5 Tips for SEO Image Optimization
We all know the significance and value of a successful digital marketing campaign, and we will agree that SEO has undoubtedly a crucial role to play. Climbing to the top of the search results can be hard work, but well worth the efforts when you start to get the returns in terms of organic traffic. Besides building links, there are lots of things you can do to help make your campaign a success; without blowing your budget wide open. One of the most important steps to take under the SEO umbrella is image optimization
Here are 5 basic tips for a great start.
1. Use unique images that are page and content relevant
It’s human nature for visitors to focus attention on images before they begin reading your post. An appealing image will both attract attention and will certainly leave an impression. Choose your images carefully to help you illustrate the subject of your article with drama, romance or humor to appeal to your audience on an emotional level, and you will engage them more than a perfectly ‘glossy’ commercial shot of your new service or product. If you can add your own, real good original images, that’s even better for SEO purposes. Snap a photo yourself, that is specific to your company, and use that instead.
2. Use the highest quality format possible
Search engines like high resolution images and high-quality content. Web pages with images that are poor in resolution or formatted incorrectly can appear distorted on a tablet or a mobile device. For e-commerce JPEGs are the best option. They provide the best quality and the smallest file size. Do not use GIFs for large product images. The file size will be extremely large and there is no efficient way to reduce it. PNGs can be a good alternative to both JPEGs and GIFS.
3. Reduce the size of your image file
By scaling down large image files, you can increase page speed, which is crucial for mobile viewing. Google is getting bigger and bigger on mobile, going as far as to create a mobile-first index. Pages that take long to load often suffer a high bounce rate due to the swift departure of visitors seeking an immediate, alternative solution. There are many available good tools for optimizing images. No matter which tool you choose, it is important to optimize your images as this will benefit both user experience and technical SEO on your site.
4. Utilize the “Alt Text” to maximize accessibility
Often ignored but extremely significant is the alternative text field. Accurately filling out your alt text offers the opportunity to boost your content in regards to user experience and search optimization and ranking.
5. Include a concise caption with your image
Leaving captions blank is a lost opportunity in terms of SEO and user experience. Captions, like URLs, can be crawled by search engines. Anyone using keywords associated with your caption will find your page listed in the search results. The key is maintaining both page relevance and image relevance. Images with misleading captions will certainly increase your bounce rate, sending poor signals to Google’s search engine that your content is not a suitable match. Additionally, captions help make your content more engaging and easier to understand for readers. According to recent statistics, captions under images are read, on average, 300% more than the main copy itself.