Image optimization for search visibility

Images are one of the most shared types of content on the web. For digital marketers, images can entirely change the effectiveness of a promoted piece of content.

Some vertical search engines and social media websites deal exclusively in image content. Images can be optimized for search engines and extended visibility within social media websites. Certainly text meta data plays a large role in the ranking of media (whether images or video content), but other factors also play a role, such as engagement and social signals.

Factors to consider when optimizing images for search & social

• Images make great link-bait and are highly prone to sharing. Consider this when creating viral content or optimizing a content piece.
• Ensure that your image has SEO-friendly ALT text, but don't just write copy for robots--make sure that your ALT text is descriptive of your image. Always use best practices to ensure long-term value.
• There are numerous social communities, search engines and websites dedicated to image assets, sharing and distribution. Consider Flickr, Instagram and Twitpic, as well as Google Image Search
• Image SEO for blogs and websites: Yes, image searches can drive traffic and visibility to a website or blog. This should be considered when creating your web strategy and marketing plan. Image search is one of the most popular types of search...don't just consider regular text and news.
• For social sharing, images are core. Facebook assigns an extra value for posts with media due to the increased probability for a share or social interaction. Plain text posts are just plain weaker. Also, think about your community, an image is attention grabbing.

Optimization for images

Consider the textual and keyword elements for images within your content in order to improve visibility within search and social websites. Here are a few key factors to consider:

• Filename of image
• ALT text
• Text within immediate surrounding <div> or surrounding labels
• Keyword focus of image as it relates to image ALT text
• File size and dimensions
• Geotagging
• Social signals such as likes, retweets, linking and shares
• Inbound links & inbound link keywords and reference site authority and relevancy