Image Optimization for Seo & Visual Search Using eCommerce Portals

Often neglected by web masters, image optimization is a key to website optimization. It has assumed greater significance after weight-age given to core web vitals by Google. Images play a major role in enhancing user experience which is vital for success online. 

Though less complex and time consuming than the rest of optimization exercise it plays a major role in garnering traffic from SERPs. Visual search is growing by leaps and bound people search using photographs as lead in the image search section of  the browsers. 

Billions of searches take place using them and the importance has increased with the proliferation of eCommerce sites in the cyber space. Optimizing photos on your website will enhance user experience, reduce poor performance as far as web vitals are concerned besides increasing conversion through enhanced engagement and higher ranking. 

Website owners and some web developers add pictures as if to fulfill a formality. On the contrary this is a serious aspect of web development. Relevant images accord a greater meaning to the content and attract buyers in eCommerce sites.  Attention should be paid in sincerity to visual attributes of a web page and photos besides video are essential for a complete page experience.   

Availing good pictures is a difficult task and often relevant free ones available on Internet are not up to the mark. Hence a professional approach should be in place to acquire the valuable visual attributes.  Buying them from stock photo sites is the best option for general images while a photographic stint using services of a professional lens men for topic specific images should be carried out. 

Compression 

After acquisition images should be compressed without using quality. Google Squoosh , Tinyjpeg and Adobe Photoshop have proved to be worth their salt as far as compression is concerned. The light images in latest formats enable swift downloads  on browsers and this is gauged by search engines as good for user experience and hence good for higher ranking. Adjustment should be made without compromising quality or resolution and Squoosh offers a preview that helps in minimizing the image to right size.  

Once compressed pictures added to a page should be defined by their height and width, Whence dimensions are mentioned the photos load separately from contents mitigate bad experience if they load slowly.   

URL Naming 

A responsive URL structure performs very well on SERPs and keyword driven approach should be followed whence naming an image.  The name should explain what the image stands for clearly to the users and the search engines. 

Alt Text

Adding Relevant alt text is very important and helps the search engines to understand content which is essential for indexing and ranking. This should used for keyword spamming rather used as description which also acts as screen reading tools for the visually impaired. Alt text should be contextual and exactly describe the image. They are automatically embedded in the HTML of the web page and are easy to add using a suitable editor.  Never use long sentences are use natural phrases to describe whenever possible.  Remember search engines calculate the incidence of a keyword on a web page and too many added artificially would be spamming.  

More on image optimization 

Storing images in  directory structure. Best is to create silos or specific directory to store images this will help create a topic specific identity which will help search engines as well. 

Create an image sitemap and add it to the web pages. 

Create structure data for images in a web page. 

These techniques are of immense help in case of large portals especially eCommerce sites. 

Save images in next gen formats for better performance.  There are many formats available for saving images but most suitable is JPEG. Newer versions of JEPG format are available as JEPG 2000 and JEPG XR. The next gen formats support multiple color formats as support for HDR Imagery which stands for high dynamic range imaging.      

Finally test download speed on tools mentioned below

1) https://www.webpagetest.org/

2) Google Lighthouse 

3)https://www.dareboost.com/en

For Visual Search Use Google Lens

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Uday provides search engine optimization service for digital marketing. He provides website contents and content for authoritative links. 

He also teaches digital marketing in his home town Jabalpur. He can be contacted at: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

09755089323          

Image Optimization ; User Experience & Responsive Attribute

An Image on Web

Most important visual elements are images that adorn the web page, blog entry or forums and comments. The pictures act as extension of text or content. Another aspect of photo inclusion is the pleasing note that an image may carry. They can act as mood builders which will attract visitors and perhaps turn them into repeat visitors.  These attributes please and excite or put at rest our mental faculties. Take for example a tiger picture that is so well composed...it excites or a landscape picture with soul in it will put your mental faculties at rest.       

Sun Rise

An image inclusion in a personal album differs from the exercise to include it in a website or a blog. While the photographs in personal album are included by insertion or by sticking, that in the web page is done using HTML or other coding language to embed it.  

Image As Utility 

On a web page pictures appeal, but they also act as addition or extension of the contextual text. The act of adding or including case of amateur web developers is at a nascent stage. Site owners web designers add them to their creation mostly to complete a formality ignoring the visual appeal or message that it could carry. Most of web development companies providing cheap design and development do not have the wherewithal and will to  add visuals using the criteria mentioned above. This also applies to content  creation in which image acts as compliment. Poorly written contents will mar the impact of the best images. Yes the relation with contents is reciprocal and semantic. 

Image Optimization     

When embedding image in a web page or blog make sure that the naming is SEO friendly and is compressed to write size using Image Compressing Tools like Squoosh or Adobe Photoshop. This is necessary to comply with the web core vitals and thus enhance user experience. Other tools that may be used are tinypng and Online Image Compressor. 

Tiger Photo

Do not forget to add a caption in order to further explain its inclusion. According dimensions to image on a web page is important. When  height and width are mention it helps hamper slow download, as the text downloads irrespective of the picture if the later is slow.   

Naming is important and the keyword used should hold relevance with the contextual paragraphs and add to the topic concerned. For example on a hotel wen page alt="accommodation" works fine and so does alt="restaurant" but if you add alt=fashion model it may not be contextual. Hence adding images and optimizing them is not just a formality it has to be done with alacrity mind you...    

It is necessary to check how the image affects download speed using the google download tool. Neglect in this aspect would lead to a bad user experience which serious website owners would not wish for. 

Image  Search 

Like voice search image search is very important and part of search engine optimization but most developers and web masters ignore it completely or take it in a lighter vein. Never proper image optimization can be a good visual content exercise and help in brand visibility as well as good means of referral if a link points to it.     

If you plan to uses pictures as visual content campaign on Instagram or elsewhere do not forget to add hashtags which hold relevance to the topic. 

Searching for Right Photos 

Best option is to photograph relevant images yourself or hire a professional photographer who understand the subject matter very well. If this is not possible ask a friend photographer to donate. Else resort to free image resources online like "UnSplash" they can come up to expectations. If fund allow you can purchase the right image from stock photography sites like Shutterstock or Adobe.  

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Uday provides search engine optimization service for digital marketing. He provides website contents and content for authoritative links. 

He also teaches digital marketing in his home town Jabalpur. He can be contacted at: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

09755089323