Search engines gather all their information from the words associated with the image
—→ files names, alt tags and captions are as important as the image itself
1. File Names
Don’t use abbreviations
—→ Use the keywords of what the image actually is
Don’t keyword stuff (put in as many keywords as possible by using synonyms)
—→ Keep your file name descriptive and informative
Don’t separate your words with underscores. Search engines will not read these as spaces, meaning all your keywords will become onelongwordmakingitunintelligible
—→ Instead-use-hyphens-to-separate-words
WRONG FILE NAMES:
Screenshot 2020-11-06 at 14.49.04.
hero-IMG_20201004_0038.jpg
cindy_sherman1.png
2. File Type
• Images should always be JPG or PNG
• If an image you are uploading is being taken from print, check the image type
• Make sure the image is coloured correctly (RGB is most compatible with screens). CMYK are the files that are used for print, these use colours that work best for a printer. When used online the colour will appear distorted
3. File Size:
IMAGE SIZE VS FILE SIZE
Image size is the dimensions of the image
File size is the space an image will take up on the server
Page load time is crucial for SEO, meaning keeping files to the right size is very important
• Adobe Photoshop has a “save for the web” option, which automatically minimises the file size while optimising image quality
STYLE (ARTICLES):
Body images (images within the body of the article): width 900px
Thumbnail (small image on the content blocks): width 2000px, 16:9 ratio
Main Image (long image at the top of the article, “header”): 1440 x 490 px
4. Alt tags /Alt texts /Alternative text
• Use the SEO keywords of phrases for that page (if appropriate)
• Alt tag needs to describe the image, so both search engines and people can make sense of it. The more relevant information surrounding an image has, the more search engines deem this image important
On our site, the alt tag pops up when we insert an image
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