Some people actually think that image link building is not relevant when it comes to SEO. They couldn’t be more wrong. Every aspect of link building is important. Pictures and form of the text are what make your text or page visually appeal to your reader. This is something that gets their attention before even reading the text. It can also be a way to attract their attention in the first place so yes, images are very important. When others engage with your images you get more attention. The more attention you get the more readers you get. This is all connected and it all can make a difference for your SEO effort. Keep reading as Link Department backlink building agency explores some tips and tricks to help you out.
The most common mistake
SEO is very complicated and sometimes even the best experts can overlook some factors in this area. That’s why you need to interview your in-house SEO expert and see if they have common knowledge. Image SEO is that kind of area. Many people tend to overlook it, and that’s a big mistake. You want your images to appear on Google search, but they can’t do that magically. They need to be properly optimized for search engines. So, let’s see how you can do it in order for you to be visible on Google.
If you plan to hire a link-building agency or an in-house SEO expert, make sure that he (or she) knows the importance of image SEO and knows all the little details we will show you now. There is nothing complicated involved but if overlooked it can be damaging to your success and it might even lower your views so let’s get on it.
Can image links help SEO?
Some SEO programs don’t register image links as internal links. That is the fact. But some do. Google is working very hard to improve this (just like everything else). What Google does is try to understand the picture itself. That is why there is a big difference from a stock photo to an original one. Stock photo is simply not going to carry much weight. An original on the other hand might.
URL and image size
There are some rules to be followed trying to image link building in a way to really work. You can just put random sizes and hope for the best. SEO doesn’t work this way. A file size below 70 kb is what you what on your page. In the case of some really big files closer to 300 kb, the best you can achieve is a 100 kb file size. So think about size because when it comes to SEO size does matter. Now let’s get back to the image URL.
The best tip for you we have is to use tools like ImageOptim. Of course, there are websites like Squoosh, JPEGmini, jpeg.io, or Kraken.io that can do pretty much the same. You will choose what works the best for you (or the person you hire to deal with SEO ) but the important thing is to make sure you don’t overdo it with big images. You want everything to look nice and sleek.
The most important factor in the image link building
When it comes to image SEO naming is crucial. You need to use relevant keywords in order to help your webpage rank on search engines. Image optimization is important and that’s why you need to have creative, descriptive, and keyword-rich file names. If you don’t know how to name your image here is a quick cheat sheet :
- describe the picture like you are describing to someone over the phone what the picture is, you need to match the words or description to what the picture is about.
- try to use an SEO-friendly naming convetion.
- use lower cases
- instead of space separate words with hyphens
This is basically it when it comes to naming images but it’s important to follow this. You don’t want to confuse Google in any way so stick to your cheat sheet and you will be fine. Hopefully, your SEO expert already knows the difference between alternative text (alt-text) and caption so there is no need to explain the most basic aspects of adding images.
Can you avoid images in your text?
Sure – you can avoid anything you want the webpage is yours and you can do it as you wish, but we don’t recommend it. Especially if you are in an e-commerce line of work. Image link building is not very complicated, you only have few simple rules to follow and you can gain much interest and become more visible so why not use that to your advantage? Every little bit helps in this game of trying to be noticed by Google. So, do everything that’s in your power to get noticed. You will see the results very soon.
Besides image link building what else do you need (some tips)
We already mentioned that this is just one aspect of SEO. Actually a small part but still needs to be done right. You also need to have good content so when you combine it with original images that can be a win-win combination. Image SEO is an important factor in your overall SEO efforts just like adding good links, avoiding toxic backlinks, marketing, and others. But if all of this feels like too much work for you know that there are a lot of experts nowadays available and they can help you to stay on top of your image link building and SEO in general. If you have a big webpage then that will be the smartest choice. It’s always good to leave those stuff to professionals and you can take care of other aspects of the business.