iskandarX Society SEO - Six Simple Steps To Image Optimization

Today, image search is the second fastest growing vertical (i.e. specialized) search. According to Hitwise, image search has grown 90% annually, with over 360,000,000 searches per month performed on Google,
Yahoo!, Ask, MSN, and AOL. Each of these search engines has a vertical dedicated specifically to image results, and now, some search engines, including Google, are integrating images into contextual search results. This means search engine marketers need to make a more comprehensive plan when optimizing Web sites.




Why is image optimization important?

With Google's recent introduction of “Universal Search,” which blends results from each of their vertical searches – images, video, news, maps, books and products – search images have more visibility and can actually rank at the top of the regular Web search results page. While other search engines have been incorporating images for a while, Google’s adoption of Universal Search has moved it into the mainstream. By optimizing images, marketers are taking advantage of a new avenue to draw traffic to their Web sites. Image optimization is particularly critical for e-commerce sites – if your competitors aren’t optimizing their images and you are your company will have an advantage on search engine results.

Follow these six steps to optimize images and increase your site’s visibility:

1. File naming – Often image file names aren’t given the attention they deserve.  Instead of using generic naming conventions such as “image1.jpg” or “xzy123.gif,” make sure you include keywords or phrases that accurately describe the image.  Keep your customer’s terminology in mind instead of just choosing words for the search engines.

2. Alt tags – The standard meta tags on the site, like the keywords tag and description tag, are widely used in standard SEO practices.  The alt tag, though, is sometimes left empty and forgotten as a way for categorizing and naming images.  This tag gives you one more valuable place for keywords that will help bring traffic into your web site.  However, avoid overloading (aka, “stuffing”) tags with keywords/phrases.  One short, descriptive phrase per tag is usually the best approach.

3. Surrounding text – While search engines are working to develop and integrate new technologies that will be able to recognize and identify images, most engines still rely on the surrounding page text to determine what an image is.  In other words, the text closest to the image in the source code is the signal that search engines use to determine the content of the image.  Writing descriptive content about the image is not only good Web design, it’s also great for SEO.

4. Image share sites – Numerous sites, like Yahoo!’s Flickr, that allow you to upload, categorize, tag, and share photos and images, have popped up on the Web.  This is a great channel to upload some site images and tag them with keywords.  This avenue is best for site photos that have a wider appeal/audience.

5. Limit number of images per page - To avoid search engine confusion, make sure all images that are on the same page are related in content. (For example, if the page is a product category page that contains images of shirts, make sure there isn't an image of shoes mixed in).  That way, the descriptive content that you’ve already written will relate to each image on that particular page.

6. Optimize pages containing images - In addition to optimizing the image itself (with file naming and alt tag), make sure the page itself is optimized (page title, h1, keyword meta tag, and description meta tag) for a phrase that's an accurate classification for the images it contains (sticking with the above example, the page should be optimized for "men's shirts" if images are of things like "green XL men's shirt").

Follow these simple steps for image optimization and keep your Web site at the top of search engine results. Search engines rely on the way you name your image in order to rank it, so by simply following these steps you will be able to better stay ahead of the competitions’ sites. As you know, search engine optimization is always changing, so make sure to keep on top of trends. Whenever search engine algorithms are changed, change your tactics. Marketers need to be ready to respond to stay at the top of search engine results.