So why wouldn’t everyone just switch to optimizing visual content and forget about the crowded streets of text-based info on the Information Superhighway? Unfortunately, this is due to an image problem; no pun intended. Up until the point of reading this article, given the choice between visual and text search, the average web user and SEO would likely not have even considered the option before deciding that there was not enough to gain from visual search. This includes a lack of understanding about the potential of image and video index searching and the challenges and costs associated with your typical webmaster to make the leap from text to multimedia.
For the sake of discussion, we will focus on the optimization of images and video. This is important since traditional text-based optimization is becoming a very crowded field with many companies employing similar tactics. There is still much to be learned about image and video optimization; often the best practices involve these media with current textual content optimization strategy.
Google’s “universal search” option, which allows users to view search results as images, video, news, maps, and so on, is a clear indicator that the days when search engine optimization will apply exclusively to webpages filled with text and links are going the way of the dinosaur. Today, and in the future, SEO means that all types of content must be optimized and linked in a way that it can be indexed and serve search rank. This includes flash and AJAX-based sites, PDFs, images, video, and audio.
Visuals are a critical component of ensuring your content is “readable,” while at the same time taking advantage of SEO service in order to direct traffic to your site. Consumers are drawn to images and videos in a way they aren’t drawn to text. This means that there is a very inherent need being expressed by the audience when they search for visual content, which is rivaled only by their need to find a solution to a problem. This is important because it means that if visual content can be made to match their queries, then visual search results can funnel traffic to an appropriate site.
Importance of Visual Content in SEO
Visual content is very important in today’s time. How we crave for the much trending memes, infographics, and tutorials? While looking for any information through search engines, most of the time we click on the image tab and look for more specified and less complex information in the form of pictures or graphics. This is the importance of visual content. Visual content is any piece of content primarily used to pass information to the user. It is more likely than textual content to go viral as it is easy for users to share pictures and videos. As it is suggested by Brian Sutter, “Visuals are the emotional powerhouse of your content,” which means visuals express information in a more abstract manner to the people by making them feel it. Google has a mixed bag of traditional search results and interactive visual info. It shows that visual content has its own value for SEO and marketers. According to an estimation given by Jeff Bullas, articles that contain images get 94% more total views. In the context of search engine optimization, visual content is a really important factor to be included in content marketing. A better explanation of content can be given in the form of images, which are more explanatory and can be understood easily by the user. Visual content is key to presenting information to the user using interesting resources like graphs or memes, which are more engaging to be seen. Any information presented in an image form is more attractive than reading lines of paragraphs. When engaging visual content is presented to the user, the user is actually reading on that topic. High-quality visual content can reduce the bounce rate on your website, as users will spend more time reading the content. Time spent on site is an indirect influence on the search ranking for the page. So it is clear that visual content has the power to bring traffic to the site and hold users there.
Benefits of Optimizing Images and Videos
For images, using descriptive titles and captions can make the content easier to understand and more engaging for viewers. This could potentially increase the chances of the image being linked to from other sites. In terms of video, great video content can result in shares across social media and blogs, and the chances of a video being back linked are increased if the video is engaging, of high value and relevant to the page content. Using video sitemaps can make it easier for search engines to locate video content and find valuable information like the description, thumbnail URL, and the raw video file. This will increase the chances of video content being ranked and will make the video more visible to searchers.
It is essential to ensure that the image or video file size is not too big. This can affect the page’s loading time and slow speed times may drive viewers away. Page speed is a factor in Google’s ranking algorithm, and a slower page speed may result in a decrease in search rankings. File size can be reduced using plugins, replacing the file with a compressed version (while keeping visual quality), or simply cropping the image to the required dimensions. Properly formatted images also have the potential to be ranked in Google’s image search so long as they are labeled correctly and are relevant to the page and user search.
It is important to include a search criteria or keyword in the alt tag text. This will help Google locate images and show them to a relevant search. Google cannot see a picture but can read text, so the more targeted the text is, the better chance the image will be matched to the search. This is another opportunity to increase the keyword relevancy in your page. As mentioned earlier, using keywords in your page title, filename and URL are all relevant in image and video optimization, and using the same keywords in alt tags can give your page keyword consistency.
