Images are an often overlooked part of SEO and ranking your website at the top of Google.
When there are roughly 80 million Google Image searches every day, which is nearly a quarter of all traffic on Google, that’s a problem.
Today, we’re going to go over a few ways to optimise the images on your site so you don’t miss out on this under-emphasised component of growing your presence on Google.
#1 Get File Names Right
The file names of your images are one of the many tools Google uses to understand what you’re talking about. Make sure to name your image files with relevant, descriptive keywords as much as possible.
#2 Are you using alt text? Do you know what alt text is?
Alt text is text that appears in place of your image if it fails to load and is another tool Google uses to index your images. The alt tag should describe the image being shown, as this is how screen readers will describe the image to audio only visitors.
#3 Small Image Size = Fast Loading For Customers
Load times are consistently an important part of both SEO and user experience.
Large image files will slow your load times down.
Reducing image size is a great way to speed up your site. If you work with a provider like us, this won’t be a problem as we have tools available to reduce image size without compromising image quality. If not, you’ll need to use a program like ShortPixel (as I mentioned in last week’s newsletter).
#4 Pick The Right File Type
If you’ve worked with images online, you know there are three file types you tend to see. Using the correct type is important.
Most of the time, .jpg is the one you will use, as it keeps files small while retaining quality. .png is most often used with logos.
A good rule of thumb is, when in doubt, use .jpg.
#5 Make It For Mobile
Are your images mobile friendly?
More Internet browsing is being done on mobile devices, and Google takes this into account when determining rankings. Ensure all of your images are optimised for mobile devices.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Jason
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