As the Search Engines are getting smarter, the process of achieving a good search ranking is getting even more complex. Now it requires much more than just quality content to get to the top. There are several factors that contribute to showing up higher in search engine rankings, one of the most important of them
As the Search Engines are getting smarter, the process of achieving a good search ranking is getting even more complex. Now it requires much more than just quality content to get to the top. There are several factors that contribute to showing up higher in search engine rankings, one of the most important of them being image optimization.
It’s easier than you think now. Just invest some time doing it.
1. Alt Text
The alt text is added to the image so that there will be a descriptive text when for any reason image is not getting displayed to the visitor. It is done because it’s the text that the search engine uses to understand images.
To include it, you simply have to add alt=” this is your alt text” to your image tag.
2. File Size
In the second stage, you should make sure that the scaled image is served in the smallest file size possible. There are many tools available for that. You can also do it by just exporting the image and test what is the maximum percentage quality level is acceptable, but try to use 100% quality images.
You can achieve that goal with free tools like Webresizer and Image Optimizer, Never let your browser resize a large image to look smaller. When you have a large image, and input tags on the image to make the image smaller, people load the large image first, and later the browser resizes it.
3. File Name
Image SEO basically starts with the right file name. Without even looking at the actual image, you want Google to know what the image is about.
So, before you upload your image, choose a descriptive filename preferably a name you want that image to rank for. This will help with your search engine rankings.
4. Captions
The caption is the text that accompanies the image. In most of the images, it’s the text in the box below them. And that’s where image captions come in.
After your headlines, image captions are the second most important because they are one of the most-read pieces of content on your site.
Captions under images are read on an average of 300% more than the body copy itself. So not using them means missing out on an opportunity to engage the huge number of potential readers.
Image SEO is the total of a number of elements. With Google now able to recognize elements in the image better every day, it makes complete sense to make sure that the image and all elements contribute to user experience as well as SEO.
If you like spending hours crafting that perfect post, don’t miss out on the chance to optimize your images for maximum search engine returns.