Google Image Search is a powerful tool in the hands of SEO marketers. Leading SEO agency in New York walks the extra mile beyond optimizing text content to drive search engine ranks. In this blog, SEO experts from Agency Couch share with you the 4 key ways you can outsmart competitors by leveraging Google Image Search.
#1 Compress Your Images
Remember how frustrating it feels to keep waiting for an image or a website to load? Large image files slow down your pages. This is especially true when you have a visually rich website. Google penalizes websites that are slow to load.
Remember that image relevance and fast loading are critical to feature at the top of the search. So reducing the pixel dimension of the image too much might lead to users being unable to understand your image at all! Instead, SEO agencies in New York opt for free tools like CompressJPEG, CompressPNG, and CompressNow to reduce the file size without affecting the image quality.
Avoid unnecessarily large images, but also avoid making them too small. Make sure that people can understand your image and all the text content placed on it.
#2 Associate Images with the Right Keywords
Here’s the deal – Keywords rule on Google. Yes, even for image search!
Now that we know this, how can we make the most of it?
Simple: Associate your brand’s images with the right keywords. SEO agencies in New York know that there are many ways to accomplish this.
a. Give Appropriate Names to Your Image Files
For example, let’s say that your image shows the process of building an AI product from scratch. You can name it as “AI_product_process” instead of something like “Image 1_v2.1”. The first name tells Google’s crawlers that the image is about the process of building an AI product. Whereas the second name is just random gibberish (as far as image search is concerned).
b. Optimize Image Alt Tags on Your Web Pages
Alt tags are a great way to add meaning and context to your image. Think of them as meta tags, except that alt tag is for images and meta tag is for web pages.
Your image alt tags tell the browser what keywords that image should be ranking for. It also helps to put your brand name in the alt tags. This helps when people search for your brand name directly.
c. Embed Keywords in Image Title, Caption, and Description
Your image alt tags are not visible to users. They are only for search engines to make sense of. Similarly, popular Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress also allow users to add image title, caption, and description. Top SEO agencies in New York know that making this content keyword-rich helps websites rank higher on image search.
#3 Create a Sitemap for Your Images
You probably already know that your website has an XML sitemap for Google to map it accurately. But did you know? Your images should have a sitemap too!
SEO plugins like Yoast create an image sitemap for you automatically. All you’ll need to do is go to Google Search Console and add it there. Follow these steps:
- Click on “Crawl” on the left.
- Select “Sitemaps”.
- Click on “Add/Test Sitemap” on the right.
- Enter your sitemap URL from Yoast.
#4 Manage Your Image URLs
WordPress and other CMS often provide the option of making your Image URL into an entire page. Make sure you disable this option unless absolutely necessary, as it can hurt your SEO scores. Also, as you update your site, image URLs often change and cause 404 errors. SEO agencies in New York make sure that you prevent such errors and use 301 redirects if required.
Lastly, optimize your image URLs and keep tracking them to make sure that they are not broken.
These tips will go a long way in making your website ready for Google Image search. But you will still need a team of professional SEO experts to take things to the next level. Looking for the right SEO agency to partner with? Visit https://agencycouch.com or write to us at getintouch@agencycouch.com
