How to Optimize Images on Your Website for SEO
Creating SEO friendly images is simple to do, yet many website owners neglect this valuable source of search engine traffic. To make it even more simple, WordPress has some great tools built in to help you optimize your images. There are also several essential plugins we recommend in order to maximize your optimization and professional (or paid upgrade) versions that can be extremely valuable.
The most important thing to know is that while people can see your images, search engines must rely on underlying html attributes, although technology at Google is now able to identify and classify images. But they still rely heavily on the words in the tags and titles you give your images. Just a little attention to detail can go a long way in improving your results and search engine rankings.
When creating or uploading content consider the following:
- All images should have ALT and TITLE attributes defined. This is the image equivalent of the doc title or metadescription for the page.
- Image filenames should have a relevant name, ideally with a keyword in it. For example, an image file of “logo.jpg” might make sense to you, the website owner, but it won’t mean anything at all to a search engine. “wordpresslogo.jpg” is a much more descriptive, and relevant, filename. But don’t be overly “spammy” in your naming, by excessive keyword stuffing or you’ll be penalized.
- Before uploading images from your computer, modify the image properties to include title and tags on the “Details” tab (shown at right).
When adding a new a WordPress page or post, remember to give the image file a relevant name and fill in the spaces provided for ALT and TITLE tags. It may be a good idea to review or spot-check your site, updating/completing the ALT and TITLE tags on images.
In our guide to essential WordPress plugins, we chose the All in One SEO Pack plugin for SEO. In addition, All in One SEO Pack – Pro Version provides additional SEO customization and features, access to personal support, advanced updates, and removes all advertisements.
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