Why you need to optimize images on your website and how to do it. The main pros of SEO optimization, the value to the project and your reputation as a designer.
Improving images for search engines is essential for successful SEO and digital marketing. SEO image optimization goes beyond mere aesthetics. It is a powerful tool that provides many benefits to websites.
You're sure to add photos or illustrations to your project pages (here's a selection of 15 free stock images). Of course, you take care of their aesthetics and relevance to the theme. You choose the exact palettes, find the perfect compositions or create them yourself. But that's not all.
Each customer of the site pursues its own goals, but basically all of them want the page to be popular, to get a lot of users to visit it, so that users do not leave the site too quickly, and also that the page was higher in the search engine. And SEO-optimization of images is just one of the ways to satisfy such requests.
What to do?
SEO and digital marketing in image optimization involves the art of creating compelling alt-text, optimizing file names, and using keywords. Alt-text is required to provide search-friendly file names. Appropriate keywords are also prescribed to make the images visible on the web.
Here are a few key actions that come under the concept of SEO optimization:
- Choosing the right file type, such as JPEG or PNG, to strike a balance between quality and size.
- Size optimization - images should load quickly but still be high quality and look good.
- Adaptability - since most people use smartphones to browse the internet it is important to make sure images look good on all devices.
- Add image titles and descriptions and use relevant keywords. This will help search engines understand what your images are showing and make them more visible on the web. It will also help make the content accessible to users with disabilities.
Don't forget about other aspects of UX/UI improvement - check out our checklist for that.
What do we get from SEO-optimization of images?
The benefits of SEO image optimization are varied. But each of them works to improve the performance of the site, which means that you give the customer not just another passable result, but a really cool product that works great. Let's not forget that web design isn't just about aesthetics, it's about solving a customer's problem. Your beautiful pictures may not be seen by anyone if the site doesn't show up in the rendition or if they take too long to load. Conversely, even mediocre but high-quality and properly optimized photos can help increase conversion rates.
So, a little more about the benefits of SEO optimization.
Improved website visibility
This is one of the key benefits of SEO image optimization. When images on a website are properly optimized, they contribute to higher rankings in search engine results. Search engines often rank websites with optimized images, which leads to increased organic traffic. Users are more likely to discover and visit a site that appears prominently in search engine listings.
Improved User Experience
Neglecting to optimize images leads to slower page load times. Accordingly, proper image optimization leads to faster loading pages, reducing the waiting time for users. Faster loading speed improves user satisfaction, increases engagement and reduces bounce rate.
Increasing trust in the brand
If everything is beautiful and fast, it is simply perceived by users. Such a site is not annoying, does not cause the desire to close it. The user enjoys the content, gains sympathy for the brand and more trust in the product.
SEO-optimized images give the site a professional look and enhance the company's reputation. When users see that a brand pays attention to the smallest details, it gives the impression of reliability and quality.
Accessibility and Inclusivity
As mentioned above, SEO optimization of images includes adding alt-text to images and describing their content. Properly chosen image captions help visually impaired people to better understand the content on the page. Because alt-text is read by screen readers, making the content accessible to visually impaired people. Therefore, such measures play an important role in making websites inclusive. Read more about Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) in the article on inclusive design.
Faster loading
Optimizing images to load faster is very important because waiting for content to load is a thing of the past. This isn't just to keep the audience happy. It allows search engine algorithms to increase the ranking of the site in the output. Well, not without the fact that with instant loading the user immediately has a whole picture, he spends time exploring the site, not waiting.
More traffic
If images dominate the search results, it is logical that there will be a lot of clicks on them. And this is additional organic traffic. In this case, images are more than just attractive photos. This is a full-fledged SEO tool that works for powerful promotion.
Here it is important to spell out the right tags, titles and descriptions. If a person searches for "cafe with desserts in Kiev", it is your selection of wonderful desserts that should come up in the search.
Conclusion
E-commerce platforms, food and recipe blogs, and clothing brands rely heavily on visual appeal. But this applies to all spheres. Nowadays, plain text is almost impossible to find on the vastness of the web anymore, even on literary sites.
Content should not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also thoughtful. High-quality and optimized images can significantly increase the conversion rate of a website, increasing the likelihood of them taking an action, such as buying a product or subscribing to a service. And that's what we're aiming for when we make a website, right?
Work for results. Present a quality product. Learn the intricacies of web design so you can offer your clients more. We can help with that, if anything. The UX/UI Legend online course gives you a complete understanding of the field, tons of interesting tricks, tool training and a powerful foundation. It's an educational program that will be enough to launch your career. Sign up, it's time to conquer the world of web design!