7 Best Practices For Image Sizes and Naming for Blog Posts
Follow these steps to learn how to add SEO-friendly images to your site.
1 – Add at least one image
As a best practice for SEO, always include at least one image or graphic on a page. An image shows search engines that the page is valuable and engaging and will, therefore, be useful to searchers. Plus, images benefit readers as they make content both easier to scan and understand.
2 – Use high-quality images
Images will be more engaging and interesting to your audience if they are high quality. If possible, create custom graphics that are unique to your pages. This will help you stand out in image search.
PRO TIP: More users are clicking through images they find in search to view the image on the webpage. So publishing SEO content with unique, optimized images could result in higher website traffic for your site.
3 – Choose the best file type
Image file types can affect the way a graphic loads or appears on a webpage. So when you add a graphic, choose the best file type for the intended use.
When you’re building your own website, selecting the right image format is crucial for balancing visual appeal with performance.
Here’s why using JPEG images might be your best bet, along with some pros and cons in comparison to PNG, and a glance at the rising popularity of WebP.
Why Choose JPEG?
Optimal Compression: JPEG images use smart compression that balances image quality and file size, ensuring your web pages load quickly. This is especially important for user experience and search engine optimization.
Photograph Friendly: If your website features photos or detailed images, JPEG is a great choice. It can handle a broad spectrum of colors, making your visuals look vibrant and true-to-life.
Compatibility Across Devices: JPEG is widely supported, ensuring that your images will look good and load fast on various devices and browsers, simplifying the user experience.
The Rise of WebP:
Consider adopting the WebP format for your website. WebP combines the strengths of both JPEG and PNG, offering efficient compression, support for transparency, and improved image quality.
Its growing popularity is driven by its ability to enhance website performance and user experience. Check for browser support, and if viable, make the shift to WebP for a well-balanced and optimized web presence. Use FreeConvert to convert your image files to WebP.
4 – Use appropriate image file sizes
Images that are large can slow down website load times. Slow load times lead to bad user experiences and poor long-term SEO results. So use image SEO best practices for sizing.
Resize image files (not just the display image size) to the intended display size, and compress large files before you upload them to your site.
Images are sized in pixels (px). If you are using Canva (I use PicMonkey), you can create a new canvas that is the size you need and then add the imaged to it. Save as a .JPEG and then upload to your blog post.
We recommend:
Square images should be no larger than 800 x 800 and rectangle images should be no larger than 795 x 498.
5 – Add and optimize the image alt tag
Do image alt tags help SEO? The answer is yes. Search crawlers can read and understand words, but they can’t see images. Alt tags, otherwise known as “alt attributes” and “alt descriptions” help them process an image without seeing it by telling the search engine what the graphic is.
In addition to helping with SEO, image alt tags also help internet users. Some people have image displays turned off, their browsers can’t load graphics because of a weak web connection, or they are using a screen reader due to a visual impairment.
In these cases, the image alt tag tells the reader what the graphic is. So adding image alt tags can improve both user and search crawler experiences.
6 – Add the target keyword to the image title
Another way to create SEO-friendly images is by incorporating the target keyword in the image title. The image title is another tag that identifies and describes the graphic. It is not as important as the alt tag, but it is still relevant and should be used.
7 – Add the target keyword to the image file name
The file name is another tag or label connected to an image. This is the name of the image file that is uploaded to a website. This label should also include the page’s target keyword and match the format of the image alt tag to help with keyword optimization.
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