It is time to address a common question – do images matter for SEO?
Yes, in short. However, whenever I’m asked “do images matter for SEO?“, the answer can never be quite so simple. If only it could be! The way you present images on your website, and specifically how you present them to Google, is something very few businesses pay sufficient attention to.
SEO and web staff in companies are as guilty as anyone for not giving photographs and other images the time they merit. I have some empathy with them, as I know their focus is usually on text based content. That said, you can’t ignore the power of imagery, both visually and technically, and Google has published notes on them and commented on the subject several times.
Image SEO is far better than it once was
Before we get into the technicalities of what Google would like you to do, let’s take a step back in time.
Do you remember when Adobe Flash dominated the internet? Those were the days when you’d open a webpage and be impressed by a 30 second video or graphically intensive display that would be reliant on Flash Player to work? I remember it well. It was a complete and utter pain.
They carried almost no value for SEO, they were usually bandwidth intensive (they would often take a while to load) and before long everyone and their Uncle wanted a Flash introduction, whether it served a purpose or not. They were awful, thank goodness they’re gone!
Fortunately, internet access speeds have changed
Unfortunately, too many businesses have replaced them with long videos, but there is more value to those from an SEO perspective if they’re given the time and SEO attention they merit. There’s also this thing called streaming and different ways in which websites now handle motion content, so the landscape has changed significantly (and we’re not on 56.6k US Robotics modems these days either!).
How does your business treat images?
Every SEO professional knows that your website needs images, but we do get ever-so-slightly irked when all the advice we give on them is ignored – which it usually is.
Here is a summary of what usually happens with images on a typical business website. Incidentally, if you smile when you read this and think “Ha! That’s us!“, don’t worry, you won’t be alone.
- You need an image for a blog or other piece of content.
- Someone Googles a subject they need an image for and steals it from the copyright owner or you use legitimately free of copyright sites such as Pixabay or Unsplash to get the image.
- They don’t resize the image, particularly if your website CMS resizes it automatically.
- You upload it to your website and the job is done.
If you run an e-commerce site and publish photographs of your products, most businesses do this:
- You take a single photograph of the product, possibly two, or have a professional photographer do it.
- Someone uploads it to the website and the job is done.
Can you guess that I, and every other SEO consultant on the planet, was twitching as I write that. Most businesses don’t realise the opportunities for SEO that images give them.
What does Google say about images and ranking?
If we look at how Google treats images, things might change for you.
To begin with, you might have heard of ALT tags. These are text fields assigned to images. Their purpose is to describe what is in the image.
The ALT tag SEO myth
There is a myth to dismiss immediately – Google does not use ALT tags as a ranking factor for webpages. You may have heard that it does, but I’m afraid that is categorically not the case.
The real purpose of an ALT tag
The ALT stands for Alternative. The reason you input it is because the ALT tags is displayed on a webpage if the image won’t load. It is also used for helping those with difficulty reading webpages, and is the field that will be translated to a voice if the user has enabled voice translation (such as anyone with impaired eyesight, the blind, etc.).
ALT tags and Google Image Search SEO value
That said, the ALT tag content does play a pivotal role in how Google identifies images in Google Image Search. It is absolutely used as a ranking factor in Images Searches, it just won’t help you (directly) in general search results.
ALT tags and their relationship with Title & Description tags
There’s another thing you should be aware of. Whilst Google Image Search ranks your images, it does so by not only looking at the image ALT tag but it also reads the Title and Description meta tags of the page on which the images are shown.
Google describe it like this:
While not immediately obvious, the content and metadata of the pages where an image is embedded can have a great influence on how and where the image may appear in Google’s search results.
It follows this up with an image (ironically) and this explanation:
Should you align Title, Description & ALT tags?
In other words, try to ensure that the title and description of the page are relevant to the images on it. That is actually quite challenging. I take the view that this can be done as an additional benefit rather than something you should exert a great deal of effort on. If you have a page with a lot of images on it, you’re going to find it almost impossible to do anyway.
Ultimately, Google asks that you use the ALT tag as it was originally intended to be used and don’t try to use it for stuffing in keywords related to your website.
Disappointed with the ALT tag?
Do not underestimate the power of the ALT tag. The fact it is used as a ranking factor in Google Image Search is an opportunity. That could lead to backlinks, page visits and time on site – all of which will impact your visibility and website performance.
Treat the ALT tag carefully
You should, in fact, be careful when using ALT tags. Do not try to fill them all with a main target keyword or phrase, because Google warns that it could cause your site to be viewed as spam.
