Can Images boost the SEO rankings of your page?

Have you ever wondered whether or not Images on the web page can help to improve the SEO ranking of your page? If you have, then the answer is a straightforward YES! Images can help boost the SEO rankings of your page more than you can imagine.

If you want to know how can images help to boost the SEO rankings, and if you want to learn how to use images to boost the SEO ranking of your page, you have come to the right place. In this blog, we will talk in detail about how you can leverage image optimisation for search engines to enhance the SEO rankings of your websites and web pages.

The first and foremost important aspect of image SEO is that you must use original images on your web page. Duplicate images or copied images do more harm than good for the SEO rankings of your page. The following are the ten ways in which you can deploy SEO optimisation for the images on your web page.

Define Image File Names Clearly

Name the image file in simple, clear, concise language – describe what the photo is about. Do not use the system generated image names for any image that you upload on your web page. If you are using an image that you have captured on your camera, the image file name could be something like ‘DSC20161225113’. If it is a picture of a cat with a book, you are better off naming the image ‘A cat reading a book’.

Renaming an image file to describe the image helps the search engine spiders to understand what is in the image. If the search engine spiders understand what’s in your image, they will rank your image higher in the SEO search.

Using Keywords can further enhance the SEO ranking of the images. Renaming the image files to something relevant in the image is one of the simplest and most effective way of boosting the SEO ranking of the image, and thus, your page.

Define Alternative Text Clearly

Alternative Text was initially used by the visually impaired to understand the images. However, the role of Alternative Text has evolved over the years. Alternative Text is displayed when the mouse hovers over the images. Some browsers have the added capability of reading the Alternative Text aloud for the visually impaired. However, the SEO spiders use the Alternative Text to determine the information portrayed the image.

Hence, the more clearly you define the Alternative Text for your images, the more likely it is to be ranked higher by the SEO spiders. Moreover, using relevant keywords and proper sentence structure can further the SEO ranking of your images, and thus, your page.

Add Informative Captions with the Images

Captions provide added description of the images which are visible along with the images. Well-defined captions provide the SEO spiders with added information about the image.

The more information the SEO spiders have about the Image, the more likely it is to be ranked higher in the SEO rankings. Moreover, a higher SEO image ranking for an image on your page translates directly to a higher SEO ranking of your page.

Upload Images in at least HQ-Resolution (800x600p)

Images that you upload on your web page must be clearly visible to the viewer. Most PC and phone displays have the capability to display a Full HD (1024x1024p) resolution. Hence, it is advisable to upload High-Quality images which are at least 800x600p in dimension.

Clear, high-quality images ensure that the viewers can view the information clearly. The more the image is viewed, the higher it will be ranked in the SEO rankings. A high SEO ranking for the images on your web page directly translated to a higher SEO ranking for your web page.

Maintain Optimum File Size of Images

It is a very common perception that a higher file size translates to a higher quality of images. However, it may be true to an extent; it is not entirely true. There are many image post processing and compressing technologies and software available which can reduce the image size while maintaining the quality of the image.

Some of the best image editing and resizing software packages which can help in image editing as well as compressing the photos are GIMP, Photoscape, Pixlr, Sumopaint, etc. Any HQ image compressed to around 100 KB would load easily on most stable internet connections. The more the image is viewed, the higher would it be ranked in the SEO rankings. Higher SEO ranking for images directly translates to more organic traffic on your web page.

Select the correct Image File Type

You can choose from multiple image file type when you are uploading images on your web page. However, over the years, the most common file types used on the Internet are the following three:

JPEG: It is one of the oldest and most robust formats to compress an image, which is why, perhaps, it is also the most common.

GIF: The GIF format supports fewer colours in the same file size as compared to JPEG. However, GIF supports animation which JPEG does not support.

PNG: It is a format which has been developed especially for the Internet. PNG offers lower quality images in the same file size as compared to JPEG. However, the reason that the PNG format is gaining popularity is the fact that it does not compromise on quality even after being re-saved multiple times.

When uploading images and infographics to support the information on your web pages, JPEG is one of the most favoured compression formats. However, you can choose from either three depending on your requirements.

Choosing the optimum file type offers higher quality images while occupying lesser space on the Internet. Such images are more likely to be ranked higher by SEO spiders as compared to images which are heavy on the size of low on quality.

Define Thumbnails for your Images

Thumbnails are an important part of your images. When a search engine shows the images as search results, it displays thumbnails and not the entire images. If you have not defined a thumbnail for your image, the search engine will do it for you.  However, when you define the thumbnail, you have the liberty to focus on the relevant part of the image to ensure higher views and consequently, higher SEO rankings.

Utilise Image Site Maps

Sitemaps are a component of the website which gives the search engines detailed information about the images available on your web pages and websites. Sitemaps allow the search and find even those images which are loaded using javascript.

The easier it is for the search engine to find relevant images in your web pages, the more likely it is that the images will be ranked higher by the SEO spiders.

Integrate Social Media into the Images on your web pages

Integrating social media into your web pages and websites would allow the users to share the images from your web pages on their social accounts and link the images back to your websites. Sharing the images on different social media websites generates organic backlinks which eventually help improve the SEO rankings of your web pages and images.

Use Content Delivery Networks with utmost caution

There are numerous image hosting websites on the Internet which offer free image hosting services for the images that you want to use on the websites. However, using a third-party image hosting websites to save space may result in cutting down on the organic backlinks generated by the images. Consequently, this may result in hampering the SEO ranking of your images and thus, web pages and websites.

Comply with Google Webmaster Guidelines

Google publishes a set of guidelines each year to keep you updated with their Search Engine Optimisation Guidelines for images. These guidelines contain the comprehensive guide to optimise images for Google’s search engine.

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