Tips for Image Optimization
Image optimization is all about image SEO or getting your images to rank on Google and other search engines, it is also about reducing your images to the smallest size possible without reducing their quality to allow your web pages to be load quickly. This is important because everyone on the web expects websites to load fast, in less than 2 seconds. Load speed has a direct correlation to how many bounces you get and your overall revenue, 30 seconds, either way, can noticeably affect your sales. Search engines take into account the web speed of your site and the number of bounces you get when ranking your site.
There is a lot you can do when it comes to optimizing your site, your images and the speed of your website, and this is becoming more and more important as more and more people are using smartphones, approximately 60% of the million of new Internet users every day use smartphones. . Getting to the top of search engine results can be hard work, but very rewarding in terms of sales and increased organic traffic.
The twelve most important tips for image optimization are:
1 – Carefully select images that are relevant to the message you want to convey
Keep in mind that Internet users are more likely to react to images on your page than read any text. A good image should grab attention and inspire readers to investigate and want to share your information. People often react to emotional stimuli and an engaging image that really connects with your subject is more likely to leave an impression. It’s usually better to take the time and create your own high-quality photos rather than using royalty-free images from the internet that many others also use. By using images that show humor or drama with your product, you are connecting on an emotional level, which is more effective than bright, sterile business photos that are technically perfect but cold. Your own original photos are much better for SEO purposes.
2: Always use the highest quality format possible in any situation.
Search engines are designed to prefer high-quality content and high-resolution images. Web pages containing poorly formatted or low-resolution images often appear distorted on a mobile or tablet screen, so you’re doing yourself a disservice by using low-quality images.
JPEG file formats are generally best, as they provide the smallest file size and the best quality.
GIF files should only be used for thumbnails and decorative images, never for large product images, as the file size is very large and they do not scale well.
When you can only get PNG files, they can be used for both JPEGs and GIFs and then, due to their extremely small file size, great for simple decorative images.
3: Name all your images in a simple and descriptive language
In order to succeed with good image optimization and a web page that ranks high in search engines, it is imperative that you do everything you can to help search engines out.
Search engines crawl everything on your web page, including filenames, so these should also be relevant and descriptive keyword-rich filenames.
Good image descriptions help improve your profile and enrich the relevance of your content by helping web crawlers better understand your images.
Alt text is similar to subheadings in that both provide an opportunity to improve your content for user experience and search optimization.
4: Name and Optimize Your Alternative Attributes Carefully
Alternate attributes are a fallback when a browser cannot correctly render images, use alternate attributes to images, in text, and for web accessibility. They are important for adding SEO value to a website, so they should include image-relevant keywords. This is one of the best ways to get your ecommerce products to appear in web searches.
Always describe images in simple language
Add all model and serial numbers to your alternate attributes
5: Use your alternate attributes carefully
Do not over-optimize by including too many keywords and do not use Alternate Attributes for decorative images, as you may be penalized for over-optimization.
Always check your work carefully as errors can be heavily penalized and remember that misleading subheadings will quickly increase the bounce rate of your web page, this sends a signal to Google search engine that your site is not trustworthy and reduces your rating.
6: Always have concise and accurate captions with your image
Use reading captions below images on average, 300% more than the body of the text itself, according to Kiss Metrics. So if you leave the subheadings blank, you are missing a good opportunity for SEO and optimization.
The important factor is to ensure both image relevance and page relevance.
7: Use of multiple images for better coverage and optimal visualization
Always arrange your images in sequence and in context so they flow easily, but be mindful of how much you’re uploading in your download time. Check the result and try to balance the correct number of images with the fastest load times. More images can mean more conversions, but too many can mean longer download times and more bounces.
When selling a product, include multiple angles to best showcase your product, but don’t overdo the number of images as they all take up file space and need to be optimized.
8: Thumbnail Optimization
Using thumbnails is a great option, but they should also be optimized, but used carefully and as small as possible, as they can have a cumulative impact and could affect your page load times. When placing alt attribute text on thumbnails, make sure to use very different text from the main images or everyone could get confused.
9: Sitemaps
If your images are not specifically listed in your web page’s source code, web crawlers won’t be able to find them. So, to allow crawlers to find your images, they need your location to appear on an image sitemap. When using Javascript or image popups to improve the visibility or shopping experience of your web page, using Google image sitemaps will make it easier for Google to notice you and rank you higher.
10: Decorative Images
Things that are considered decorative images, such as background colors, images, buttons, fancy borders, or anything else added that is not related to the product, while they can add some appeal to a website, they also use a lot of file space and, therefore, they slow down. your page load time and as stated before anything unnecessary that slows down your page load time is detrimental to your web page and site because people will not wait more than 2 seconds on average and the more fast, better.
11: Content Delivery Networks
Content delivery networks are becoming a very popular place to store content, both images and text for your website. This can have the benefit of resolving any troublesome bands you may have and help speed up your page load times, but they can also remove your backlinks and place them on the content delivery network domain instead of your place. As we have said and this is very important to emphasize Backlinks are critical for SEOso it is important to consider whether or not using CND is really in your best interest.
12: Test Your Web Pages and Websites
Testing everything is important, and any bug will render all your efforts wasted as web crawlers won’t be able to find it easily. Always check all web pages and alternate attributes. Also check for duplication and over-optimization, as both are often detrimental to your ranking.
Common sense, along with a bit of practical knowledge, should be applied to all optimizations, especially images, and for whatever reason, many people overlook this important area. Mastering the art of image optimization is something that could mean the difference between success or failure online. If you don’t feel confident or don’t want to spend time learning and implementing these basic strategies, it might be worth enlisting the services of an SEO expert to do it for you. The drastic increase in new organic traffic and subsequent new sales will more than pay for the costs incurred in a very short time, remember there are over 2.5 billion potential customers looking for products and services, but if you’re not visible, you’re missing out.