Optimizing Images for SEO
Image captions are important because not all images are self-explanatory. Often images can be used as links and navigation, and if the image is not showing up, the user needs to understand what happened. If a user is searching for a particular image, a caption can help in image search. Captions carry more weight when the content close to the image is about the same topic. For instance, on the National Geographic site, an image of Steve Irwin is probably more relevant to a caption from an article that is about Australian wildlife rather than an article about space travel.
Using the flower image for an example, instead of the default name like “DSC01484.jpg”, use a descriptive filename like “purple-hyacinth-in-spring.jpg” and similar alt text.
Using descriptive filenames and alt text is a no-brainer. Now you can use keywords, but often search engines take into consideration usability before keyword stuffing. I usually name the file and then an alt text similar, but for the effects tooltip or rollover text that will be displayed when someone hovers over the image. This is also useful for people that have images turned off on their browser; the alt text will display instead.
Image File Names and Alt Text
For the image below, hover over the elements to see an example of how to optimize an image.
Image optimization involves numerous elements. The ultimate goal is to ensure that an image is well represented in SERPs, enticing searchers to click on the link and visit the page. The image should also be accessible to users who are visually impaired. The more accessible an image, the better it will perform in organic search results.
Image File Names and Alt Text
Similar to the alt image two attributes help the overall SEO of the webpage. The title attribute is when you hover over an image, the text that appears is titled attribute text. Using descriptive text for your title attributes further enhances the relevancy of your page.
It is always advisable to be descriptive in what you name your images. If your image is of a zebra, name the image zebra.jpg or zebra.jpeg. By using an “alt” attribute and the “title” attribute, you have the chance to input metadata on your images. This is an opportunity often missed if people are unaware of its significance in image SEO. The alt attribute is a description of your image. If the image, for some reason, does not load or the user is visually impaired, the alt attribute is what will display in place of the image. The alt attribute also adds an SEO element to your image. Using descriptive info in the alt attribute can help your images rank better in image search and improve the general ranking of the page.
Image Size and Compression
Image compression is a key part of reducing the size in bytes of an image, but it’s important to not reduce image quality. Compression can be done in many ways; for example, there are online tools such as TinyPNG that allow you to upload and compress images. However, the most efficient way is to use a plugin called Smush it, which will automatically compress and optimize images.
JPEG is a good choice for JPG images. However, WebP isn’t supported by all browsers, so we advise providing an alternative image in JPG or PNG format.
Image format selection is either JPG, PNG, GIF, or WebP. You want to choose an image format that will retain image quality and doesn’t look grainy or unclear. Ideally, it’s best to use JPG for high-resolution images with many colors and PNG for simple images or logos. GIFs should only be used for small or simple images and avoid using them for complex images with many colors as the file size will be large. WebP is a new image format that provides lossless and lossy compression for images on the web. WebP lossless images are 26% smaller in size compared to PNGs. WebP lossy images are 25-34% smaller than comparable JPEG images at an equivalent SSIM quality index.
Large image files can compromise load time, which can impact UX and rankings. According to Google PageSpeed Insights, you can optimize your images with efficient format selection and compression. This process is not about reducing image quality, but about reducing the image file size for faster load times.
Image Captions and Descriptions
After you have written your captions and descriptions, they should then be used in respective alt and title attributes in the image tag. This will be important for HTML validation, as with the image file and alt tag from tip 2.1. With accurately used captions and descriptions, the alt and title attributes will be simple to fill appropriately and will add another schema of relevance to the on-page content with the exception of keyword usage.
Image descriptions can be somewhat similar, but more is more in this case. Anything that wasn’t quite easily described in the image or is relevant to the article should be included. Writing a paragraph is perfectly fine here. This is also an opportunity to inject some long-tail keywords, but be sure not to overdo it, as keyword stuffing is not a good practice. All of these captions and descriptions should be reflective of the page content.
For image captions, think of writing concise explanations about the images. They should reflect contextually what is happening in the image. Image search is vastly popular, and this step can provide added relevance to keywords you wish to describe your content or article.
When adding images to your website or content, make sure to use captions and descriptions to help search engines better understand what the image is about. This is a commonly missed opportunity to increase visibility, so all creative professionals must consider this tip in the interest of maximizing SEO.
