Best Practices for Image SEO (2024 Edition)

Good image SEO is a mix of discoverability, accessibility, and performance. Search engines want to understand what your images show, and users want them to load quickly. If you need action steps while reading, our Compress Image, Resize Image, and Convert to JPG tools cover the most common optimization jobs.

Images are Content, Too

Google Images is the second largest search engine in the world. If you are ignoring Image SEO, you are leaving a massive amount of traffic on the table. Furthermore, unoptimized images hurt your Core Web Vitals, dragging down your overall site rankings.

1. Descriptive File Names

Google's bots can't "see" images like humans do (yet). They rely on text clues. The filename is the first clue.

• Bad: IMG_8293.jpg or DSLR_FINAL_v2.jpg
• Good: black-leather-men-jacket.jpg

Always use hyphens relative to underscores to separate words.

2. Alt Text (Alternative Text)

Alt text is a legally required accessibility feature for screen reader users, but it's also a major ranking factor.

• Describe the image specifically.
• Include your keyword naturally, but don't stuff it.
• Example: "Man wearing a black leather biker jacket standing in front of a brick wall."

3. Reduce File Size

Page speed is a ranking factor. A 5MB image taking 10 seconds to load ensures high bounce rates. Use our Compressor to get file sizes below 100kb where possible without sacrificing quality.

4. Responsive Images

Serve different sizes for different devices. Don't send a 4000px wide desktop banner to a user on an iPhone. Use the srcset attribute in HTML to define multiple versions, and create the underlying image sizes with a reliable image resizer.

5. Use Modern Formats

Google explicitly recommends serving images in next-gen formats like WebP or AVIF, which offer superior compression compared to PNG or JPEG.