By this point, we’re no strangers to the magic of SEO and how you can use keywords in your blog post titles (and within the posts themselves) to optimize your content in search results.
When you write a blog post, you probably include an image (and if you’re not, here’s a tip: start now!) Newsflash? You can optimize those images for search, too, which will serve to boost your content’s appearance in search results. Not only will this help increase your visibility, but can also boost your click-throughs, ad views and AdSense impressions, according to a post on Michael Gray’s Graywolf’s SEO Blog.
So how do you go about optimizing images for search? With the help of MarketingProfs, I’ve got a few handy tips that can easily be incorporated in your next blog post.
- When naming the file, include keywords. If you’re stumped, you might want to look at the keywords/tags in your blog post and use those to help generate ideas. Just don’t try to cram too many keywords into one file name. For example, if you’re writing a blog on energy-efficient lighting and you have an image of a compact fluorescent lightbulb, you could name the file CFL_energysavings; CFL_benefits; or CFL_greenproducts, to name a few.
- Help optimize your post’s important images by including bolded keywords or a heading tag in text that immediately precedes the image.
- When you write captions, include the search term at the front (as long as it makes sense to be there.)
- In image optimization, size does matter! Don’t go smaller than 100 x 100 or larger than 1,200 x 1,200.
If you’re already familiar with SEO, these tips are simple enough to incorporate and will quickly become habit as you format images for your blog posts. The result? You’ll likely end up with higher search visibility, which not only ensures your content is seen by a wider audience—you may find that it helps you grow your business, too. And what’s not to love about that?
I’d love to know if you’re currently optimizing your images for search. If so, how’s it working?
