It is common practice to optimize your website for search engines by using rich keywords. “Did you know you can optimize images for search results? All around the world, people use image search tools such as Google and Bing on a daily basis. Moreover, most Google searches also show results from image search at the top. This reminds users that whatever they are searching for they can visually find it” says Martin Robinson, writer and digital marketing manager at A+ Digital.
Rand Fishkin’s analysis of Moz data and Jumpshot shows that the second most greatly used search platform after Google.com is image search. Image search is utilized more than the Top 10 web properties together. The data has also shown that Google images account for a significant number of searches, surpassing those on Facebook, Youtube, Amazon and Google Maps combined.
This article will guide you and show you 5 SEO tips on how to optimize Google image search results for your website.
1: The key is right keywords
Your customer’s mindset is the first thing you should consider when thinking of what keywords to use on your website. Ask yourself, “If they were interested in buying what you sell, what keywords would they type in Google?” Establishing the keywords used by people to search for your products will give you an idea of which keywords you should strive to rank well. This is because SEO is keyword driven.
Pursue Intent and not volume. Google’s Keyword Planner is a tool that you can use to find out your search volume estimates. Using this you can, for instance, tell if “dress design” obtains more searches than “dress designer.” The tool also allows you to identify which keywords to include in your content and focus on. Focus on the keyword that pinpoints that a user is interested in what you are selling.
2: Use Content to answer questions
Now think of the questions that your customers may have. Create content on your website to answer those questions. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) style content generally ranks well in search engines. This is because it usually answers queries that search engines believe the users have as per the question.
Search engines often determine your objective depending on the keywords you enter. Answering queries in a direct and concise manner allow your site to rank well because the search engine matches your answer to what it thinks the user is asking. KeywordTool.io is a tool that shows the specific queries people have as pertains a certain topic.
3: Optimizing individual images
You can use Squarespace as a content management system (CMS) to optimize each image individually. This tool has SEO features to assist you whether you are thinking of changing from your existing CMS or starting from scratch.
“Ensure that the file name is descriptive of the image. If you display a picture of a blue shoe, then “blue-shoe.jpg” should be your file name and not “IMG123.jpg”. Compress your images to ensure they load quickly. Also, ensure that each picture s accompanied by Alt text which will allow search engine better comprehend what the image is about” Michiel Heijmans, senior online marketing consultant at Yoast.
4: Local first
Most people searching for a dress designer are typically searching for those that are located near them. It is uncommon that a person in India is trying to find a dress designer in New Zealand and this is something that search engines understand. When a search is performed in Google for “Dress designer,” local dress designers will show up first, and then review sites.
Create a presence on Google My Business to increase your chance of showing up among the top results when people search. To ensure a presence in organic search results, strive to have positive reviews on sites such as Thumbtack and Yelp. These sites are ranked high by Google because users are interested in reviews. Positive reviews from these sites will lead in a high rank
5: Image sitemaps
Submit an image sitemap to assist Google better comprehend what your image contains. You can merge image information to your current site map or establish a separate image site map. Detailed information about setting up image sitemaps can be found on Google.
Summary
Optimizing your website images for Google will help you rank high for relevant searches and boost your SEO efforts in general. The tips mentioned in this article are a good place to start to increase traffic to your website and gain top rankings.