Search engine optimisation (SEO) of images
Good images can increase visitor engagement in a number of ways. First, good images can capture the user's attention and make them read further on your website. This can be particularly effective if your images are visually appealing or unique.
Second, good images can help tell a story or convey a message in a more inviting and visually appealing way than text alone. This can make the user engage more with the content on your website and increase the chances of them staying on the page longer.
Finally, good images can make your website look more professional and credible. If your images are of high quality and fit well with the design of your website, it can give the user a more positive experience and increase trust in your website.
At the same time, Google is increasingly displaying images directly in search results, for example at the top of results or immediately to the left of each search result:
Image optimisation is a good idea for several reasons. First, it can improve the user experience on your website by making your images load and display faster. This can increase traffic to your website and increase the chances of your visitors staying on the page longer and interacting with the content.
Second, image optimisation can ensure your images look great on all screen sizes and devices, including smartphones and tablets. This can be particularly important as a large proportion of internet traffic today comes from mobile devices.
In addition, image optimisation can save space and bandwidth, allowing you to store more images on your website without running out of space or exceeding your bandwidth limits. This can be an advantage, especially if you have many images or high-resolution images on your website.
Finally, image optimisation can improve the search engine optimisation (SEO) of your website. When your images are optimised, they can show up in search results and attract more visitors to your website. This can be a great way to increase the visibility of your website and improve your online reputation.
In our experience, it makes sense to optimize images (see next section) primarily if you have a webshop and want to make your products visible in the image search. This would be particularly obvious in the clothing, fashion, design and interior categories - and to a lesser extent in other categories. Recipe pages, news pages and knowledge-based pages can also benefit from optimising images.
Use relevant and unique images. Google doesn't want to show the same image multiple times in the image search, so if you use stock photos, Google will most likely not show your particular image.
Compress the images using, for example, the tools:
- Photoshop: this is a professional image editing tool that allows you to resize your images, crop them, add effects and much more.
- GIMP: This is a free and open-source image editing software that gives you many of the same options as Photoshop.
- JPEG Optimizer: This is an online tool that allows you to compress your JPEG images without compromising image quality.
- io: This is another online tool that allows you to compress your images without compromising image quality.
- TinyPNG: This is an online tool that allows you to compress your PNG images without compromising image quality.
We usually recommend that you do not insert text using images, because Google cannot index text on images. But there is one exception: infographics. Even though Google can't read the text on the graphic, infographics can be great for generating mentions and links to the page.
Help Google understand your images
Google needs help understanding images. Help Google by:
- Use relevant and descriptive file names on your images so Google can better understand what your image is about.
- Add ALT tags to your images so Google can read what your image is about, even if it can't display the image due to technical issues or to accommodate visually impaired users.
- Minimise the size of your images so they load faster on your website. This can improve the user experience and increase the chances of your visitors staying on the site longer.
- Use compressed images to save space and bandwidth without compromising image quality.
- Add descriptive and relevant meta tags to your images so Google can get more information about your content and better understand what your image is about. This can increase the chances of your images showing up in search results.
Avoid this when optimising your images
Google needs help understanding images. Help Google by:
- Avoid using low-quality images or images that don't fit in with the design of your website. This can create a poor user experience and damage trust in your website.
- Avoid using images that are too large and take a long time to load. This can cause users to leave your site before they get to your images and can lower your ranking in search results.
- Do not use images without ALT tags. This can make it difficult for Google and other search engines to understand what your image is about and can negatively affect search results.
- Do not violate copyright and theft protection of images. This can have serious legal consequences and can damage your website's reputation.
- Avoid using too many images on your website. This can make your website heavy and slow to load, which can harm the user experience and search results.
