Why You Must Rename Your Article Images For Best SEO! (2024)

FAQs

Why You Must Rename Your Article Images For Best SEO!? ›

Normally a file name would be like “IMG_948392. jpg” or something similar to this. However, file names like these do not help the search engines. Therefore, it would be best if you changed the filename from its default name so that the search engines can understand your images and ultimately improve your SEO value.

Using pictures with the default filename created by the camera or the imaging software is fast and easy; however that is ineffective for SEO purposes because Google cannot actually see photos or images. Therefore, it relies on the file name to index and rank both the picture and the page on which it appears.

Optimizing image file names for SEO

The name should help users understand what the image is without them having to open it. Keep the name under six words. Use hyphens to separate words instead of spaces. Use a keyword wherever applicable.

In Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, they say: Like many of the other parts of the page targeted for optimization, filenames are best when they're short, but descriptive. Google recommends avoiding writing extremely lengthy filenames and avoiding copy/pasting entire sentences.

Including targeted keywords in your image file names can further improve your SEO efforts. By incorporating keywords, you signal to search engines that your image is relevant to a particular topic or query. Just make sure to use the keywords naturally and avoid keyword stuffing.

Of course, replacing the image will definitely hurt the SEO of your website. If your previous image is ranking somewhere, and you put a new image, then the ranking of the old image will go away, and it will take time to rank the new one.

The best image formats for SEO

jpg) because it's optimized for screens (not printing) and uses lossless compression, so you won't lose any quality when you compress it. WebP (. webp) is an even better format than PNG because it was developed by Google to have a smaller file size and better web compression.

JPEGs are usually more SEO-friendly than PNGs, especially if you do not need transparent backgrounds, as they offer better compression levels.

Ideally, all of your SEO images should be less than 100 kB. For that purpose, JPEG is the most appropriate file format. Depending on the compression tool, you can reduce the size of a JPEG image by as much as 69% without a significant quality drop.

However, in order to get the most out of your images, you need to optimize them for SEO. Image optimization is the process of making sure that your images are properly sized, compressed, and labeled. This will help to ensure that they load quickly, which is important for both users and search engines.

Why is it important to optimize images for SEO? ›

By optimizing your images, you can help to improve your website's loading speed and boost your search engine ranking. More relevant search results: Search engines can now index images, which means that they can appear in search results.

One of the main SEO benefits of using image metadata is that it helps search engines understand what your image is about and how it relates to your content. This can improve your image visibility in image search results, which can drive more traffic and engagement to your site.

If you change the title to a more relevant and targeted keyword or phrase, it can improve your chances of ranking higher for that particular keyword or phrase. On the other hand, if you change the title to something less relevant or off-topic, it could harm your SEO ranking.

This includes words like a, an, the, and, it, for, or, but, in, my, your, our, and their. When people search for something online, search engines like Google omit these words in their results because they don't relate to the keywords in the search.

Keep file names short and meaningful

However, avoid using initials, abbreviations and codes that are not commonly understood. This is particularly important for records which have to be kept for a long period of time as the meaning of the acronym may not be known over time.

Image captions don't directly affect SEO, but they can improve UX and engagement. An image caption is a great way to provide additional details that aren't already in the page text.

In regards to SEO, by providing search engines with textual information for images, your site will benefit from both better placement in search returns and improved positioning in image search results. Remember to use hyphens rather than underscores to separate words.

Quick Answer: If you have duplicate images on your site—meaning multiple pages that feature the same exact image—this can negatively impact your freshness score and, as a result, your SEO ranking. When it comes to website optimization, images are often an afterthought.

Images are an important part of any website. They can help to improve the user experience, make your content more visually appealing, and even help you to improve your search engine ranking. However, in order to get the most out of your images, you need to optimize them for SEO.