As images can dramatically enhance a user’s experience on a site, you should select the right images for your site. While it’s important to use images, you should also ensure not to go overboard, especially if they are going to have a negative influence on a user’s experience. When using images, ensure that you use the ‘alt tags’ and populate them with information related to the images. So, if an image doesn’t load properly, the user gets an idea on the image (through the text that is displayed instead of the image.) Also, ensure you make use of good filenames, titles, and captions when using images. Not only, these can help in improving your search engine rankings, but they also contribute to a good user experience.
Image rules for SEO – Best Practices
So, in summary follow these rules for images:
- Pick an image that contributes to a good user experience
- Choose a friendly image name (preferably has the keywords)
- Include captions next to your images
- Use the ‘Alt-Text’ field to specify what’s in the image.
- Be careful about the image size. It should not impact the load times and page speed. Remember, long page load times can impact a page’s search rankings.
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