Optimize images for SEO : Why?
If you want your articles to appear on Google first results, don’t forget to optimize images for SEO.
Often forgotten, images can help you attract more visitors through Google Image and Discover for example. They are also an element of your content that can either help you rank, or slow down the speed of your website.
To optimize your images for SEO, you should follow a process composed by 6 easy steps:
- Quality
- Compression
- Alt Attribute
- Other Information
- Placement
- Indexation
1. Pick a Good Quality Responsive Image
A Good Quality Image
Your image should be of good quality, and not only for search engines. Providing a good user experience will make people stay on your page, decrease the bounce rate, and optimize your overall SEO.
A Responsive Image
Your image should be responsive, and you cannot miss this criteria today. Responsive means that your image adapt to different screens : a computer, but also a phone and a tablet.
2. Optimize it for Page Speed
Having pictures is good, but only if they are not reducing your website speed and they are not too long to load. To avoid this problem, compress your images. You can do it for free with an online compressor without reducing the quality of your image.
Good to know, you can check your website speed with online tools such age Page Speed Insight.
3. Include Keywords in the Alt Attribute
The Alt Attribute is a piece of HTML code that indicates to Google robots what your image is about. It is the most important information about your image. Without Alt Attribute, it become very complex to index your image on search engine.
What to write as an Alt Attribute? You should use your keywords for at least the main image of your article. Then, I recommend to use synonyms, variations and other keywords you feel are useful and appear in your other titles.
4. Work on the Title, Caption, Description, URL
The Alt Attribute is not the only element you should think about when adding an image to your articles. I recommend you to add other useful information :
Image Title
The title appears when you pass your mouse on the image.
Image Caption
The caption appears below the image.
Description
The description gives more information about the image and only appears on the specific image page.
Image URL
It is the URL address to access the image.
5. Place your Image Strategically Inside your Articles
You have your compressed image to an article, with all the relative information, and you are now thinking about the best place to add it to your article.
I recommend you to think about the image you will need when writing your article. Overall, you should have :
- A feature image that, depending on your website CMS, will show up on your Homepage or/and at the top of your article ;
- A header image, if the feature image does not automatically show up as the header ;
- An image each 500 words.
I also recommend you to create designs explaining complex things you speak about in your article. Google is smart. If its robots identify you are creating a good content and providing added value to visitors, it will reward you.
6. Use Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a necessary tool in SEO. This is the place where you index your pages and images, and you check you have no problem with your technical SEO. You should often use it to check your urls – and your image urls.
Optimize your Images With Sarah, your Expert in Digital Marketing
Do You Need Marketing Tips? I’m the specialist! My name is Sarah Caballero, graduated with a MBA in Digital Marketing, I already managed dozens of blogs and social media accounts with amazing results in :
Contact me now : whatstheplan.agency@gmail.com
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-caballero/
Instagram: whatstheplan.agency
Youtube: What’s the Plan Agency