~ How to rank with Google Image Search
What is Image SEO?
Image SEO is one of the essential factors in Search Engine Optimization, and it is related to image files on a website.
It helps to improve the ranking of images as in Image Search. Image SEO plays a significant role in driving more traffic to the website, and it helps in increasing the visibility of any website through Google Image Search. This blog will educate you about how to rank with Google Image Search, that you can get quality traffic.
How to Rank with Google Image Search?
Every blogger wants to get the most qualitative traffic to their blog network. Blogging involves a lot of usage of media files like Images, videos, infographics etc. As a blogger, you should use these files as an opportunity to attract audience. Image SEO exactly helps the same way in blogging.
Here are 10 plus tips that would give you the idea about how to rank with Google Image Search. You should implement these further.
- Keywords Research for Image SEO – How to rank with Google Image Search?
Keywords for image optimization are the same as basic SEO.
Hence, there is no keyword research that you have to do again for images.
Since you already have the keywords to optimize your website, you can implement those in the images as well. The keywords used in the website headline, URL are useful for images. You can copy-paste them in your website image names.
Just like you optimize the contents for SEO, make sure the images go with the keyword phrases. Like, the image should be described by the keyword phrase you have.
- Select the Right File Format for Your Images – How to rank with Google Image Search?
There are different types of image formats available, and multiple sizes have got their specific use. Various image format names are –
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) – TIFF is uncompressed image files. It comes up with a large size and contains a lot of detailed image data. It ends with .tif.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) – JPEG is a small size format image. It’s a compressed format that has been compressed to store a lot of information in the small size file itself. It ends with .jpg.
GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) – GIF images formats comes with minimal color options, and can never be printed out. It is used for animations, and this format ends with .gif.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) – PNG formats come with better compression. Such formats are best for website usage and never for print media. It ends with .png.
Raw Image Files – RIF is images that are unprocessed and available as raw data in a digital camera. It cannot be printed.
Image SEO Format: The most commonly used formats for image SEO on websites are JPEG and PNG.
PNG produces a better quality image but comes with big file size. But JPEG has different size options under the same model, but the resolution will vary. In that case, you can select the decision that you want to set and download/use the right size. JPEG also helps you to set from 256 indexed colors, so there is no chance of data loss. Whereas PNG format images can support more than 15 million colors. PNG can accommodate static images, and can also support animations like GIF.
- Compress Your Images – How to rank with Google Image Search?
Website images are supposed to be compressed for faster loading and consuming lesser space. With image compressor, you can let your image consume less space than the original file.
In this technique, even after decreasing the size of the image, you do not lose on the quality of the image. So the high-quality image will not degrade on its resolution.
- Create Unique and Eye Catchy Images – How to rank with Google Image Search?
The internet is full of information. Doesn’t matter you take any niche to write or produce any type of content; you get at least thousands of competitors already competing with each other. In such a scenario, it’s tough to get recognized if you do not come up with unique and attractive images.
Unique and Eye-catchy images make all your web visitors hold on that webpage and look into the content. Therefore creative images and original images are essential to do.
With the help of a Unique and eye-catchy image, you get better CTR as well as conversions.
- Customize Image File Names – How to rank with Google Image Search?
Image SEO is as sensitive as website SEO. In a website image, if you are uploading relevant images for better engagement, make sure the image file name has been given correctly.
Ex. For an image of a Lenovo Laptop, You can use the file name as “Lenovo Laptop Image”. If you provide any name that doesn’t indicate the image content, that’s not a good idea.
- Use Alt-Text for Images – How to rank with Google Image Search?
Alt-Text is a textual description, which needs to be added with the website image to the HTML tag. Alt-Texts helps SEO is a significant way, and whenever the web image is not getting loaded, then the alt text will be immediately displayed over the image. It helps the user to understand what the image was all about.
- Set your Thumbnail Images Right – How to rank with Google Image Search?
Thumbnail images are majorly used for manipulating the audience in the wrong direction. It works on click-baiting. But that is not a practice we would recommend.
Having the right thumbnail image helps you to drive traffic to your blog.
It gives a clear idea about the content they are going to read. It’s recommended to make your thumbnail pictures attractive and unique.
- Add Mobile Friendly Images – How to rank with Google Image Search?
More than 50% of internet users bank on mobile phones for using the internet. Hence, they are surfing websites on their mobile phone. There is a concept of mobile SEO & compatibility to provide an excellent user experience to mobile internet users.
Therefore, while putting an image on your website, you should make sure those images can get loaded and supported by devices like smartphones, tabs, etc. It has to be flawless and well compatible.
- Add Relevant Content on the Images – How to rank with Google Image Search?
The image description is essential when it comes to image SEO. If you have an explanation for your image, it helps to detail your website. It explains the content of your image or graphics
About SEO, the image alt text (aka alt tag) is the most critical piece of image metadata.
The alt tag is simply a brief text description of an image. It explains the content of images to website users when a graphic can’t be loaded. It also helps visually impaired users to understand the content on a page.
- Add Image Structure Data – How to rank with Google Image Search?
Image SEO includes structured image data, as well. Structured data is an organized form of data into a formatted repository.
It helps the image to address the elements in a better way to make it more effective in terms of processing for SEO. It can be described as an organized way to keep information.
- Add Images to Your Sitemap – How to rank with Google Image Search?
Sitemaps are one of the most critical resources for website SEO. No doubt, it has got an impact on image SEO as well.
Images being an essential element for the website, when you add it to your sitemap, the crawlers get to know the images that you consider more prominent on your website.
- Add Open Graph and Twitter Cards – How to rank with Google Image Search?
Adding open graphs and twitter cards help you to stand out from the crowd.
On Twitter, enormous tweets happen on a single topic. We know the fundamental limit of twitter content is 140 words. With the help of Twitter cards, you can put additional content. It helps to add more of the view summary.
Conclusion: As Google always says, “If you want to boost your visibility in the SERP, focus on UX more than anything else”.
With the help of Google Images, you can achieve more visibility and so as traffic. Make sure any image content you are putting up on the website, is relevant. Read more similar contents.
