How to Name Images for SEO?
Adding images can increase not only the time your visitors spend on the page since it makes your articles easier to read but also the chances they would share the article since it makes the content more engaging.
In this blog, I will discuss ways to optimize the images, so they can appear in image search results.
Let’s start with something that needs to be done before uploading the images to your website:
Name Images for SEO - Best Practices
Lots of content creators upload images with the automatic file name provided by the camera, which is the worst thing you could do for SEO.
- Make sure the file’s name describes what’s in the image.
- Try to use five words or less
- Separate words with Hyphens which are easier for the search bots to understand.
- Ideally, the file’s name should contain your main focus keyword.
- You shouldn’t stuff focus keywords, like creators used to do. Nowadays, Google considers this spam.
Other Image Optimization Strategies
Optimize Images Size and File Size
The next step in image optimization is related to size. This means both image size and file size. Image size regards the dimensions, measured in pixels.
On the other hand, file size is the amount of space required to store it on the server, measured in bytes.
When we talk about files, we usually say they are heavy or light, instead of big or small. The bigger an image’s dimensions, the more space it takes up. Consequently, it will take longer to load, and every second your page takes to load can cost you, visitors.
The goal is to make your pages load as fast as possible while maintaining decent image quality. Our first suggestion is to use proper image sizes for each screen, so visitors on mobile devices don’t have to wait for a big image to load on a small screen.
Ideally, you should optimize the original image so its dimensions aren’t bigger than the largest possible size before uploading it to your website. That way, you don’t waste space on your server. WordPress already creates several versions of the images you upload in different sizes. You can define the dimensions in the admin panel.
- Go to Settings – Media.
- Don’t forget to save all the changes you make.
Besides compressing images without losing visible quality, some of them also have the option to remove EXIF data. Even though this is technical data, you should carefully consider if you want to remove it, because Google has stated that they may use Exif data as a ranking factor for Google Images.
For the images that are already on your server, you can use plugins such as
WP Smush, ShortPixel, and Imagify.
ALT Text
Just like the file’s name, the alternative text helps search engine bots determine what an image is all about.
It appears as a tag in the source code and it’s shown on the front end. when the images on a page fail to load. Also, people who use assistive devices to navigate the web hear the alternative text as a description of the image. You can define the alternative text by opening the image to edit, whether that’s in your post, or in WordPress’ admin panel, by going to the media library and clicking on it. Follow the same recommendations as the file name. Describe your images in plain, simple language, but now, instead of hyphens, you should separate the words with spaces. Keep it short, but descriptive, and don’t stuff your alt attributes full of keywords.
ALT Text - Include Serial No or Unique Identifier
In product pictures, besides describing what’s in the image, you can include a serial number or unique identifier, if it’s something that people would search for to find that product, to reinforce the clear relationship between your product pages and images and searches that people are performing based on the related searches for a query.
Rank Math actually makes it possible to automate the alt text process. Missing alt attributes can automatically be added using different variables, such as their file name. To do that, go to Rank Math’s General Settings. In the Image tab, activate the option “Add missing alt attributes” and save the changes.
Keep in mind that all titles and captions are generated dynamically, which means that Rank Math adds the caption to the images while the page loads, not before that. In other words, if you check your images
from the WordPress Media Gallery, you will not find the captions added there, but you will find them on posts, pages, etc.
Alt Attribute Tips
- Add image alt text for all images
- Describe an image exactly as it appears, like “dog at beach”
- Include core or related keywords, like for product images
Add Captions
Captions can also be used by Google to understand images better. They’re not absolutely necessary, and you can dismiss them for images that are purely decorative or that have relevant text right next to them. However, adding a caption to give credit to the original source of the image, or to point out something specific in it, is helpful for search and your readers.
Add Images to Sitemap
Now that you know how to make images more SEO-friendly, you should make it easier or Google to find them. You can add image links to your sitemap, which is a list of links that you can submit to Google Search Console.
Add to Content Delivery Network CDN
Another way to speed up your pages is by using a Content Delivery Network, commonly known as CDN.
Structured Data or Schema Markup
Just as important as giving Google the path to the images in your website is telling them the context that those images are in. You can do that by adding structured data, called Schema Markup, to your pages. Google Images currently supports structured data for products, recipes, and videos. To add Schema to all items in a particular post type, you can set up a global Schema type in Rank Math’s Titles and Meta section.
F.A.Q
This is a globally distributed network of servers that work together to serve content to visitors faster, regardless of where they are. There are tons of options out there, I recommend Cloudflare because they offer a free plan for websites that are just getting started and they have a good network and suite of products. Also, they use the website’s own URL for images, which means you could change CDNs and wouldn’t have to move Images URLs and tell Google what the new URLs are.
EXIF stands for Exchangeable Image file format is a standard that defines specific information relating to an image, graphics or media captured by a digital camera. EXIF stores important data such as camera exposure, time/date the image was taken, GPS Location, Frames, and more…
In short – When we take an image using a camera and then transfer the image to the computer, we see in the image details and description EXIF data. GPS location, How many MB the image was, camera exposure, and more…