Tips on Creating Search Engine Optimized Images

Tips on Creating Search Engine Optimized Images

Image optimization is an important part of bringing more traffic to your website or blog. Let’s say that someone is taking a trip to France. They might do an image search rather than a web search for things to do or see in France and look for famous French landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, or the Louvre. Because of Google’s Universal search results,  to be reused in exchange for a link, you can passively build links back to your site over time, leading to higher page rankings. Before you can attract more traffic to your site this way, you must optimize your images for search engine optimization. Now that you know the ‘why’, let’s talk about the ‘how.’

One of the most important things about image SEO optimization is the filename and alt tag on your page image. When creating the filename for your image that you will be uploading to you page remember these tips:

How to Create an Optimized Image Filename

• Avoid one word filenames. In other words DO NOT string multiple words together to create a singular filename.
• Make sure you give the image a name that is related to the content that image will be supporting or a name that is a brief description of the image. For Example, if you’ve written a blog entry about a princess-themed birthday cake a good name for an image you would add to this blog would be, “princess-birthday-cake”.
• Include keywords in your image names so search engines pull your images up when people search those words.

How to Create an Alt Tag for Image Optimization

An alt tag is part of the image HTML tag. It gives a description of the image to display if it’s not available or if a text reader is used (text readers are used by visually-impaired people so they know what the image should be). Alt tags are also used by search engines to figure out what your image is about. It provides keyword relevance to searches and helps rank your images on search result pages. Here are some tips for creating your alt tag:

• When search engines pull up the results, only the first 150 characters are visible in the result preview; so limit the text to 150 characters or less to avoid being cut off.
• Put keywords towards the beginning of your alt tag
• Use a description that is relevant to the content that the image will be supporting.
• Always use the alt attribute for images that you want indexed in search engines (images used in the website’s background or banners can be ignored).

Important Aspects of Image Optimization

While filenames and alt tags are two of the more important aspects of image optimization there are several other factors to pay attention to when adding images to your website for search engine optimization.

Headings and Bold Text: If image optimization for a particular image is important, you can optimize the image by bolding the filename or giving the image a heading tag of the term you want to focus on.

Image Captions: Image captions are another way to give search engines a nudge in the direction you want them to go. You can place the search term or keyword you are trying to optimize for at the front of the caption so that it’s the first thing the search engine sees.

Image Size: If you keep your images a reasonable size, they generally perform better in regards to image optimization. A general sizing rule you can use is to make sure your images are larger than 100×100 but smaller than 1200×1200. Using a thumbnail that links to a larger picture is also helpful.

Image optimization is only a small piece of the big picture when it comes to full website search engine optimization, and it is most effective when done by a professional. If you are interested in learning more about search engine optimization contact an expert at Frozen Fire.

Frozen Fire is a digital business development and communication strategy firm that exists so that businesses have the tools necessary to know exactly who their customers are and what their customers are looking for; we help companies connect with their customers via digital marketing strategies; and we help them to drive their sales, business development and marketing efforts, so as to gain the maximum return on their investments in terms of marketing dollars, efforts, and human resources. Contact us to learn how we can help your business know, connect, drive.