One of the "tricks" of search engine optimization has to do with the way images are treated.
It might be a revelation to many site owners that are not familiar with the way the search bots work that images are not "read" like text on the page.
Images are not really "read" and therefore usually contribute nothing to the on-page SEO efforts of the webmaster.
Nevertheless, they can contribute to search engine ranking if they are optimized properly.
It's easy to find great detail on the subject if you simply go to Google and search on the phrase "optimize images."
If you optimize your images properly, they will help your site to be more SEO friendly, attract additional prospects to your web site and assist your web pages in loading faster.
Proper treatment of images will also bring folks to your site that search on image names.
Concentrate on these elements of all your site images:
1. Image naming: make sure you name your image with an appropriate description and include your important keywords in the name if possible. Rather than name an image "photo1.jpg" you would be much better off naming it something like "floridabikerental.jpg."
2. Alt text description: you have the opportunity to add "alt text" to every image and you should use it. Your text should be brief and very descriptive, again, hopefully including one or more keywords. The search bots need to know what your image is and how it relates to your on-page text.
Many people these days search for images in addition to text and the search engines need to be able to discern what your images are about. Text in the alt description can also help your site visitors to know where an image came from or what it is about as they scroll their mouse over your image.
Another advantage here is that disabled prospects can read what your image is about via the use of screen readers.
3. Captions used for your images: According to Google's image information on their site, "Google analyzes the text on the page adjacent to the image, the image caption and dozens of other factors to determine the image content."
"Google also uses sophisticated algorithms to remove duplicates and ensure that the highest quality images are presented first in your results."
So it is important that you use targeted keywords in your captions and that the text surrounding your picture "fits" the theme of the image so that Google will see that the image is appropriate for the page and that it contributes to the overall theme of your page.
4. Image quality: obviously the quality of any image will affect the picture's loading time on the site. Too many images, or too much detail in each image and your pages will load slowly and may turn away anxious surfers and prospects.
Image size can be optimized in the better image editors without much noticeable effect on the web site viewer.
One solution that many astute webmasters employ is this: they will include small images on the web page that are then linked to much more detailed images off the page. That way, a viewer can click on the small image and up pops a much larger more detailed image in a separate window.
Search engines will be able to follow the link and know that the off-page image relates to the smaller on-page image if it is properly tagged (labeled).
Often directories, catalogs, and product sales sites will use this tactic extensively. On the web site sales page is a thumbnail image that can be expanded into a much more detailed image at the click of the mouse for those interested in seeing a larger picture with additional detail.
5. Proper HTML formatting: this isn't difficult for even the novice. Your images can be formatted with an image tag and alt text as follows:
<img src="image_title.jpg" alt="Keywords and description text paced here" />
6. Avoid text embedded in an image: some folks use this tactic often but the search engine spiders will not be able to "see" or read the text. A better way to handle something like this is to use HTML text "on top of" a background image.
It's a simple solution and viewers probably won't realize that the text is not part of the image. Since the text is HTML it will allow for search bot and spider reading.
7. Image type: this isn't a hard and fast rule by any means. It is a personal preference that I have with all my web images.
I like to use "ping" files whenever I can. These are images with the .png file type. "Ping" files are "lossless" meaning they don't degrade when shown. They can also have transparent backgrounds which is very classy for colored web pages or non-white backgrounds.
There are times when .jpg or .gif images are preferred so don't think they aren't optimal in certain instances. Also, know that you can save image files in different formats (file types) with a click of a button when using some of the better image editors like Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro. So turning .jpg and .gif images into .png files is a snap!
The next time you create or edit a web site, pay attention to your treatment of all the images on the site and you will help your own SEO cause, aid the search engine spiders, and make the visitor experience a much better one!
