Images are crucial for your website. They enhance its appearance, explain your products or services, and keep visitors engaged. But images also play a key role in SEO (search engine optimisation).
Optimising your images can:
Improve your website’s speed (faster load times).
Boost your SEO rankings (better visibility on Google).
Enhance user experience (fewer delays, smoother browsing).
In this guide, we’ll walk through simple steps you can take to optimise your images, ensuring they work for both your users and search engines.
What is Image Optimisation for SEO?
Image optimisation for SEO involves improving images so they don’t slow down your website and can be found by search engines.
Search engines like Google can’t “see” images the way humans do. They rely on factors like image size, file names, and alt text to understand what an image represents.
Tips:
Add Alt Text to Your Images
Alt text helps search engines understand your images and improves accessibility for users with visual impairments.
Add clear, descriptive alt text to each image.
Use keywords and describe the image clearly (e.g., "blue ceramic vase with flowers on a wooden table"). Check out our article 'How to Pick SEO Keywords' for more guidance.
Why it matters: Improves SEO and accessibility for screen reader users.
Google themselves cite that "the most important attribute when it comes to providing more metadata for an image is the alt text (text that describes the image)". For more details on how to effectively use alt text for SEO, visit Google's official guidelines on image SEO.
Add Descriptive File Names
Name your images with keywords that describe them.
Avoid using generic title names like "IMG1.jpg".
Example: "handmade-ceramic-vase.jpg" instead of "IMG1234.jpg."
Choose the Correct Image Format for Your Images
Use the right format to balance image quality and file size. Where possible pick JPEG for photos and WebP for better quality at smaller sizes:
JPEG for photos (good quality, smaller file size).
PNG for images with transparency (larger file size).
WebP for high quality and smaller size (great for speed).
Pay Attention to Image File Sizes
Large image files slow down your website, which may hurt SEO and user experience.
Compress your images before uploading.
Only upload images that match the size needed on your site. Avoid uploading large images that get resized automatically.
Tools to use: Photoshop, TinyPNG, ImageOptim.
Guideline: Aim for images under 100 KB for fast loading.
Avoid Keyword Stuffing in Alt Text
Write useful, context-rich alt text instead of overloading with keywords. For more information on how to write effective alt text, check out Google's guidelines on image SEO for best practices.
Conclusion: Why Image Optimisation for SEO is Essential
Optimising your images for SEO is a quick win for improving your website’s:
Speed: Faster websites rank higher and offer a better user experience.
SEO: Properly optimised images help your site appear in both regular and image search.
Accessibility: Alt text ensures that everyone can access your content.
By following these simple steps, you can boost your site’s speed, visibility, and accessibility.
If you need help optimising your images or improving your website’s overall SEO, contact us.
Our team of qualified UX designers and SEO experts can help you achieve your goals.