One of the easier, yet lesser-known (and appreciated) methods to gain higher rankings for by SEO and increase traffic to your website is by naming images.
You can easily make Google visit and index your site more frequently—and all for free, just in a while.
Hey, wait a minute, why should we really do this?
These are the 9 key reasons to name images for SEO, and you’ll get to know what’s the reason behind this.
Have a good read.
1/ Improves Searchability in Image Search
Here’s one of my favorite reasons.
Naming images on your website leads to better discoverability and searchability in image search, not just in standard search.
Your pictures, like your posts, will represent various topics. And that’s exactly how you can stand out from the competition.
If you run a culinary blog and write about crème brûlée, name your image exactly that way. Speaking more precisely: creme-brulee.jpg.
Next, when your potential reader or client types the keyword “creme brulee” into Google and clicks “images”, there’s a high chance they’ll find your website. What happens next? You know it well.
Adequately name your graphic on the website and do it every time. If you want to quickly find your site (and you do) in key positions, treat naming images as a mandatory standard.
2/ Google Pays Attention to Image Names
Let’s be honest, only the most inquisitive readers of your blog will figure out whether you name your images or not.
What impact does this have on the user?
Insignificant, un(fortunately).
Surely, the upside is that poor naming of images (or not naming them at all) won’t increase your bounce rate.
On the other hand, correctly naming your graphics won’t increase the bounce rates either.
So why is it so important?
Google, and other search engines, pay attention to it, and it affects the high (or low) ranking of your website. And that’s hugely significant.
If you name your photos properly, Google bots will notice that you know your stuff and that you’re running a substantive blog, e-commerce, or any other online venture.
This is what will make your site soar in Google’s rankings. And this leads to greater and more relevant organic traffic to your site.
Regularly name the images on your site, and you’ll quickly notice the results.
3/ Naming Images Enhances Web Page Credibility
Here we are, naming images equals higher page credibility.
If you take care of right graphic naming, Google will quickly increase the ranking of your website because of its credibility.
Proper image naming whispers ‘professionalism’ to Google.
Imagine this: ‘genericname.jpg‘ vs. ‘golden-retriever-puppy.jpg.’
One’s forgettable, and vague; the other grabs attention, right?
Google digs this. It’s all about relevance and trust.
And building relevance and trust takes some time. But you can directly influence it.
Talking with my clients, I often hear that the problem isn’t the inability to name images. Often, it’s either a lack of awareness that it needs to be done or a belief that “if it has a low impact on SEO, it’s not that necessary”?
However, it’s hard to gauge what has a high impact on SEO and what doesn’t. Each element on your site cohesively affects your high (or low) organic search result.
Start naming images, and this small element will soon improve your site’s rank in organic search results.
4/ Improves Readability for Search Engines
Google literally reads your site. Help it understand the message.
This is what Google and its algorithms love—simple and clear content.
Ahrefs put Google’s algorithms to the test, aiming to jump from position #7 to the #1 rank in one day.
Result? Success!
Setting aside many aspects they considered, one was key: the readability and comprehensibility of the content.
Search engine bots analyze content through mathematical relations regarding:
- Readability
- Correctness
- Consistency
- Unique content
- SEO requirements
- Necessary rules in line with Google’s policy.
Moreover, Google’s employees sometimes manually analyze content. They consider the same elements as the bots, but uniqueness, originality, and “work input” play a crucial role.
As you can see, if you want your site to rank quickly and highly in Google search results—content is super important. Alongside consistency.
By correctly naming your images on the site, each of these elements is taken into account. The result is a high ranking for your site.
Here’s how Ahrefs fought for the #1 position in 24 hours:
5/ Incorporating Relevant Keywords Increases Rankings
The same rule applies to creating content as well as naming images.
If you’re writing about “link building”, and you’re adding an image with such content, name your graphic accordingly.
Naming images in ways like: linkbuilding or DSC_001.jpg doesn’t lead to anything good. This is generic, doesn’t provide information about the image, and its details. Avoid it.
At the same time, don’t overdo it with keyword stuffing. The right naming, like the-best-way-for-link-building, wouldn’t be a good idea either.
And yes, hyphens are word connectors. Always use them to combine words with each other.
So, how to name your images for SEO?
