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.
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Are Images Driving Traffic Away

I periodically check the backend side of my FrontPage Reports to see if the load time for my web pages are where they should be. When I found that some of my web pages were loading slowly I knew that I had to revamp. But the question was how. I knew that it was probably my images that was causing the slow load times, so I needed to find a way to have images, without slowing my web page loading time.

Thus, my article -- "Websites, Graphics and Thumbnails" -- this kind of gives you some insight on how you can maintain the richness of your site with images, but yet not succumb to slow load times and lost customers.


Websites, Graphics and Thumbnails

By Vickie J. Scanlon

When constructing a website, everyone likes to see and use graphics. But images also bring slow load times. So how can you use images to not only bring aesthetic quality to your site, but also to enhance it for those who venture onto your site?


Avoid Using Large Pictures

If at all possible avoid using large/heavy pictures that delay the uploading of your web page. If you do have large pictures, try using an on-line graphic optimizer tool to reduce the weight of the picture. The graphic optimizer tools can reduce the weight of your picture by more than 50% without any noticeable decrease in quality. If you want to do some experimenting with some of your large graphics but do not want to pay for the experiment, you can find a listing of free graphic optimizer tools by doing a quick search on Google for “graphic optimizers + free”.


Use Thumbnails

If it is appropriate for your site, thumbnails should be used. If done correctly, it can give the visitor a great experience, without frustrating them with long load time of the images.

If you have a lot of images, or want to have images on your site, use thumbnails. Thumbnail images load quickly and can you can have them enlarge if the visitor wants a closer look. Why are thumbnail images a benefit to your site?

You may have satellite or cable connections for your Internet access, but you have to remember that many others still have dial up. And let me add further, as other developing countries begin to have access to the Internet – they will be using dial-up in most cases. Translated, be aware of not only the aesthetic look of your site, but also how accessible your site is to the total online community.

Thumbnails are "clickable" miniature versions of a picture. If a user likes the miniature image he/she sees, they can click on the image and view the full-sized picture. This is a great alternative for e-commerce sites – your website can upload quickly, while giving your online customer the option to see a larger view of the picture, if they so wish.


Thumbnail Size and Website Usability

Is the size of the thumbnail important? Granted, you can put any size of thumbnail that you like on your site, but you must remember the recall factor.

The University of Calgary conducted a study on the level of recall of previously visited websites by the size of the thumbnails that were displayed on their site. It showed that thumbshots size of 120 x 90 resulted in the greatest recall because it matched the screen resolution in proportions (640 x 480, 800 x 600, etc) and offered the optimal size in previewing web sites. The 120 x 90 pixels graphic also offered the best size in usability and download time.


Load Time—8 Seconds Or Less

What if you have large graphics on your site? If you are seeing a long load time when you bring up your own web page, you may want to try to optimize it. Why? Many surveys have been done, that shows that if a web page takes more than 8 seconds to load you can expect at least 1/3 of your visitors to click away in search of a competitors’ site.

To conclude, images are great for your site; they give your website/web page, color and greater richness. But if the load time is great, expect to lose visitors. You must take the time to design a web page with your visitor and their Internet capabilities in mind. If you have a long load time on some of your web pages, you should consider the options that I discussed above, and you may see an improvement in your click-thrus.

About The Author:

Vickie Scanlon -- visit her site My Affiliate Place. Her site offers how to information of Internet/Affiliate Marketing, ebooks, software, tech accessories, Adsense and Adwords Tutorials and more.
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