When it comes to SEO, most people focus on keywords, content, and backlinks. But there’s one area that often gets overlooked: the images!
Optimising your photos for search engines can improve your website’s speed, help your content rank better, and even show up in Google Image results.
At BeKonstructive Marketing, we’re all about helping businesses make the most of their digital presence. Whether you’re curious about SEO services or looking to refresh your Brisbane copywriting, getting your image SEO right is one small step that can make a big impact.
Why image SEO matters
Images add value to your website content by doing more than just looking pretty. They also break up long sections of text and help tell your brand story. But when images aren’t optimised, they can slow down your site and make it harder for search engines to understand what your page is about.
Search engines can’t “see” your images the way people can. They rely on clues like file names, alt text, and page context to figure out what’s in a photo. If you don’t provide those clues, you’re missing out on opportunities to improve your rankings and show up in image search.
And let’s not forget about speed. Uncompressed images can be huge, which means they take longer to load. That affects user experience and can even hurt your SEO score. Google loves a fast-loading site, and so do your visitors.
Start with smart file names and formats
Uploading a file called IMG_8734.jpg won’t help anyone. Not your visitors, and definitely not Google. Instead, use descriptive file names that clearly explain what’s in the image. For example, vegan-chocolate-cake.jpg gives a much clearer picture than a string of numbers ever will.
When it comes to file types, JPEG is your friend for photos because it keeps file size down without losing too much quality. PNG works better for graphics or anything with transparency. WebP is also a solid option for modern browsers if you want to keep things light and fast.
Alt text is the unsung hero of SEO
Alt text is one of the most powerful image SEO tools you’ve probably never used properly. It’s a short description of what’s in the image, and it serves two main purposes.
One: it helps visually impaired users understand your content using screen readers.
Two: it tells search engines what the image is about.
The best alt text is clear, specific, and relevant to the page. If you’ve got a picture of a team meeting on your About page, “Team discussing marketing strategy in office” is a lot more useful than “People”.
Just remember that alt text isn’t the place to jam in keywords for the sake of it. Keep it natural, and write it like you’re describing the image to someone who can’t see it.
Keep it light, keep it quick
Large images are one of the biggest culprits behind slow website speeds.
Here’s a quick checklist to keep things running smoothly:
- Resize your images before uploading them. If your blog page only displays images at 800px wide, don’t upload a 4000px version.
- Use compression tools to reduce file size without losing quality. There are plenty of free options online that make this super simple.
- Consider lazy loading your images. This means they only load when the user scrolls to them, which helps pages load faster upfront.
Image SEO might seem like a small detail, but these small details add up. The faster and more accessible your site is, the more search engines will reward you for it.
Fix Your SEO with BeKonstructive Marketing
Optimising your website images helps boost your SEO, improve user experience, and give your content the best chance of ranking well.
If you’re looking for support with your digital content, BeKonstructive Marketing offers SEO services to help your website work harder and smarter. Let’s chat about how we can bring your content to life.
