and search engines. For example, if the original name for an image of a woman in a hair salon is, ‘salon234.jpg’, rename it with a clear and more descriptive title, such as ‘woman-having-a-haircut-in-a-salon.jpg’.
5. Test Speed
After optimizing your images, testing your website’s load time is essential.
Importance of Speed: A slow-loading site can drive users away and hurt your SEO rankings.
Tools for Speed Testing: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Pingdom to check how fast your site loads and identify further improvements.
6. Include Captions
Image captions (the words directly underneath images) may not directly affect SEO. Captions are more visible than file names or alt text. They can also enhance your website’s experience. Captions can have a direct effect on SEO by improving user experience.
7. Use Unique Images
Stock photographs are fine but won’t necessarily improve your search rankings as other websites may use the same images. The same as unique written content, uploading unique images will help your SEO.
8. Use Alt Tags
Search engine spiders may not understand an image but viewers do. Search engines cannot index images accurately without alternative texts.
Alt tags provide context for visually impaired users and can also help them. Search engines can also read the alternative text and use it to determine a page’s ranking when an error prevents the image from loading. You should include more information in the alt tag than you would with a file name. You should aim for between 10 and 15 words to describe the image.
9. Make Images Mobile Friendly
Google’s algorithm prioritizes mobile versions of sites, so crawlers focus on the mobile versions. Images should be optimized for mobile devices. How? You should ensure that your website and images are responsive on devices.
Many website builders and templates resize the images automatically, but you can also specify an image size that is based on device width. You can do this by adding a custom CSS to your website. is a simple guide that will teach you how to make images responsive.
10. Optimize the Image Title
WordPress takes the image’s title from its name. If you don’t have WordPress installed or the title of the image doesn’t describe the picture, replace it with keywords, just as you would do for file names.
Image titles may not be as important in Image optimization for SEO purposes, but they provide context to the alt-text. Image titles can be more engaging for users, so add a brief ‘Call to Action’ like “buy now”, “download now” etc.
Image optimization for SEO is essential in the digital landscape of today. Not only will it improve your site’s performance and visibility, but it will also increase user engagement and experience. As a digital marketing company, we recommend using the steps listed above to make sure your images work effectively with your SEO plan, helping you attract more traffic and improve your rankings.