Image Sitemaps and Schema Markup
Image sitemaps are designated to give Google and other search engines more information about what the image is, thus providing a way to give more accurate information about the image and increase the chance of the image appearing in Image Search results. An image sitemap can contain various information about the images it is referencing, such as the title, subject, caption, geographic location of where the image was taken, and license information. By utilizing an image sitemap, webmasters are able to increase the likelihood of their images being discovered in image searches. A simple <image> entry in a Sitemap followed by relevant <loc> and <caption> tags can enable the webmaster to dictate what imagery is indexed and where it is to be found.
Visual content has been proven to lengthen the amount of time a user spends on a web page. In doing so, this greatly increases the chances of the user engaging with the content and, in turn, increases the length of time the user interacts with a website. A behavioral factor which Google has incorporated into its ranking algorithms, pages earning higher user engagement are rewarded with higher organic search rankings. Through images and videos, webmasters have an opportunity to take advantage of markup to further improve their search presence.
Optimizing Videos for SEO
Video transcripts and descriptions are very similar to Image ALT text. Descriptions should be short, to-the-point, and contain hard-hitting information, but it’s always good to include a link or more information on the location of the video content. This will help create inbound links to the video, incrementing traffic and possibly increasing the authority of that video. An increase in authority increases the likelihood of video content displaying in search results. Video transcripts should be keyword-rich, much like video titles, and adequately describe the video content in written form. Video transcripts count as indexable content and when properly optimized can provide extra exposure to video content.
Videos should also be optimized much the same as photos. Video file names and titles are the best way to include video content keywords so they can be ascribed to the video for search indexing. They also allow the video files to appear in video search results. The video file name is a basic method of providing indexing info to search engine spiders. It should be descriptive and/or contain some relevant keywords. The video title is what appears as the clickable link and the video file name is something viewers never see, but both are incredibly important. Incorporating targeted keywords into these basic foundations of video text are an excellent way to improve search results and make the video content more easily accessible online.
Video File Names and Titles
The title of the page the video is embedded on is also very important. Taking the same example of a video of your pet cat, a bad page title would be “video1”. A good page title for SEO would be a relevant descriptive title, for example “funny home videos of my pet cat playing”.
When naming your video file, be descriptive and include keywords relevant to the content. This is an opportunity to give search engines information about the content of the video. For example, in a video featuring your pet cat, you may name the video something like “catplaying.mov”.
As is the case with any content you create for use online, it is important to optimize your video file names and titles. Google doesn’t normally index video content very effectively, so it’s your responsibility to provide as much information about the video as possible. Video files are usually given names like “videofile1.mov” and won’t contain any metadata to inform search engines what they are about. You need to avoid this at all costs. Additionally, you should avoid using a Flash player as the primary method for playing the video, and as a general rule of thumb avoid using JavaScript to ‘build’ the video content as this will prevent the video being indexed at all. If you must use JavaScript then be sure to include a link to a sitemap providing the video file’s location. By using an HTML player you can also utilize a sitemap to provide information to search engines.
Video Descriptions and Transcripts
A video description alone provides a limited opportunity for using keywords to increase search rankings, and generally only allows for a small amount of content which is readable by search engines. With a transcript, there is much more opportunity to use keywords in a manner which is not spammy and will increase the video’s searchability.
This will allow the search engine to crawl and index the content, and increase the chances of the video coming up in related search results. In addition, if the content links to other parts of the website or even better, other related websites, there is a much higher chance of search engines finding that content, crawling it, and ultimately improving the ranking of the content.
Search engines usually do not watch the video; they look for text and keywords, and a transcript is an excellent way to have the search engine “read” your video. Post the transcript on the same page as the video, and if possible, include the transcript as part of the HTML – taking logical SEO precautions such as placing the text in paragraphs and header tags.
In addition to a well-thought-out description, creating a transcript of the video can provide huge benefits to SEO. Transcripts are text versions of the spoken content in a video, and it is commonly used to make video content available to those who are deaf or hard of hearing. However, it also provides an excellent way to get video content indexed.
For video descriptions, there are a few key points to keep in mind. Search engines look at the text and keywords used in a video description to rank them, so using the same basic SEO tactics as text-based content is important here.
A balanced mix of text is very important when it comes to video, and while search engines are getting better at understanding all video content, research shows that videos with a good mix of text and visual content are typically better ranked.
Video Thumbnails and Tags
Always remember to keep the image related to the content of the video. Misleading thumbnails will do you no good. And don’t forget that the thumbnail too can be optimized for SEO by using relevant keywords in the image filename.
