Remember the days when you could just write a blog, post some images, and hit publish? It was so easy and you knew that you had written some good information for your clients and people would be able to easily find your website.

However, times have changed and it’s not just about pretty pictures anymore. You have to make sure you are including information along with your photos so your website can rank higher in online searches. Google can’t read images, so you have to make sure there are words behind your images. Let’s talk about what kind of words you need and ways to optimize your blog images for SEO!

Create a File Name

Before you upload any image to your blog, whether it’s a single image or a collage, you need to make sure you correctly name the file. The file name can’t just be anything. You need to choose a file name that is relevant to what the image is, the location, and any other information that would Google identify what the image shows. For example, if you live in Phoenix and you’re uploading a picture of a floral arrangement to your blog that talks all about “How to Choose Your Wedding Bouquet”, you would want to name your image file “wedding-bridal-bouquet-phoenix-florist”.

Sometimes you can rename your image file after you have uploaded your image to your blog, but it depends on your website. It’s always best to upload your image after it’s been renamed first. That way you don’t forget once you start working on your blog.

Resize Your Images

You want to make sure that you’re reducing your image file size before you upload to your blog, whether it’s a single image or a collage. With bigger file sizes comes slower loading times for your website. You want to keep your visitors on your blog as long as possible, and if your website doesn’t load fast enough, they will give up and click somewhere else.

With sites like WordPress, you have the option to choose the image size, from a thumbnail to full size. However, it’s always best to make sure your images are reduced in size before you upload to your blog. I like to use images with a file size of around 600-900 KB per image for a blog post. This way, the image will still be sharp but won’t slow down the time it takes for the website to load.

Use Alt-Text

Alt-text stands for alternative text and it’s used to describe an image in plain text. Using alt-text on your images helps search engines understand what’s actually in your image. Another reason why it’s important to use alt-text in your images is that when someone searches online for an image, the alt-text accompanies your image. This can help you attract more visitors for your website. If for some reason your image doesn’t load on your website, the alt-text will be to describe what your image is. The advantage to using alt-text over a caption, is that the alt-text is invisible on your website but still readable by search engines. A caption is visible below your images, and you may not have the option to keep it hidden. So alt-text is best!

Depending on what kind of website platform you use, it will be different on where you will include your alt-text. For example, if you’re showing a photo of a family session outside during the spring in Michigan, you could use the words “family posing for spring photo session in Michigan”. This gives the image an accurate description and will help your readers know what they are looking at, even if the image can’t load on your website.

Remember, the key to creating a good alt-text for an image is to make it as descriptive as possible.

Using all three of these tips will you help you rank higher in online searches, attract your ideal client, and serve as ways to optimize your blog images for SEO. If you’re needing a virtual assistant who can take care of all this for you, head on over to my contact page so we can start writing your blog!