Often when taking a look under the hood of a website, I notice the images are not optimized for SEO at all. So here are a couple of easy steps you can take to make the most out of your website’s images!
Image file names matter for SEO
Many websites have images that weren’t renamed at all! So they end up with file names like lkjsdlkfj.jpg đ
Google and search engines do read your file names! So give them a meaningful name and use hyphens in between the words. Hypens are interpreted as a space, where underscores are not interpreted.
For example:
florist-vancouver.jpg would read as florist vancouver
florist_vancouver.jpg would read as floristvancouver
On many platforms it’s not possible to change file names after they’re uploaded, so it’s a good habbit to change them beforehand. But if you use WordPress you can us a plugin to change filenames afterwards! (There are several free options). When you’re done, remove the plugin and you’re all set.
Image alt tags for accessiblity with an SEO benefit
An alt tag (short for alternative text) describes whatâs in an image. Itâs helpful for two main reasons:
- SEO: Search engines canât âseeâ images, but they can read alt text. A good alt tag can help your image show up in search results.
- Accessibility: Screen readers use it to tell visually impaired users what the image shows.
For example, instead of leaving it blank, you might write something like:alt="Cupcake with pink frosting from a local Vancouver bakery"
Itâs a simple step that helps both your visitors and your visibility in search results.
WordPress side track: other image attributes
When you’re working in WordPress, you might feel confused about what info to enter where! So here’s a quick overview of the settings you can add to an image.
- Alt text: what we’ve discussed above!
- Title: it’s the default setting of WordPress to make the image file name the title. This has no impact on your SEO, but if you have a lot of images in your media library and you’re trying to search for something specific, give it a name that makes sense.
- Caption: if you enter a caption, this is visible to your readers. (Unless your theme doesn’t support this) It’s a piece of copy right underneath a photo. This can be used to f.e. share when and where a photo was taken or what a photo means. Since this is visible to readers, it’s also visible to search engines, but doesn’t cary more weight than regular copy.
- Description: only relevant if your theme uses this for f.e. a portfolio layout or a lightbox or .. (visually displayed). In that case it’s looked at as copy. So most people can leave this empty. It wonât be read by search engines unless itâs shown on the page.
Text in images: it doesn’t help your SEO
Search engines don’t scan your images to interpret what’s in them. They understand the content because of your alt tag and file name. So if you write a lot of text in an image, it’s not helpful for your SEO and people using screenreaders can’t read this text either.
While newer search technology (Google Lens or AI-based image recognition) can sometimes interpret images themselves, for SEO purposes they still rely on alt text and the file name.
Image file sizes
I wrote an entire blog post dedicated on how to make your image file sizes smaller in the most optimal way so you keep your website fast!
I cover when to use WebP, how big your images should really be (hint, different sizes for different places) and help you avoid slowing down your site.
The importance of responsive images
You’ve probably seen some websites with weirdly stretched out photos before. That’s what happens when images are not responsive!
Non responsive images can look stretched, squished, cut off, or load way bigger than necessary. Thatâs frustrating for visitors and it can slow down your website.
A fast, mobile-friendly experience is a ranking factor for SEO. So making sure your images adjust properly is important!
Luckily a lot of platforms have technology that helps with this! But not all… so it never hurts to check.
Lazy load
This is another image realated feature that helps your page loads faster. Instead of loading all images when your page first loads, your website only loads images when they’re about to be seen on the screen
Luckily most modern website builders use lazy loading by default! But if you’re using an older system, this can have a negative impact.
Do images help with SEO?
After reading all of this, you might feel like skipping images altogether. Don’t do it! They’re important! And once you’re in a habbit of optimizing them, it’s no longer complicated!
Images help break up long blocks of text, make your content more engaging and can even drive traffic through Google Image Search. When done right, they support your message and help with visibility. So yes, images absolutely help with SEO.
Pagespeed Insights, a tool that will show your image impact
Curious to see how your images are performing on your page? Try Google’s PageSpeed Insights. You will receive detailed information about what can be further optimized. Just keep in mind that the mobile scores are notoriously bad for most websites, so unless you’re under 60/100 for mobile, you’re doing ok!
More questions about images and SEO?
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