Optimizing Your Website - Part 2

This is the second part of our series on optimizing your website. Read Part 1 - Optimizing Your Content

Optimizing Your Images

 In addition to content optimization, you can also enhance photos and other graphics on your website by adding descriptive keywords.

Image File Name

The file name assigned to an image can be used to provide search engines with a description of the image. For example, a photo labeled office.jpg is much easier to identify than if the file were named IMG_002.jpg. 

Do	Don’t
Use a unique, distinct file name for each image Keep your file names as short as possible	Use spaces or special characters in your file name (underscores and dashes are OK) Use a file name that does not match the subject of the image

Note: In some cases you will not be able to name every image on your site due to the nature of dynamically generated content (e.g. blog articles, photo galleries, etc.). 

Alternate Text Description

If someone visits your website using a device with a slow internet connection, or their connection unexpectedly drops, some images may not load properly. Visitors using a screen reader or text-only browser will also be unable to see your images.

Providing replacement text for each image can help the user understand images that accompany text on the page. This alternate or “alt” text is also used to help search engines understand the original purpose (and context) of a missing image. 

Do	Don’t
Use a unique description for each image Keep your description short	Include keywords unrelated to the object(s) pictured in your image Use images exclusively for navigation on your site

Want to know how your site is performing? Ask about our search engine review, and don’t forget to check your website statistics.

Continue Reading... Part 3 - Promotion

Posted June 19, 2014