Do image filenames matter for SEO?
We then come to the lesser known element of images and what Google would like you to do. It directly advises against using generic and unhelpful filenames.
Here is their advice:
The filename can give Google very light clues about the subject matter of the image. When possible, use filenames that are short, but descriptive. For example,
my-new-black-kitten.jpgis better thanIMG00023.JPG. Avoid using generic filenames likeimage1.jpg,pic.gif,1.jpg
Google want you to give your filename a name that identifies the content of it. In doing so, you help them index it. Subsequently, you are assisting your own site visibility.
Should you rename all your website images?
There is a note of caution to add here. Running off and renaming all your site images now could have a detrimental effect. Google has responded to this question in the past and said that it advises against doing so, because renamed files may not be reindexed.
Structured data, images and rich snippets
Google also advise that you use add structured data for your images. There is a very interesting note on this that is potentially valuable:
If you include structured data, Google can display your images in certain rich results, including a prominent badge in Google Images, which give users relevant information about your page and can drive better targeted traffic to your site.
They’ve just told you of a potential rich snippets opportunity. Images in rich snippets (such as the answers to questions that appear at the top of Google Search results and elsewhere on the page), make them more visible, and rich snippets are a golden nugget of SEO targets – they matter.
Are ALT tags a waste of time?
It might seem that images don’t particularly matter. If you thought that all those ALT tags you’ve taken time stuffing have been a waste of time, then you may be right if you’ve not named them appropriately. However, if you’ve been honest with the descriptions, you may be benefiting from Google Image Search, and that will indirectly give your website additional visibility.
Think about accessibility and rich snippets
Furthermore, you want your website to be accessible to those who can’t read what is on the screen, and you certainly want your images to be as indexable as possible for rich snippets.
What image file type should you use on a website?
Now we come to the part that is often the undoing of websites. The file type you use for your images, and the size of the images (in terms of file size, i.e. kilobytes) is a critical factor.
If you simply upload a .PNG or .JPG file and pay no attention to it’s size, you need to change that habit. Even if your website CMS (WordPress, Shopify, etc.) compresses the files to a smaller file size, it can only do so much and starts with the original file size and can only go so far.
Ideally, you should be uploading the smallest file size possible without losing clarity of the image. One file type that is exceptionally good for doing this is .WebP.
Google and the .WebP file format
Google are big fans of .WebP images and say this:
WebP is a modern image format that provides superior lossless and lossy compression for images on the web. Using WebP, webmasters and web developers can create smaller, richer images that make the web faster.
Why converting images to .WebP affects SEO
If you read that in full you may have spotted why, suddenly, images and SEO do marry up far more than you might have thought. If you use lighter, smaller, faster to load images, then your website speed is going to be better.
The speed of your website is a ranking factor on Google, an important one. Google couldn’t be more clear on this:
Page speed is a direct ranking factor for both desktop and mobile search results. This means that faster-loading websites are generally more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) than slower-loading websites.
If you pay attention to the file size/format, and if you were to ensure all your images (where possible) were .WebP format, there is every chance you will benefit from a rankings increase.
That brings me to a final question I’ve been asked many times – how do you save images in .WebP format that you already have as .JPG or .PNG?
Tools for converting images to .WebP format
Thankfully, there are many free online tools for doing this, some of which will allow you to convert the files in bulk. Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing that keeps giving?
One of them is Convertio.
Another, that is excellent for bulk images, is Red Ketchup.
WordPress plugins for .WebP conversion
If you’re a WordPress site owner, there are also a wealth of tools that will optimise all your site imagery and “serve” them to users in .WebP format regardless of what you uploaded them as – making your site faster to load.
One such tool is a WordPress plugin known as WP Optimise. Here is a screenshot of the Image settings of it, where you’ll see it will take any images on the website and make a .WebP version to serve to them whenever it can.
Final thoughts on images for SEO
How do I summarise? Yes, images matter for SEO and you can get benefit from them. Some of the benefits are very indirect, but they exist and they’re important.
One thing about SEO that everyone should take note of is the cumulative impact of hundreds of small elements. There is no one thing you can do to assure yourself of high rankings in Google Search.
Good SEO is the combination of countless tiny techniques that add up. Think of it like the use of drops of water to develop an ocean of advantages. Eventually, the drops form something far more significant and visible.
Feedback
If you’ve found this article useful or have any comments on image SEO techniques, please leave a comment. In the meantime, have fun with all those images on your website!
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