Images are an important part of the content of an article. Optimizing SEO is a factor that cannot be ignored as it helps improve the ranking of the article on search engines. In today’s article, Optimal Agency will guide you on how to optimize SEO-standard images to reach the top of Google.
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What is Image SEO? Why should you SEO image?
Image SEO is the process of optimizing images so that search engines can easily index them. You need to take steps to provide the most detailed information about the images. This will help your images be prioritized in the top search results, and if they match user search needs, your website will significantly increase in traffic. The key to image SEO lies in optimizing the content, quality, size, and information of the images related to the article or topic you want to target. Image SEO not only improves content quality but also enhances user experience on the site, thereby increasing the website’s ranking on Google’s search engine results pages (SERP). Image SEO can bring many benefits to your website, in particular:
- More diverse search results: With images, Google will provide more diverse search results, giving your website more opportunities to increase user traffic through images.
- Reduced page load time and improved user experience: Optimized images help the website load faster, enhancing user experience.
- Google’s preference: Google always prioritizes properly optimized content that includes images.
- Opportunities to reach potential customers: With rising advertising costs and increasing competition, image SEO gives you more free opportunities to reach potential customers.
To achieve the highest effectiveness, you need to understand what image SEO is and optimize it correctly. This is the way to stand out from your competitors. And that is also how to SEO images to the top of Google.
How to optimize SEO-standard images to reach the top of Google?
To optimize SEO-standard images to reach the top of Google, you can refer to these methods:
Optimize image loading speed by reducing file size
The final step before uploading an image is to reduce the file size – the lighter, the better. Lighter images will help the website load faster, and a faster-loading website will help improve the website’s ranking on search engines. To reduce the image file size, you need to compress the image file. This involves removing all unnecessary parts from the file while ensuring optimal image quality. To perform image compression, here are some tools you can use:
- ImageOptim: This is recommended by Google.
- JPEG Optimizer
- Optimizilla
- Kraken.io
- Compressnow
- Trimage
Among these tools, we recommend using ImageOptim. ImageOptim is highly rated when compressing both JPEG and PNG files compared to other tools.
Optimize image ALT Tag
What is ALT text: ALT text of an image, also known as “ALT tag,” “ALT description,” and “ALT attribute”. It is the alternative text displayed when the image cannot be loaded on the screen. When Google’s robot “looks” at an image, it usually only sees the file name. By adding alternative text to the code, you provide more information to the search engine to understand the content of the image. Below is how ALT text displays in HTML code. Here are the best practices for writing ALT text for images:
- Start by asking: What information would be useful for those who cannot view the image?
- With the answer, finish this sentence: “This is a(n) image, screenshot, photo, or drawing of __.”
- Remove all conjunctions from the resulting sentence and use the final part as the ALT text.
- Ensure the description is specific.
For example: ALT text of the image: “This is an example image.”
Use highlighted images to increase ranking and CTR
Nowadays, just by performing a few simple searches with target keywords on Google, you will receive a large number of relevant images. However, if your website uses generic images like these, you are pushing your EAT ranking down. And not only that… By using the same set of images as hundreds of other websites, you are competing with all those websites in Google’s image search results.
Why do you need to optimize image CTR?
Due to changes in Google’s algorithm, images with higher interaction (number of scrolls and clicks) will be prioritized in the rankings. Meanwhile, images with low interaction will be pushed back. In other words: To rank high in Google’s Image search – Your images need to be OUTSTANDING! The key to creating “outstanding” images that attract attention and more clicks is: Identify images that are already ranking high, then create a completely different product. The process includes three simple steps:
- Check the search results for the target keyword.
- Note down all the important information.
- Do the opposite.
Use Google’s image SEO tool to find optimal keywords for images
The most important note is: To remember to research Image Keywords. However, most people skip this step. This is a big mistake. Why keywords in the Image SEO process is important? Look at the following statistics: Google Images account for 21% of the total search volume, not only on Google but on the entire World Wide Web. Finding keywords using Google’s image optimization tool means that if you are proficient in identifying search terms for images, you will benefit greatly from the search engine’s traffic and surpass important competitors. Common mistakes when choosing image optimization keywords include:
- Spending hours searching for keywords for a page or post.
- Taking 30 seconds to choose random keywords from the list (ignoring image search statistics) before adding them to the ALT tag.
- Waiting, hoping these keywords will receive searches in Google Images and bring a small amount of traffic from image search.
These are the steps you might take if you forget the keyword research process or do nothing Therefore, you should think differently about choosing keywords for image SEO. Instead of just selecting main keywords… You will treat the image as independent content with the target search phrase. Next, we will explore how to choose image SEO keywords quickly and accurately. Note: The following information will be very important and contain a lot of details. The most accurate choosing optimized keywords is to to use keyword researching tools. In particular, we advise that you should use Ahrefs.
Correctly identify the image file type
Most people often choose the wrong file extension, leading to poor quality or large file sizes, and sometimes both happen simultaneously. However, you don’t need to worry about this… Because you can make the right decision about the image file type. Specific image file types are:
- GIF – Suitable for short animations. Also good for flat images without gradients. However, not recommended for small images, screenshots, or gradients like browser bars.
- PNG – Suitable for app screenshots and gradients. Keeps text looking clean, but can produce large files.
- JPEG – Good for photos of people, places, or items. Not suitable for app and website screenshots or text.
Once you have chosen the appropriate file type for the image, just open it in the editing software, click export, and save it.
Optimize image size
The page you are viewing has a content area width of 640px, which means the largest image that can be displayed has a maximum width of 640 pixels. Uploading an image wider than that is a waste. Moreover, larger images will increase the page size and slow down the website’s loading speed. Besides uploading larger images, my CMS also needs to format and edit images to fit the page size. Therefore, instead of just uploading images, let the website’s CMS handle the formatting before uploading. There are many useful tools available to edit images outside of WordPress. Here are some suggestions:
- Pixlr: A free online tool that works well for small formats.
- Preview: Standard on Mac with all the necessary tools for basic image editing.
- ImageOptim: A free tool for Mac with a “save for web” feature.
- RIOT: A free image optimizer for Windows.
- Photoshop: My choice because the “save for web” option keeps file sizes low while maintaining quality.
Each tool allows you to edit the image size to the desired pixels without significantly reducing image quality.
Through this article, Optimal Agency hopes it will help you understand image SEO and how to optimize SEO-standard images to reach the top of Google.
Please see more:
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- Digital Marketing strategy support tool popular today
- The most effective form of advertising on YouTube in 2024
FAQ
Naming images for SEO is an important step in the website optimization process. When naming images, use keywords that accurately describe the content of the image, avoiding generic names like “IMG_001” or “image1.” The file name should be short, clear, and use hyphens (-) to separate words, such as “healthy-breakfast-menu.jpg.” This helps search engines easily understand and index your images, increasing the chances of appearing in image search results and improving the overall SEO of your website.
Blurry images when uploading to a website is a common issue that can affect the user experience and the credibility of your site. The main causes may include excessive image compression, improper image size, or low resolution. To fix this, you need to use high-resolution images that fit the display frame on your website. Additionally, use high-quality image compression tools to reduce file size without sacrificing image quality. This way, you can ensure that images remain clear and more attractive to viewers.
