Images and Search Engine Optimization

Images and Search Engine Optimization
By Vickie J. Scanlon

Keywords to images are just as important in your Search Engine Optimization process as keywords to content. Many forget about images, thinking only textually when considering the Search Engine Optimization process.


Image to Keyword Marriage

When you think of images and websites- you may assume as many, that the purpose of an image is to add a little aesthetic beauty to your site. It can and it does, but images can do much more.


Labeling your Images

If you have a catalog or Ecommerce site it can identity the product or service to the visitor and to the search engine. With the proper label the visitor can, of course, identify what the product is, as can a search engine. But you should also identify your image within your coding as well.

With proper labeling of your images with the “alt” tag, along with a visual front-end caption you will give yourself a better chance of getting your images/content indexed by the search engines.


Thumbnails

If you do have a lot of pictures, it is also wise to use thumbnails where possible. This will help to speed up your load time, for those with slower Internet connections. On the Internet, people seem to be a little more in a hurry-and will not hesitate to click the mouse to move on to another site.

In fact, some directory sites are becoming more image-based, giving the person an image to look at, before sending them to the site.

Side Note: Be aware that there are image-based robots that can hit your site. Their purpose may be to scrape your site of images, and while doing so, steal your bandwidth. If you find a strange robot hitting your site, it is always wise to do a Google search on the robot in question. If the robot has any scruples at all, they will have a website stating who they are, what they are doing, and if their robots are not behaving to your liking, how you can stop their robot from visiting.

Accessibility

Here is another reason for identifying your images-through alt tags, captions and labels- it’s called accessibility. It is not only the sighted that will view your site, but the unsighted as well.

For example, some of the software used by blind individuals are, Text-to-speech software. And, the text-to-speech software does utilize “alt tag” for images, as well as properly named links. So, if you’re not utilizing the alt tag, you’re missing out on a ready market.

To conclude, images can be asset to your site, not only giving you the aesthetic look that you want, but also helping you to reach a large visitor base, and just as importantly, making your image site search engine friendly.