17 SEO Standard Image Optimization Techniques

Images are an integral part of any online content, from personal blogs to e-commerce sites. However, if not optimized properly, images can become a hindrance to your website's SEO performance. In this article, Sadesign will introduce 16 SEO-friendly image optimization techniques that will help increase page load speed, improve user experience, and improve search engine rankings. Let's explore and turn your images into a powerful tool in your SEO strategy!

1. Alt text (alternative text) in image SEO

Alt text, also known as alternative text, is an important part of image description in SEO. It helps search engines like Google understand the content of the image and improves the user experience when the image fails to load. When users cannot see the image, alt text provides information so they can still access the content, and also helps improve accessibility for people with visual disabilities.

Using alt text appropriately can help your website rank higher in image search results. This is especially important as images become an increasingly important part of many businesses’ SEO strategies. Alt text is not only a technical requirement, but also an opportunity to engage with your users in a clear and friendly way.

When writing alt text, make sure it is accurate and specific. A good description should be short, usually no longer than 125 characters. Each image should have a unique alt text to avoid being flagged as spam by Google. Diversifying your description text will increase your search visibility and help users understand what your image is about.

2. Keyword research to optimize for image SEO

Keyword research is the first and essential step in image SEO optimization. Your article should be built around one or more topic keywords, and using keyword-relevant images is extremely important. Images not only support the content, but also help Google better understand the topic of the article.

There are many tools and methods for keyword research, of which Google Trends is one of the effective free tools. This tool allows you to enter a search term and get a graph, suggested keywords to choose for image content. Using Google Trends, you can grasp the current keyword trends and find suitable topics to optimize images for your articles.

There are some common mistakes to avoid when it comes to keyword research. Many people spend too much time on manual searches without relying on real data. Choosing keywords that are not relevant to the article topic will result in irrelevant images, which will reduce the user experience. By focusing on systematic keyword research, you will increase the visibility of your images in search engines.

3. Ensure copyright or uniqueness when SEOing images

After identifying the appropriate keyword topic group, the next step in the image SEO process is to ensure that there is no copyright infringement or uniqueness. Using images that are not your own may violate some Google and Internet laws. This can lead to unnecessary trouble, even being sued by the author of the image.

To ensure that your use of images is copyright-free, you can create images using tools like Photoshop, drawing, design, or take your own photos. Another option is to use images that are licensed under a Creative Commons license, with a Google-approved reuse tag. You can also download images from free photo-sharing sites like Pixabay, Pexels, and Burst.shopify.

Complying with copyright regulations not only helps you avoid legal trouble, but also builds your brand’s credibility. When you use unique and copyrighted images, you are also more likely to attract more attention from users and improve your website’s SEO ranking.

4. Optimize with featured images to increase rankings on Google search

When choosing images for SEO, it is also important to research your competitors. For certain topics, simply using a special or unique image can greatly improve your rankings. Google’s algorithm favors images with high engagement, such as scrolls and clicks, helping them rise to the top of the rankings.

To make your images stand out from the competition, make sure they are high quality, creative, and relevant to the content of your article. For example, if you are writing about a data-related topic, using unique charts or images can attract more attention than other, more generic images.

A clear example is in image search, the featured image is often in the top 1 position. If you use a unique image, it is likely to attract more clicks and interactions, thereby improving your article's Google search ranking.

5. Special things to avoid in image SEO

When choosing images for SEO, in addition to paying attention to factors such as prominence and copyright, there are also general principles that you need to understand to avoid unnecessary trouble. Avoid using images that are sensitive or racist, distorted or sensitive about politics or religion.

Additionally, avoid images that are too complex and confusing, and are not user-friendly. Images should also not be related to industries, services or organizations that are prohibited by law. Following these rules will not only help you maintain professionalism, but also protect your website from negative effects from search engines.

Always make sure that your images do not violate any of the above list. This will help you build a more sustainable and effective image SEO strategy in the long run.

6. Add captions and geotags when SEOing images

Geotagging a photo is the location on Earth where a photo was taken, using a latitude and longitude coordinate system to locate it. Many devices with built-in GPS will automatically mark the location where the photo was taken. Adding geotags to photos not only improves their display in Google search results, but also makes it easier for users to find content related to their location.

Like Google Maps, images near your location are more likely to show up when users search for articles if they have geotagged them. This increases user engagement with your content, which in turn improves your search rankings.

Checking whether a photo has a geotag is simple. Just select the photo, right-click, and select Properties. Then, go to Details and scroll down to the GPS section, where you’ll find information about latitude and longitude. This will help you determine whether your image is optimized for location-based searches.

7. SEO-standard image schema markup

Google introduced image schema markup a long time ago, but you may have overlooked it in your workflow. Schema markup is a way to provide detailed information about the content of your images to search engines. This way, you help Google better understand your images and improve your visibility in search.

Google currently supports four types of image markup including products, recipes, videos, and GIFs. Each of these markup types is designed to serve different purposes on your site, so you just need to add the appropriate markup to the corresponding page. This not only helps with SEO, but also improves the user experience when they search for relevant information.

To apply schema markup effectively, you need to identify the type of image you are using and choose the appropriate markup method. For example, if you have a recipe page, use recipe markup; for a product page, use product markup. Correctly applying schema markup will greatly benefit your image SEO.

8. How to name images according to SEO standards according to Google's recommendations

According to Google's guidelines, one of the most important things in image SEO is to use descriptive file names. In particular, use your target keyword phrase in the image file name. This helps search engines better understand the content of the image and improves your ability to rank in search.

For example, if your computer automatically saves the image as IMG00353.JPG, Google won't know what the image is about. It's best to name it giay-air-force-1-mau-trang.jpg. Using relevant keywords in the file name will make it easier for the image to appear in related searches.

