The goals of image SEO are aimed at improving a website's ranking in Google Images search, as well as generally helping to increase a website's visibility. SEO optimization of images by search engines involves all elements such as file name, size and even positioning on the page.
Optimizing images for SEO and positioning them in Google can have very positive repercussions in terms of traffic, visibility and user experience. It is a media not to be neglected in SEO .
Being well referenced on Google is a broader job than simple organic results. Optimizing your SEO on Google Images results can generate significant additional traffic depending on the sector of activity.
This article aims to explain how to optimize them and gain visibility. How can they complement your SEO efforts?
What is Image Optimization?
The optimization of images with a view to natural referencing , brings together all the actions that will allow images to capture traffic and visibility .
As with the SEO optimization of textual content, the optimization of images will allow the search engine to understand the meaning and content of your image, in order to offer it to Internet users who formulate targeted queries.
It will reinforce the quality of the content that is important for success in SEO.
Why is it important to position yourself on Google images?
Depending on the themes and sectors of activity, searches on Google Images can generate significant targeted traffic.
Images perform three important functions:
- Drive traffic from image search.
- Improve the readability and interest of content.
- Improve conversion rate.
What are the ranking factors on Google images?
The success of image optimization in SEO depends in part on these criteria:
- Have easily crawlable and indexable content.
- Have a relevance between the visuals and the subject of the pages.
- Create optimized captions.
- Have images on pages with some authority.
- Have visual content that downloads quickly.
- Optimize attributes (file name, format, size, and alt attributes…).
- Provide rich context using Schema tags.
How to optimize images for SEO?
Use original images
It is better to use unique visuals and photos than visuals already exploited everywhere. It can be a lot of work, but it can be worth the cost.
If this is not possible, using visuals related to the topics covered will be a minimum.
Optimize file name
Make sure the file name is descriptive and matches the relevant queries.
infographie-referencement-images.jpg
Add a caption to your image
Text that is in close proximity to images adds to their relevance to Google and helps users understand them better. This is an important attribute to fill in from an SEO point of view, but also from a user point of view.
Optimize title attribute
The title attribute gives search engines the context of the image.
When a user hovers their mouse over an image, the title attribute of the image is displayed. Including a call to action can increase the conversion rate.
The title attribute of an image is less important than the alt attribute, but can still be used if it contains relevant content.
Optimize Alt Attribute
Optimizing an image's Alt tag is important in SEO . Google is not yet able to understand the meaning of all images, so these tags help it better categorize and classify visuals.
An image's tag contains the file name, a format, the URL, and attributes that provide context to the visual content.
When an image cannot be loaded, the text of the alt attribute is displayed instead so that users can get an idea of the content of the image.
The relevance of the page to the topic
The topic of the page they are on has a big influence on their rankings. Images help users understand the information present in the content and reinforce signals of quality and relevance to search engines.
Add image structured data
Tag each image that is representative of your content using Schema.org tags.
Markup helps search engines understand its context and increases the chances of getting featured snippets with that image.
Choose the appropriate image format
In order to optimize the quality and weight of the images, choose the appropriate formats according to the uses and visuals.
- JPEG (JPG): Photos with lots of colors, color gradients and shading.
- PNG: Logos and visuals that must remain sharp, such as screenshots.
- GIF: Animation
- SVG: To create images that can scale without ever losing quality such as maps, blueprints, icons and logos.
Fast loading speed
Page speed is one of the ranking factors for search engines.
- Choose the correct image format.
- Provide the correct image size.
- Compress.
- Have efficient hosting.
- Use a CDN.
- Use caching.
- Use lazy-load.
Optimize weight
Compress your images to reduce their file sizes. They make up 70% of total page weight and tend to be too big, too many, and often unnecessary.
Online apps:
WordPress plug-ins:
The SEO of a WordPress site and images is facilitated by plugins that optimize the most important SEO tags and criteria.
Adapt the image resolution to your site
Another image optimization solution is to save them at a lower resolution.
Resize to correct scale
It is recommended to resize the images to the desired scale and not let the CSS resize them.
Delete unnecessary metadata
Metadata is the information stored in the image file and usually it is automatically generated by the device that captured the image. It is important to decide which items to remove and which to keep.
Create an XML image sitemap
It's important to make sure that search engines can easily find, crawl and index your images. Including them in your XML sitemap makes them easier for search engines to discover, crawl, and index.
Create XML sitemaps dedicated to images or include them in existing sitemaps.
Improve site authority
An image benefits greatly from the authority of the page it is on. By developing your netlinking and the general popularity of the site, the SEO will be reinforced for all the components of the site, texts or images.
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