Optimize Images for SEO
We have sufficiently talked about title tags and meta tags in my previous posts.
In this post, we will only focus on how to optimize images on our blogs for better SEO.
Read also:
How to Use Meta Tags for Successful On Page SEO
Follow these simple steps every time you post an image on your blog and I'm sure your blog will rank better than it did before.
Moreover, you will drive traffic through your images by doing this.
1. ADD THE TITLE TAG
Title tags basically display the text when the mouse hovers over the image.Always tag images with Titles and always use relevant keywords.
2. ADD THE ALT TAG
Search engines cannot `see` images, proper Alt content will help them to better understand and index images.The alt tags are basically that text which appears instead of the image, that is, when the images do not upload faster either due to a slow connection, this text will be replaced in place of the image. So, it is very vital that every image on your blog has an alt tag.
The "alt" attribute allows you to specify alternative text for the image if it cannot be displayed for some reason.
The “alt” attribute describes the image. Words used within an image`s Alt attribute should be its text equivalent and convey the same information. This helps Search Engines understand what’s in the image.
Always add alt attributes to images. Alt is mandatory for accessibility and for valid XHTML.
Optimize Images for Google
3. PROPER IMAGE NAME
Give your images short, descriptive file names.Make sure you include the keywords when you name your image and let it be relevant to the image. It is very important that you avoid spaces because these are generally replaced by %20 and will have no value when it comes to SEO. So, the general idea would be to use '-' sign for blank spaces.
Optimizing your image filenames and alt text makes it easier for image search projects like Google Image Search to better understand your images.
Consider consolidating your images into a single directory.This simplifies the path to your images.
Use commonly supported filetypes - Most browsers support JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP image formats.
4.WRITE A SHORT CAPTION ON THE PAGE BELOW EACH IMAGE
Use a human-readable caption and descriptive text around the image.This is important because this way you will put important information in text rather than images.
Some useful tips:
1.Use brief, but descriptive filenames and alt text.
2.Avoid using generic filenames like "image1.jpg", "1.jpg" when possible
3.Avoid writing extremely lengthy filenames and stuffing keywords
into alt text.
4.Supply alt text when using images as links
5.Avoid writing excessively long alt text that would be considered spammy
6.Also, avoid using only image links for your site's navigation
7.Supply an Image Sitemap file.
8.Optimize images before uploading so they load as fast as possible on your site, you can use Dynamic Drive's online tool.
I hope these tips would be handy for newbies to optimize their blog SEO.
Photo credit: SEOPlanter / Foter / CC BY
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