How Will Google Rank Your Images
Rank Your Images
While many marketers are familiar with ranking content to appear on top of Google’s search results, they may not be all that familiar when it comes to ranking images. More often than not, people exclusively focus on optimizing content. However, the truth is that you can also rank for images and it can increase your traffic rate and give your brand recognition.
How does Google display images? And what is the ideal image to display? Google displays unique images that are relevant to the searcher’s query. Google will only display unique photos, and also not more than once. Stock photos will rarely get displayed because they are used by hundreds of individuals and websites. The concept is similar to duplicate content hurting SEO ranking as director Dariush Soudi of Be Unique Group said. In the same way, the same image being used by multiple sites will only harm more than help.
When Google displays images, what is the criterion? Google will look at the image and the aligned content to see if it relates. Google cannot actually see the image, instead, they go by tags and markups.
Why are images important to SEO? Images make it easier for users to connect and understand your content. A unique and clear image can be the difference between a user making a sale or abandoning their cart mid-way. Visuals stimulate people. People gravitate towards visual content, and for most, they would prefer seeing something than reading about it. Images should be incorporated into your overall content marketing strategy as it encourages users to share visuals with others on multiple platforms, particularly through social media.
A SEO friendly website should contain unique and precise images to enjoy a boost in SEO ranking. Users regularly search for images particularly on DIY sites, tutorials, product sites and so on. E-commerce sites will not be successful if they are devoid of images. Shoppers want to see plenty of images in various angles before making their purchase. No one will purchase anything unless they are seeing the closest image to what the product is really like in real-life.
Appearing on Google’s first page is not as challenging as some may think. Whether you are a new business or have been in business for a few years, you can use images to boost your SEO ranking. There are some simple guidelines that must be adhered to.
As much as you post unique images, you must pay attention to page load. The image should contain an aesthetic value, be of high quality and modest dimensions to help with SEO rankings.
Use captions on your image. It will make it more impactful and enhance your ranking on Google. However, do not cram captions with your image as it will lose its visual aesthetic. Image search is powerful, do not underestimate its power. As much as you optimize for written content, remember to optimize for images as it can be equally crucial to overall SEO.
