For your info – Google has introduced a new “Image Search UI” for web-users in Jan 2013. Now image searchers can see high resolution images on search results without visiting the hosting websites.
But this new change has affected webmasters adversely. On the one hand general people or general Google users are happy with the results, on the other hand webmasters are having a huge outcry for getting 60% to 80% of less search traffic from organic image search.
Websites in the niche – Fashion & Lifestyle, Entertainment, Photo Sites and News Sites are the greatest losers. Few site owners have also suffered a 90% drop in image search, overnight, just after the new user interface.
Most interestingly, the sites who had optimized (SEO) their images the most were the worst sufferers.
Image optimization Tips
If this is the case, why you should go for image optimization? Why you should invest your precious time and efforts for peanuts?Yes, you should optimize your images adequately and regularly to rank your content higher in Google search. To squeeze the last drop of SEO in your optimization campaign. No doubt, image search query constitutes 2% to 5% of total Google search, but it is growing at a much faster pace. And don’t forget the rest 95% of content search for which we are optimizing our images to rank higher in search results.
1. Image Alt Text
The most important part of image optimization is alt text, which directly complements the rest of the content to rank better.Search engine bots can’t see images, but are very good at reading the html elements (texts). And alt text is the right place to put alternative texts , to inform clearly about the image to search engine buts.
So your alt text should be short and descriptive. You should think as if you are optimizing your images for long-tail keywords for Google image search. For the below image , instead of putting “London Bridge” as alt text, you should write “London Bridge evening view.”
London Bridge
Never try to keyword stuff your image alt texts. Google is smart enough to detect it and downgrade the image as well as the content in search results for keyword stuffing.2. Image File Name
The 2nd most important part of image optimization. Strangely, even the established websites and blogs ignore this part quite frequently.Again, the image file name should be very short and descriptive. For the above image, your file name should be like London-Bridge.jpg instead of 24478457854.jpg or sgfrthjusdgkp.jpg.
3. Image Caption
Image caption is not a direct factor for ranking images well in the search results, but crucial enough for the overall SEO success.There are enough evidences that images with captions rank well in Google image search. It should be short, to the point and relevant to the image. Studies also reveal that images with captions are the most watched and read portion of a web-page.
4. Image Description
Image description is an indirect factor to help images and content to rank better in SERPs.It was introduced with a different aim. The initial intention was to help the visually impaired web-readers who use special screen reading software. It was (is) also useful for slow internet connection, when the browsers can’t upload the images and display the description only.
Be minimalistic while describing the image. Use your target keywords but don’t repeat. Be short and be specific is the best policy.
5. Image Text Wrapping Up
Wrapping the image with relevant content like – texts around the image or the nearby paragraphs, and even the heading and other images are most important from SEO point of view.Stick to the subject matter and do it naturally.
The above 5 image optimization tips will help you to rank your images well, thereby complementing your content (blog post) to rank higher in search engine results.
Furthermore, who knows what will be the next “Image Search Interface or Image Search Rules” for tomorrow (by Google). Better to be prepared today than late.
Note: If this Tutorial and News worked for you (and it should work), please leave a comment below. Thanks.
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