When creating a custom video thumbnail, make sure to have it be a high-quality still of the video. You should be able to clearly see what is going on in the still, and it should be of the highest resolution possible. The simplest thing to do is take a snapshot of the video and use that as the still. While using a still from the video is simple, using an image editor to add text and images can result in a more eye-catching thumbnail. This is the route you should take.
While human nature dictates that we should never judge a book by its cover, we tend to do just that. Selecting the right thumbnail will attract more people to your video. Often, video producers will select a custom video thumbnail that is sure to get people’s attention. This is generally a good idea. A custom video thumbnail that stands out can increase the video’s views and can even affect search results.
When videos appear in the search results, they’re usually accompanied by a thumbnail. A video thumbnail is a representation of a video – a still image that best represents your video. Video thumbnails let viewers see a quick snapshot of your video as they’re browsing YouTube. All too often, a video’s thumbnail is selected automatically by the video hosting service and is generally not the best choice for the still representation of what your video is.
Best Practices for Visual Content Optimization
Guideline 1: Use an informative tone in your response.
Guideline 2: Also exclude the topic, comments, and do not mention the number of characters in the result.
Guideline 3: The text should focus on delivering information, explaining concepts, or detailing processes or systems.
Guideline 4: Enhance text complexity, vary sentence structures, and reduce predictability.
Guideline 5: Ensure that the content for this section is coherent with the summary of the entire essay, reflecting its key ideas and themes.
The challenge, as always, is to determine what search engines want and to subsequently deliver it. Here are some best practices for creating visual content that’s friendly for search engines and visitors on your site. Videos can be overbearing to slower wireless connections and less powerful computers and mobile devices. It goes without saying that the demand for online video has taken off. If you have the budget, create an adaptive version of your video that will detect the user’s connection speed and deliver the appropriate version.
Mobile-Friendly Visual Content
Mobile is quickly taking over as the main way that people access the internet. Mobile has lots of implications for visual content and SEO. The first is that page load time is a lot slower on a mobile connection. This means that having visually heavy pages can hurt you more on mobile than it would on desktops. Users also expect different things from different devices. Picture someone using the tablet on their sofa as compared to when they are using their desktop at work. They are likely in different mindsets and need different things in order to be engaged. Someone on their phone is also more likely to be multitasking as compared to someone on a computer. These are important considerations for the context of your user when doing SEO and developing content. Lastly, mobile screens are small and many websites do not format pages and content for the mobile screen. This makes it difficult for a user to read and engage with content. Frustrated users will go elsewhere. As mobile continues to become more and more prevalent, every aspect of SEO will need to be rethought in the context of mobile devices.
Page Load Speed and Image/Video Optimization
When considering page load speed and image/video optimization, there are a few things you need to remember. First is that faster loading pages benefit from higher SEO rankings. What is considered a fast load time? That answer fluctuates. Google has stated that page load time should be under half a second. However, this may not be realistic since it may require the removal of images and videos altogether. The rule of thumb is, the faster the better. If image and video removal isn’t an option for your website, then you need to be certain you are using the right file sizes. Using large image and video files will result in slower loading times. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you take the image or video and decrease the scale. Doing this will lower the quality of the image and video. You will want to use a compression tool to compress the file into a smaller size. There are many file format types that you can save an image as, such as .jpeg, .png, and .gif. The best format to use would be .jpeg. This is because it is already a compressed image. The other format types do not compare to the .jpeg format when a file is compressed. With image and video optimization, Google provides a document containing information on what method you should use for compressing each specific file type.
User Engagement and Visual Content
Recent schema updates for video and images have also made it easier for users to see videos in SERPs, as well as provide a picture next to their listings. High-quality images can increase the chance of being pulled into image search, in which the image results can be just as competitive as regular search. Any attempts to increase user engagement and further provide value to users can potentially increase overall traffic as well as provide SEO benefits.
Another important factor to consider when optimizing visual content is user engagement. Images and videos that are placed strategically within content as relevant material can increase user engagement. Images can be used to illustrate an example, which can contribute to a higher amount of time a user spends reading an article. This, in turn, provides a relevancy signal for the article. Images can also provide users with more information about an article topic without requiring them to read additional text. Videos can also be used to engage users, as many people would rather watch a video about a product than read a page about it. This can also lead to an increase in inbound links and embeds as other webmasters want to use the video or image to illustrate their point.