Relevant keywords must be part and parcel of your SEO strategy.
6/ It Has a Direct Impact on SEO Rankings
There is a direct correlation between naming images and high rankings on Google.
Solely writing the name won’t suddenly place your website at the top of Google.
However, not naming images will ensure that your site never reaches the top rankings.
A holistic combination of SEO aspects and naming images influences where and when your site appears in high positions.
This is particularly important if your site has many images in each post. In such cases, correctly putting the name is a key aspect of your SEO strategy.
Make sure to do this for each post.
7/ Naming Facilitates Image Indexing
Naming images facilitates their indexing.
Good indexing leads to better results in image search. But that’s not it.
Google, seeing a well-named image, visits your site more frequently. If it notices this correctness repeated on every subpage and post, you’ll boost your rankings.
Correctly naming is not just something that needs to be done. It’s a facilitation of your work and ultimately leads to greater organic traffic. And this is what every SEO geek waits for.
8/ Write ALT Text for Better SEO
Let’s start from the beginning, what is ALT Text, and why is it so important for SEO?
Alt text is the text displayed when an image doesn’t load on a webpage. Therefore, if something goes wrong, instead of just seeing a broken link icon, the user will also see the alt text to understand the message of the image.
That’s why ALT Text is so necessary for SEO results and for the user. SEO isn’t about guessing; it’s all about facts and specific knowledge that needs to be delivered.
But that’s not all about who and why ALT Text is so important.
ALT Text x Accessibility
Alternative text allows people with visual impairments to easily perceive the image and appropriate instructions. W3 published Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, stating that one of the key elements is equivalent substitutes for audio and visual materials.
The more materials you have on your site for each type of user, the better your site will prosper. It will maintain a lower bounce rate and gain more readers from organic traffic.
ALT Text x Image Traffic
In 2018, Hubspot implemented a new SEO strategy, focusing on alt text. What happened? This strategy boosted the blog’s image traffic by an impressive 779% in less than a year, leading to an additional 160,000 organic views. The results speak for themselves.
ALT Text x User Experience
Let’s imagine that if a visitor to your site can view the image on the left, that’s great. But if they can’t, for any reason, they’ll see the alt text on the right. This ensures a more enhanced user experience compared to having no alt text at all.
Perfect example:
9/ Aids in Contextual Understanding
Search engines are like people; they believe what they see.
Besides belief, there are rankings, which play the most important role in the battle for SEO positions.
Google, thus seeing good and quality content, supported by images with adequate captions, will ensure that you rank higher and faster in key positions.
This small element won’t always make your site number #1. But if you forget about this small detail, there’s a slim chance you’ll ever become number #1.
Naming Images for SEO: 9 Key Takeaways
1/ Google literally reads your website. Help it get its message.
2/ Using ALT Text helps with website’s indexing & accessibility.
3/ Always remember to incorporate keywords into the image names.
4/ Naming images has a direct impact on the higher rankings of your website.
5/ Make sure to properly name your images, as it’s a key part of your SEO strategy.
6/ Search engines index images more effectively when they have clear, descriptive names.
7/ Name your images the right way to ensure they understand and index your website more effectively.
8/ Name your images well to make them more accessible and improve organic search results through image search.
9/ Naming images aids search engines in better understanding your site’s content, positively influencing its indexing and accelerating its rise in rankings.
So, now you have a list of the 9 key reasons to name images for SEO. What are your takeaways? Would you like to add something?
Share more ideas in the comments; it helps us gain different perspectives!
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P.S. Do you like coffee? Feel free to share one with me! 😉
Thanks, my reader, for contributing!
Simon
Author Profile
- Simon Gorlak is a Digital Marketing Expert with over 8 years of experience. He specializes in 3 areas: SEO, Copywriting, and Email Marketing. Simon's blog gathers knowledge that helps Marketers & C-level to increase profits from their online businesses. Also, his content helps to reach the most difficult customers, make others' content to be read & purchased. Besides digital marketing, Simon speaks 4 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish & works as a Head of Business at an Indian Start-up.
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I didn’t know that naming images for SEO is so important! 😀
Thanks!
It is!
You’re welcome,
Simon
It is! I’m glad I could help 😉
Thanks,
Simon