Image optimization has often been discussed among the SEO communities and with all the major search engines now turning to Universal search image search has now become all the more important. Here are few best practices that you can follow to increase the chances of getting your images ranked for related keywords and not just that it would also contribute to the overall SEO of your webpage.
- Use descriptive names for images. If you have an image of the Boston flea market instead of naming the image as D00123.jpg or market.jpg, it is always better to name it as Boston-Flea-Market.jpg
- Use proper Alt attributes for images. Search engines recognize your images from the alt attributes that you use for them. Make sure your alt attribute describes your image properly.
- Add a Title for images, again make sure your title is descriptive and contains your keyword for the image.
- Surround your image with properly optimized text related to the subject. Contextual text adds value to your images and adds relevancy for the image from the search engine's perspective
- Last but not the least for really important images that has got a message in it, use the Long Desc attribute to explain the image properly.
- If not for the search engines but for your users, optimize the image size. Not all users are on high bandwidth, so optimize your image size and make it easier for your users to view the images.
Feel free to add your own points or questions on image optimization in the comments section. We are all ears 