Marketers go all out to get the best content like hiring competent writers for brand promotion copy. Visual content like videos, images, and illustrations that were once ignored are gaining more attention. Images have proven to be appreciated on a website by visitors.
Marketers choose either stock images or original photographs created. Planet Stock Photo is an online platform to look for relevant and high-quality visuals for your website content. However, ensure to choose a relevant and unique stock image for your project.
You can edit stock images with a personal creative touch. For example, add color overlays to blend with your brand color or add some text to make them resonate more. Never forget image optimization even if your website is impressive.
Image optimization is an important process of reducing the file size of images without compromising the quality.
Why optimize images before uploading on your website?
- Optimized images load faster, reducing the time it takes for your web page to load. This is important because visitors tend to abandon slow-loading pages, leading to a higher bounce rate.
- By reducing page load times, optimized images provide a better user experience. Users will have a more positive experience on your website, leading to higher engagement and potentially more conversions.
- Page speed is a ranking factor in Google’s algorithm. Optimized images can help improve your website’s loading speed, which can improve your search engine rankings.
- Large, non-optimized images take up more server space and require more bandwidth to load. By optimizing your images, you can reduce the strain on your server and potentially lower your hosting costs.
- Mobile users with limited data plans will appreciate optimized images, as they use fewer data to load. This can also lead to lower bounce rates and higher engagement.
Overall, image optimization is a crucial step in creating a faster, more efficient, and more user-friendly website. Before uploading stock images ensure to optimize them for better SEO.
How to optimize website images for better SEO?
- Use descriptive file names: When naming your image files, use descriptive words that accurately reflect the content of the image. For example, instead of using a generic file name like “IMG_1234.jpg”, use something like “red-apple-on-white-background.jpg”.
- Optimize alt tags: Alt tags describe an image for search engines that cannot read the image itself. Use descriptive alt tags that accurately reflect the content of the image.
- Optimize image size: Large images can slow down your website, so it’s important to optimize the size of your images for web use. Compress images using tools like Adobe Photoshop or online editing tools.
- Use appropriate image format: Different image formats are suitable for different types of images. Use JPEG format for photographs and PNG format for graphics or images with transparent backgrounds.
- Use captions: Captions are a great way to provide context to your images and can also help with SEO. Use descriptive captions that accurately reflect the content of the image.
- Use responsive images: Responsive images adjust to the screen size of the device viewing them, which can improve user experience and help with SEO.
- Include images in XML sitemaps: Including images in your XML sitemaps helps search engines find and index your images.
- Use structured data: Adding structured data markup to your images can help search engines better understand the content of your images and improve their visibility in search results.
Follow the above image optimization practices and watch your website traffic increase!
