How to increase your SERP through proper SEO image naming and tagging?
It is easy to upload an image to your web page. You simply browse through your image gallery or stock photos, select your desired image and click insert. Your image appears on the designated image box on your web page. You press the publish button and Voila! the page is LIVE for the world to see. Correct?
Not quite.
Image optimization is the most essential part of Onsite page SEO. To put it into simple terms, Google search engine crawlers can easily recognize what your web page is all about through your keyword phrases.
So, how do you optimize your images for better search engine results?
There are many ways to optimize your images. However, below are a few initial steps to consider. These steps will guide you into the best practices of image SEO optimization:
1. Always name your images respectively
This is the first and foremost rule of thumb in image optimization. For example, if you are in the business of selling diamonds, name your images according to the specific cut and clarity of your product.
The original name of the image that you download from your camera or stock images typically appears as something like the following, “IMG2345432”. Not very descriptive, is it?
However, if you name your image appropriately such as:
“joes-jewels-black-diamond-princess-cut-1.5-carate-ring.jpg”, search engine bots will be able to recognize and interpret your image clearly. In particular, when your concisely named image is in close proximity to the descriptive text related to that image. This allows your web page to rank higher on the search engine index, due to its relevance for the person who is searching for a black diamond princess cut ring.
2. Resize your image file to prevent your pages from loading slowly
Slow rendering images will not only negatively affect your search engine ranking, but also discourage visitors from viewing your images and possibly refrain from sharing them within their social network. There are many free tools available online that you can utilize to resize, compress, manipulate and scale the images without losing pixelation. Look up free online image optimization tools such as pixlr or befunky.
According to surveys done by Akamai and Gomez.com, nearly half of web users expect a site to load in 2 seconds or less, and they tend to abandon a site that isn’t loaded within 3 seconds. 79% of web shoppers who have trouble with website performance express that they won’t return to the site to buy again and around 44% of them would tell a friend if they had a poor experience shopping online.
3. Alt Text is not an option for you
We know that Alt Text is optional and not mandatory when uploading an image to your web page. Unfortunately, this prompts many of us to simply ignore it, much to our detriment. Either we don’t understand the importance of this key element, or we want to save precious time.
Bottom Line
Alt Text or Alt Tag enables search engine bots to recognize your image content. Using text that clearly describes your image, you are informing the search engine spiders what the picture is all about and providing a clear alternative understanding to your end users. Also of importance, behind image tagging is that, as your website is further developed and becomes more authoritative, the images on your web pages will also grow in search ranking.
Good Luck & Happy Alt Texting.