Learn to Optimize Your Images for SEO Purposes
Do you want to optimize your images for SEO purposes? If so, consider following the tips below.
1. Make Sure Your File Names Are Clear
Are you saving your images with file names that make sense? If you tend to save images with just a basic number, such as “01” or “02”, you are doing yourself a disservice. Create more descriptive file names each time you save an image so that it will be easy for Google to understand what the image is and what kind of website it is being used on.
2. Add Keywords to Your Alternative Text
Have you ever visited a website and noticed that an image did not load properly? Instead of seeing the image, you may have noticed some text in its place. On some occasions, a picture may not load for some people, so it is a good idea to use keyword rich descriptions for your alternative text. By doing this, you may be able to still get people to click on the image, especially if it takes them to a separate page that you want them to see.
3. Placement Is Everything
Your images should always match the text that you have on your website. For example, if you are reviewing one of your own products, the image that is on the side of the text should be a picture of that specific product, otherwise it can get confusing for the search engines. When deciding whether your website is relevant to a specific search, the search engines will take both the images and the text into consideration. Basically, if you are selling beauty supplies, avoid posting images of foods and accessories that do not relate to your content.
4. Check Page Performance
If you have ever visited a website that took several minutes to load, you know exactly how frustrating that can be to deal with, which is why you want to make sure your website is not taking forever to load either. Using the Site Speed tool offered by Google Analytics, you can figure out how long it is taking each of your web pages to load. If some pages are taking longer than others, it may be time to have a good look at the page and make some changes. For example, you may need to delete some images or resize them so that they are not as large.
Each of your web pages should be fully loaded within 5 seconds or less. If your website does not load quick enough, visitors may not enjoy the experience as much.
5. Make Your File Sizes Smaller
Large images are often the culprit for pages that load too slowly. You can cut the images down to make sure they are the same width as your website. You can also use small images as links that visitors can click on. When clicking on a small picture, they will be redirected to a second tab that opens up in their browser and shows them a larger picture.
6. Save Your Files Correctly
Files should normally be saved as JPEG, but you may want to choose PNG. Other files should be avoided for the most part. The name of each file should also match with the way it is saved, which means it should have .jpeg or .png at the end of it.
