Optimizing Images and Alt Tags in Your Ecommerce SEO Audit
When it comes to optimizing an ecommerce website for search engines, many people tend to focus solely on keywords, meta tags, and content optimization. However, one often overlooked aspect of SEO is optimizing images and alt tags. Properly optimizing images can have a significant impact on your ecommerce store’s search engine rankings and overall user experience. In this article, we will discuss the importance of optimizing images and alt tags in your ecommerce SEO audit and provide some best practices to follow.
Why is image optimization important?
Images are a crucial aspect of any ecommerce store. They not only make your website visually appealing but also play a significant role in communicating information and selling products. However, if not optimized correctly, images can slow down your website’s loading speed, negatively affecting user experience and search engine rankings.
Search engines rely on various factors to determine the relevance and quality of a website. Website speed is a crucial factor that search engines take into account when determining rankings. Optimizing your images helps reduce their size without sacrificing quality, leading to faster loading times and improved user experience.
In addition to improving website speed, image optimization also enhances accessibility. People with visual impairments rely on screen readers to navigate websites. By including alt tags, you provide these users with a description of the image, enabling them to understand its context. Alt tags also help search engines understand and index your images, improving your website’s visibility in search results.
Best practices for optimizing images and alt tags
1. Compress images: Use tools like Adobe Photoshop or online services to compress images without compromising quality. Aim to keep the file size as small as possible without noticeable distortion.
2. Use descriptive filenames: When saving images, use descriptive filenames that include relevant keywords related to the image. For example, instead of “IMG1234.jpg,” save the image as “red-dress-product-shot.jpg.”
3. Write descriptive alt tags: Alt tags provide alternative text for images when they cannot be displayed or loaded. Write concise, descriptive alt tags that accurately describe the image and include relevant keywords. For example, alt tags for a red dress image could be “Red dress for summer fashion.”
4. Consider the context: Alt tags should be written in the context of the page they are on. Make sure the alt tag relates to the surrounding content and provides additional information or context about the image.
5. Use schema markup: Consider implementing schema markup for your product images. Schema markup helps search engines understand the content on your website better, including product information and details.
6. Responsive design: Ensure that your images are responsive and adjust well to different screen sizes. This enhances user experience and ensures that images look great on both desktop and mobile devices.
7. Image sitemaps: Create an image sitemap and submit it to search engines. This helps search engines discover and index your images more efficiently, improving their visibility in search results.
Conclusion
Optimizing images and alt tags is an integral part of any ecommerce SEO audit. By compressing images, using descriptive filenames, writing accurate alt tags, and implementing best practices, you can improve website speed, accessibility, and overall search engine rankings. Don’t overlook the power of images in SEO; invest time in optimizing them, and reap the rewards of improved user experience and search visibility for your ecommerce store.
