In post SEO setting for images

While posting images in your post or article make sure that the necessary information is included with the images so that it becomes SEO and search friendly. In this article we will see the various options that come with SEO setting for images.

Preparing an image prior to upload

An image clicked from an DSLR or a smartphone shows up with a name like IMG_234.jpg or IMG_2387563_12756.jpg which is much worse! An image downloaded from any website comes in the form of even complex name. Make sure to change it to something relevant.

Take the example of this image of a tree clicked at the edge of Ridge forest in New Delhi. It was featured in thetimelock also by the same author.

Tree

So the name of the image can be set as ‘tree at ridge forest’ or similar, short and meaningful.

Information that can be added to images in WordPress

Once the image is uploaded, WordPress provides some options to add to the image. These are

• Title
• Caption
• Alt Text
• Description

These options can be inserted and then they look like this

Title is as the name suggests, is the name of the image. Relevancy of the title to the image is of paramount importance but just so that you can identify the image within your library.

Caption is what will be shown underneath you image in the post. Most articles tend to miss it out, but make sure you put something meaningful. It is just to help you readers to get some more information about the image. Of course the info becomes irrelevant if the image itself contains all the information like a bulletted list or a slide of a presentation. Or if it an infographic, then surely dont insert a Caption.

Alt Text is the most discussed term as far as SEO settings for images is concerned. Firstly it is the information that search engines crawlers probably look for when snooping around images from website. It is also displayed when the image is not visible due to some reasons. Some browsers might show it as a tooltip when the mouse tip is hovering over the image. All in all just remember to put something meaningful in the Alt Text, if not keep it the same as image title.

Description is the mystery part of WordPress. It is shown only when you click an image and it takes you to the attachment page. It also appears under the title during the slide show or lightbox display. So description can be a little detailed information about the picture, if you want it to be shown.

Information that can be added in Blogger by Google

When an image is selected in Blogger, the emphasis is only on adding a caption, which will appear under the image as a title. Title and Alt text can be added under Properties. You also get options for image size and alignment which might not be so relevant for SEO setting for images.

This also means that alt text and caption are given importance both in WordPress and Blogger.

Misc points to remember in SEO setting for images

• Digitally touch up your images to look good.
• Compress images to make them light without sacrificing the quality.
• If using high resolution images, a CDN is a must. WordPress offers free CDN for its users. Make use of it.
• Place your images properly in line with text. Take care that their size is proper.