Imagine the last time you decided to upload an image to your website. Chances are that you got that image from a stock image website. Then you upload it on the backend of your website so that you can add it to the desired page.
This is a perfect example of image optimization, correct? Not quite.
All you have done is added a considerable bowling weight to your website. And it’s gradually slowing down the speed of your page. Due to this, search engines are unable to read your images because they are missing an alt text.
How about we change that? And here is how you can do that.
1. Pick The Correct Format
Decoding all the different image formats can seem like you are ordering at Taco Bell for the first time. But before you can begin adding photos to your website, you must ensure that you have picked the ideal file type.
While there are multiple image formats to pick from, JPEG, PNG, and WebP are most common.
Pro Tip: Just be cautious while using JPEG photos inside inline SVG format because Google’s system won’t index those.
2. Compress Your Images
Oh yes, nothing is worse than a bloated web page. And that usually happens after you upload an image that isn’t compressed.
Search engines look at such web pages as if it’s something totally out of the world and not in a good way.
You can’t actually be considering uploading something like that on your website, correct?
HTTP Archive states that images contribute to an average of 21% of the total weight of a webpage.
That’s why we recommend compressing your photos before you upload them on your website. Whichever plugin you decide to use, find the one that compresses the image externally on its servers. This way, it decreases the load on your website.
3. Make Unique Images
You want your images to pop on your website, right?
If you keep adding stock images, they will look unoriginal, like so many other websites. And usually, websites have the same generic images.
Consider a corporate website, a business, or a consulting firm with excellent customer service. All their websites use almost the same stock photo – a businessman smiling.
While all your stock images seem optimized, they will not have the same potential or impact as far as SEO is concerned. The more original photos you use, the better it will be for the user. In return it increases the chances of ranking on search engines. Remember, larger images are likely to be featured in Google Discover.
With that being said, while creating unique images, you might want to pick elements from other images. And mostly, it’s hard to pick an element because it always comes with the background. Usually, that background might not go with your image. In that case, you can use remove bg to get rid of the background and conveniently use the element.
Pro Tip: Never use the logo of your company as an image.
4. Be Cautious Of Copyright
Irrespective of the image files you pick to use, confirm there are no copyright conflicts. If you are using a stock image and don’t own a license to use it, you risk a very costly lawsuit. You can be sued under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act if you don’t abide by copyright rules.
5. Customize The File Names Of Images
Making descriptive and keyword-rich file names is very important with regard to SEO.
Skipping this step is just like getting a burrito that has nothing in it. It just plain sucks.
Image file names have the advantage of alerting Google and other search engines about the image’s subject.
Usually, file names are written like IMG_34562. That’s like ordering something from the menu in a language that you don’t understand. It won’t help Google at all.
So always change the file name for search engines to understand the image and enhance your SEO value.
6. Write SEO-Friendly Alt Text
Alt-text is an alternative to text for images when a browser cannot render it correctly. Just like the title, the alt text is used to describe all the image contents.
So, pay attention to alt text to benefit from the overall SEO strategy. This will allow your website to rank higher.
Final Word
We understand that optimizing images is not a simple task. And with developments in voice search technology, the media is gaining importance. So, before you start uploading images on your website, make sure to follow the 6 essential tips that we have given you above.
That’s the only way you can make your website rank higher on search engines and drive value from it. We hope our article helped you.
Happy Optimizing!
2022-01-21 15:06:36