Key insights
Overview
Images, illustrations, and infographics can support your SEO image optimization campaigns. Are you ready to begin using the best techniques for image SEO? Search engine results pages (SERPs) can be dominated by images using these ten SEO tips for images:
Use original images
Provide relevant and compelling alt text for your images.
If your image is not displaying correctly in a web browser, the alt text takes its place. The alt text is the description that shows when a user hovers over an image that loads correctly.
Improve the filenames and file path for your image
Instead of using the generic filename IMG_01.jpg, Google’s image standards recommend short and descriptive filenames.
Make use of image file formats that are supported
These are JPEG, WebP, BMP, GIF, SVG
Consider submitting a simple image in PNG format if you’re uploading one. Have a bunch of colour images? The best format for image files is JPEG.
Optimize images for speed and high-quality
Be aware that larger file sizes and higher resolutions in high-quality images can cause your website to load more slowly and create a detrimental effect on user experience.
By lowering the file size of the images without sacrificing image quality, you can compress them and lighten the load on your website.
Use HTML image elements to embed images
Enhance your images with structured data
Google can display your image in rich results, an additional advantage of employing structured data. Rich results are interesting search results that give additional details and encourage users to explore your website.
Include images in a sitemap
Yoast SEO and other plugins can help you establish picture sitemaps if your website is hosted on WordPress!