How To Optimise Images For SEO

When it comes to SEO, there are many factors to consider, such as keywords, backlinks, and content quality. However, one aspect that is often overlooked is image optimisation. Optimising the file size and names of images can actually have a significant impact on your website’s search engine rankings. In this blog post, we’ll explore the advantages of image optimisation for SEO and provide actionable insights for users.

Faster Page Load Speed

One of the most significant advantages of optimising image file sizes is faster page load speed. Large image files can slow down your website’s loading time, which can negatively impact your SEO. According to Google, a website’s loading speed is a crucial factor in search engine rankings. By optimising your images, you can reduce your website’s loading time, leading to a better user experience and higher search engine rankings.

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Actionable Insight: Use image compression tools to reduce the file size of your images without sacrificing quality. Aim for a file size of under 100 KB.

Improved User Experience

Another advantage of image optimisation is an improved user experience. When users visit your website, they expect to see high-quality images that are relevant to the content. However, if your images take too long to load, users may become frustrated and leave your site. By optimising your images, you can provide a better user experience by ensuring that your images load quickly and look great. This can lead to longer user engagement times and lower bounce rates, which can have a positive impact on your SEO.

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Actionable Insight: Use descriptive and relevant file names for your images. This can help search engines understand the context of your images and improve your website’s relevance for related search queries.

Better Accessibility

Optimising image file sizes and names can also improve the accessibility of your website. People with visual impairments often use screen readers to navigate the web, and these tools rely on image alt tags to describe the images on a page. By optimising your images, you can ensure that these alt tags are accurate and descriptive, making your website more accessible to a wider range of users.

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Actionable Insight: Include alt text for all your images, and make sure it accurately describes the content of the image. Avoid using generic alt text like “image” or “picture”.

Increased Organic Traffic

Finally, optimising your images can lead to increased organic traffic to your website. When you optimize your images for SEO, you make it easier for search engines to index and rank your website. This can lead to higher visibility in search results and increased organic traffic to your website.

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Actionable Insight: Use descriptive and relevant keywords in your image file names, alt tags, and captions. This can help your images rank higher in image search results and drive more organic traffic to your website.

In conclusion, image optimisation is a crucial aspect of SEO that should not be overlooked. By optimising your image file sizes and names, you can improve your website’s loading speed, user experience, accessibility, and organic traffic. So, take the time to optimize your images and reap the benefits for your website’s SEO.

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Gary Hainsworth

Senior Organic Data Specialist

Gary is our technical SEO specialist and boasts more than 10 years’ experience in the industry. With in-depth knowledge on site migrations and all aspects of technical SEO, he’s a valuable asset to our team. Gary’s worked with the likes of the V&A, Warburtons, the NHS and the Lake District National Park. He has a passion for guitars too, be that playing them, modifying them or even building them. Gary has appeared in Startups Magazine, Portsmouth News and Southampton.gov.uk.

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