Note that naming your images should be done before you upload them to your website. Remember to use hyphens to separate words instead of spaces, as this will help search engines recognize them better.

9. Use image SEO software as recommended by Google

User experience is closely related to the loading speed of a website. One of the main reasons for slow loading websites is due to poorly optimized image sizes. For example, if you use an image that is 4032 pixels by 3024 pixels, this can slow down the loading process of the page if the maximum size of an image on a website is only 600 pixels.

To fix this, you can use tools like Photoshop or WordPress to resize your images to fit. Resizing images isn’t the only way to reduce file size; you can also reduce image size using compression tools like Optimizilla, TinyPNG, or ImageOptim.

Additionally, if you are using WordPress, there are many plugins that support automatic image compression during upload. This way, you not only help improve page load speed but also enhance user experience, thereby improving SEO rankings for your website.

10. Choose the right format according to image SEO standards

There is no standard format for image SEO, it all depends on the type of image you are using. The image format should be chosen based on the purpose of the image and the requirements of the website. Some popular formats include JPEG, PNG, WebP, and SVG. Each format has its own advantages and disadvantages, so understanding them will help you optimize your images better.

JPEG is the most common format for artwork and is often used when sending images via email due to its small size. PNG is a good choice if you need to display a transparent background. WebP is good when you need higher compression without losing image quality, but has the disadvantage of not playing well with older browsers. Finally, SVG is often used for logos and vector graphics.

In addition to the above formats, you can also consider using BMP and GIF as recommended by Google. Choosing the right format not only helps optimize SEO but also improves the user experience when they visit your website.

11. Add captions to images

Image captions, or image captions, are the text that accompanies images on a page. Captions are important for image SEO because users often scan the title, image, and caption when reading an article. According to research, image captions are read 300% more than the main content, which shows the importance of using them wisely.

However, not all images need a caption. Deciding whether to add a caption or not depends on the purpose of the image in the content. Remember that over-optimization can be distracting to readers, so only add a caption when it makes sense and is relevant to the content of the article.

First, think about the visitor experience. If a caption can help readers better understand the image or content, then it should be included. However, if it is not necessary, it is okay to omit the caption.

12. Create a sitemap to optimize images on the website

Creating a sitemap for the images on your site helps increase your chances of showing up in search results. An image sitemap is very similar to an XML sitemap, but only includes the URLs to your images. Creating this sitemap helps Google discover and index your images, which improves your chances of appearing in image search.

It's worth noting that image sitemaps can contain URLs from other domains, so you may have images hosted on different channels. You can create an image sitemap manually following Google's guidelines, and you'll need to make sure it's structured properly.

Google allows up to 1,000 images to be linked to per page in a sitemap. To improve the user experience and provide more context to search engines, use the tags and items marked "Required" provided by Google.

13. Use a content delivery network for image SEO

A content delivery network (CDN) helps images and other content load faster. A CDN is a group of servers located in different locations that deliver content to users more quickly and efficiently. For example, if you are in Vietnam, content will load faster from a server in Asia than from a server in Europe.

Using a CDN not only improves page load speed but also improves user experience. You can easily set up a CDN for your website using plugins like W3 Total Cache or a service from Cloudflare on WordPress. This helps ensure that images and other content load quickly, keeping users on your site longer.

14. Delay loading images for SEO as recommended by Google

When a website is slow to load, images are often the number one culprit. Deferring the loading of images when accessing a website is an effective way to speed up page load times. When users don’t scroll down the second half of the page, those assets never load, improving overall page performance.

Google recommends that you avoid splitting images above the fold, as this can create a poor user experience. Deferring image loading not only improves page load speed, but also reduces bandwidth usage, making your page run smoother.

Applying this technique properly will help you optimize user experience and keep them on your website longer.

15. Leverage browser caching to optimize images

Google PageSpeed ​​Insights often recommends using browser caching to optimize page load speed. When files are stored by a user's browser during a visit, content loads faster on subsequent visits. This is important, especially when users return to your site.

When images are loaded and displayed on the browser, they are stored in the cache. The next time you visit, all the cached data will load faster, improving the user experience. Utilizing caching not only reduces the load on the server, but also saves time for the user.

If you are using WordPress, there are many popular caching plugins that help you quickly implement caching optimization recommendations. GTmetrix can also help you with this.

16. Add SEO-friendly image structured data as recommended by Google

Structured data helps search engines understand the information on your website better. Using structured data not only improves image SEO, but also improves the visibility of search results in different formats. Google now supports many types of structured data, including products, videos, and recipes.

When adding structured data, you need to make sure it is relevant to the topic of your article. All image URLs also need to be crawlable and indexable. This helps Google better understand your content and improve search rankings.

While using structured data doesn't guarantee that your site will rank better, it will definitely improve your image search listings.

17. Optimize images for Open Graph and Twitter

Social media campaigns often require the use of images, and this is where Open Graph comes in. Introduced by Facebook, Open Graph is a protocol that lets you choose how your post previews appear on social media. To ensure that the images you choose appear when you share a page, you need to add the image tag to the

of your HTML.

Open Graph applies to Facebook and Pinterest, while Twitter uses its own tags. To optimize images for Twitter, you’ll also need to add a similar snippet of code to the

  section of your page. This ensures your images are displayed properly when users share content on social media platforms.

18. Conclusion

Optimizing images is not only a necessary step to improve SEO, but also a way to enhance user experience. By applying the techniques we have shared, you will not only increase your visibility in search engines but also create more engaging content for your readers. Start today to make your images a key part of your SEO strategy, and discover their potential to attract and retain customers!