Google Images Search Engine

I’m sure that we all heard the saying “One picture speaks 1000 words”. Well, believe it or not, this also applies in the case of SEO. A catchy relevant picture can bring you more traffic than a 1000 words article. In fact, nowadays all SEO practices allocate a great deal of importance to images and all SEO experts encourage their clients to make the most of their website’s images. Google has recently started to provide traffic analytics for images and this is just the beginning.

Technically speaking, Google Images it the part of Google search engine that returns all the images it associates with given keywords and locations

Google Images SEO

Below are some tricks you should consider when doing SEO for your images:

1. Optimize your images for people

Try to choose pictures that are as attractive to the eye as possible. A few rules are:

• Keep them relevant - The first rule of thumb when it comes to putting images on your site is to keep them relevant. The content of the image should match the content of the article.
• Use super-sized images - The bigger, the better!
• Optimize for the RSS feed - People who use RSS feed readers will be blazing through these to scan all the content you have. Use a relevant, great image to attract their attention and get them to click through to your site!
• Use faces - When you use faces that are looking at the reader, mimicking an eye contact, you will get more views..

2. Optimize your images for search engines

Here are some basic rules:

• Compress images - Although you want to use larger images than smaller ones, file sizes should be as small as possible. Make sure you compress your image file size. If you are unsure how to do it, don’t worry as I cover that later in the post.
• Limit the number of images per page - You don’t want to clog the page with unnecessary images. So, just select a few very relevant images.
• Use keywords - There are a number of strategic places where you need to use keywords when it comes to images. Use them in the alt text, in the image name, the page title and in the text around the image.
• Long descriptions - One of the most common elements most people miss when using images on their sites is long descriptions. Long descriptions are like alt tags, but more detailed. Here is an example of both:
  • Alt tag - Black 1998 Honda Civic.
  • Long description - Black 1998 2-door Honda Civic speeding through a red light.

3. Optimize your images for social media

Photos and images are one of the most shared pieces of content on the social web (with video being a close second).

But just because you have a few images doesn’t mean they will get shared. Here’s how to optimize your images so they spread quickly over the social web and drive a ton of traffic to your site:

• Use gorgeous photos
• Use standard image formats
• Publish your photos on social media sharing sites

4. Optimize image file names

The file name of an image matters when it comes to SEO. So, it’s essential that you optimize the file name of your images too. Below are some basic rules:

• The file name should be short.
• The file name should describe the image and include keywords.
• Make sure there are no spaces in your image names. If you want, you can use dashes, but avoid underscores.

5. Optimize for image load speed

As you probably know by now, page speed is essential for success on Google. So make sure you optimize your images for load speed.

Google Images Results Checker

Using GeoRanker’s Google Images Results Checker you can see all the images that Google associates with your chosen keywords and locations. This is invaluable data as you can not only see if your images rank, but you can also check your competitors and learn about their practices.

Our tool is free so why not give it a try?