SEO or search engine optimisation is the practice of improving the visibility and ranking of a website. While most people think of SEO as focusing on keywords and content, there are other factors that affect your website’s ranking. One of these factors is image optimisation.
Images are a critical component of website design and content. They not only add visual appeal to your website but also help to communicate your message effectively. However, poorly optimised images can hurt your website’s performance in search engine rankings. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how you can optimise your images to improve your website’s SEO.
Use High Quality Images
The first step in optimising your images is to use high quality images. High quality images have a higher resolution and are clearer than low quality images. They make your website look more professional and are more likely to capture the attention of your audience. Additionally, search engines like Google praise websites that use high quality images with higher rankings.
When selecting images for your website, ensure that they are relevant to your content and are visually appealing. Avoid using stock images that are overused or irrelevant to your content. Instead, use original images that are unique to your website.
Compress Your Images
High quality images can slow down your website’s loading speed, which can negatively impact your website’s ranking. Therefore, it’s essential to compress your images to reduce their file size without compromising their quality.
You can compress your images using various tools, such as Photoshop or online image compressors. These tools reduce the size of your images by removing unnecessary data and optimising their compression. We would recommend using SEM Rush to check your website speed, it will highlight areas you need to work on and improve.
Use Descriptive File names
Search engines cannot read images. Instead, they rely on the text surrounding the image, including the image filename, to understand its content. Therefore, it’s essential to use descriptive filenames that accurately describe the image.
For example, if you’re using an image of a blue car, use a filename such as “blue-car.jpg” instead of “image1.jpg.” This not only helps search engines understand the image’s content but also makes it easier for your audience to find your content.
Use Alt Tags
Alt tags, also known as alternative text, provide a text description of your images. They are used by search engines to understand the content of the image and provide a better user experience for visually impaired users who use screen readers. Alt tags should be descriptive and include relevant keywords. However, avoid stuffing your alt tags with too many keywords, as this can be seen as spammy and affect your website’s ranking.
Caption Your Images
Captions provide an additional opportunity to add context and descriptive text to your images. They also make your content more engaging and easier to read. Like alt tags, captions should be descriptive and include relevant keywords. However, similar to alt tags, try not to put too many keywords into your captions.
Use Responsive Images
Responsive images adapt to the user’s screen size, ensuring that your website looks good on all devices. They also improve your website’s loading speed, which can positively impact your ranking. To use responsive images, you can use CSS or HTML to specify different image sizes for different screen sizes. Alternatively, you can use plugins or if you currently have a WordPress website, themes will automatically generate responsive images when uploaded.
Add Images to Your Sitemap
A sitemap is a file that lists all the pages on your website and helps search engines understand the structure of your website. Including your images in your sitemap can help search engines discover and index your images, improving your website’s ranking.
To add your images to your sitemap, you can use plugins or tools such as Yoast SEO or Google Search Console. These tools can automatically generate an XML sitemap that includes all of your website’s images. Once you’ve generated your sitemap, you can submit it to search engines such as Google to help them crawl and index your images.
Consider Image Placement
The placement of your images on your website can also affect your website’s ranking. For example, images placed near the top of your page are more likely to be seen and clicked on than images placed at the bottom of the page.
Additionally, using images to break up long blocks of text can make your content more visually appealing and easier to read. This can improve user engagement and reduce bounce rates, which can positively impact your website’s ranking.
Monitor Your Website’s Performance
Finally, it’s essential to monitor your website’s performance regularly. Use tools such as Google Analytics to track your website’s traffic, bounce rates, and other metrics. By monitoring your website’s performance, you can identify areas for improvement and adjust your image optimisation strategy accordingly
Do you need help with image optimisation?
Although it can be time consuming, image optimisation is an essential part of SEO. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, and it’s essential to keep optimising your images regularly to stay ahead of the competition.
If you need any assistance with this don’t forget to contact the team at LC Media today.