5 Ways to Optimise Your Images for SEO

A quick guide on how to optimise your website images for search engines

1. Create Unique images

Try your best to use unique images instead of stock images. Don’t copy and paste images from Google. You can also create a unique image by editing the original, adding some extra touches, then saving the image. Make sure you are using images that are not subjected to Copyright.

2. Use Image File Names

For SEO, creating descriptive, keyword-rich file names is absolutely crucial. Often, file names will look like “IMG_722019”etc. E.g, you have an image of chocolate. You should name it “dark-chocolate-coffee” to let users & search engines understand it. For 1 of the images on each page, make sure your filename is the keyword you need to use for that page.

3. Compress your images

Images make up on average 21% of a total webpage. It can drastically slow down your webpage if not compressed. Compress your images before uploading to your site. You can do this with a tool like TinyPNG or for WordPres you can use a plugin called WP Smush.

4. Use Right Format

PNG and JPEG are common on the web.

• PNG: High-quality, but larger file size.

• JPEG: Flexible quality, so you can control file size.

• WebP: Image format supported by Chrome and Firefox.

Google recommends using WebP images however you can use PNG as well.

5. SEO Friendly ALT text

Adding appropriate alt tags to the images on your website can help your website achieve better rankings in the search engines by associating keywords with images. The alt text could read: alt=”chocolate” Best ALT would read: alt=”dark chocolate coffee”.