Whether you are an article writer, a blogger, or a marketer, if you are involved in digital marketing, you would know that the game is all about generating more and more traffic. And for that, search engine optimization is inevitable.
While it has now become common knowledge that optimizing your content for search engines is one of the best ways to generate organic traffic, the concept of image optimization is still new for many people.
Images not only help to attract readers, but when optimized for search engines, they can also help you generate traffic.
In its 20th anniversary event, Google shares some insights regarding the future of online search, using visuals to find information was one of them.
While the concept has been around for some time, a lot of content writers and marketers still don’t know or struggle to optimize images for search engines.
Optimizing Images for SEO
Image SEO is not as difficult as it may seem. Here are some simple tips for image optimization that can help improve your website’s search engine ranking and increase traffic by improving your SEO score:
· Make Sure the Images Are High-Quality and Relevant
The quality and relevance of the image has a huge impact on the user experience. While an irrelevant picture can confuse the reader, poor quality can affect the appearance of your webpage and make it look unprofessional.
· Use a Customized Filename
This is such a simple way to improve the SEO score of a webpage that it is surprising why everyone does not do it.
All you have to do is to change the filename of the image before adding it to your article or blog post. Use a name that is relevant to your content and includes one keyword.
While this isn’t of much concern to readers, it will provide some more information about the content, which will help the search engines in determining the relevancy of the page to the searched keywords.
· Always Use Alt Tags
Alt tags are simple and short phrases that briefly describe images. While they aren’t visible to your readers, alt tags help search engine web crawlers to understand what a particular webpage is about. To make your alt tag effective, make sure to use a primary keyword in it.
· Choose the Right Format
There are three commonly used file types for images – JPG (or JPEG), PNG, and GIF. JPG is the oldest and the mostly widely used format for online images because it is largely supported and keeps the file size small. However, many people opt for PNG format because it supports the text description as well as provides higher resolution. The biggest downside of PNG format is the large file sizes.
Here is a guide to help you choose the right image:
- GIF format is best for decorative images and thumbnails
- JPG format is best for ecommerce websites
- Only opt for PNG format if your website can support large file sizes
Using the wrong file size can significantly affect the speed of your website, which is one of the most important factors for both SEO and user experience. According to the BBC, online retailers can experience a 10% difference in sales with just half a second change in the page loading time.
These are some simple, but very important, tips to optimize images for search engines. Make sure to include image SEO in your digital marketing practices to improve the SEO score of your website.
