Is it possible that your images will rank high enough and be desirable enough to actually earn you leads? We’re honestly not sure, because we’ve never done that research (expect that report in a month or so), but we’ve always alt tags our images with that expectation. Simply put, it’s one of those best practices. And what’s your reward?
It’s like another search engine to compete in! But is it as simple long tail vs short tail, insertion of keywords, or strategically naming your image? There are some suggestions available. And keep in mind this is more geared towards a business with tangible products and services so you can showcase your work, or your environment.
- You own a spa, so you take pictures of the amenities and different spa set ups
- You own a salon, so you ask your customers if you can take a couple pics of your work if they think you did a good job
- Burgers from your bar, entrees from your cafe, and lattes from your coffee shop
- Lawns and shrubs you maintenance to perfection!
Basically, any reason to take a couple photos is great for your site. Want to make a photo gallery? Don’t have one already? Perhaps talk to your webmaster about that and make sure they don’t give you too much hassle – unless your photo gallery is extremely complex with who knows what you have in mind, it isn’t the most difficult addition to your website.
***Some quick tips for images. If they look like crap, honestly don’t bother. If you have a smartphone that takes decent pictures, or an actual digital camera, obviously go for it***
Lets go into detail about preparing your photos for your website and how to upload and optimize them efficiently:
How to optimize your photos for search engines. Here’s one structure:
<img alt=”cursor hovering over an address bar” src=”https://marketmymarket.com/wp-content/blahblahblah…” width=”150″ height=”150″>
A more traditional approach is to have the <img src=””> come first followed by the alt=”” standing alone. But no, doesn’t make a difference. Weight and height are present to modify the size at the end, as the image was probably a good deal larger. Numbers are in pixels. Don’t take an image that is 50 X 50 and make it 150 X 150 AND expect good results.
Do the images have to be named for what they necessarily are? Not really, that is where the alt text comes in.
If you have 100 images of salads, keeping track of them and eventually uploading them can be daunting if you name each one what it is.
What is easier to keep track of? salad1.jpg, salad2.jpg, salad3.jpg, salad4.jpg, salad5.jpg, salad6.jpg, salad7.jpg,
or salad-with-croutons-and-tomatoes.jpg, kale-salad-with-tuna-and-chicken.jpg, spinach-and-bacon-salad-at-a-restaurant-in-nyc.jpg
This is where alt text really shines. The picture can be described without you having to worry about the title. Also I believe the alt text comes up if someone
hovers over where the image should be loading for them (if for some particular reason it doesn’t). But that seems like a problem that happened a long time ago during our much missed dial up period.
And a bonus we’ve seen for images coming up in search rankings. If you have a photo gallery that can break down images into areas, such as specialties and regions, DO THAT! A page entitled “Pool Installation Projects in Delray Beach, Florida” with some text describing it, along with the images with the appropriate alt text on them, could really do some great things for you on search engines before you know it. Sometimes, these images even come up in the standard web search results.
Any more questions about image optimization? Let us know. Want a photo gallery on your website for the thousands of images of your business burning a hole on your hard drive? Call us or email us on that note, too.
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