Tracking Your Progress In Image Search Optimization
A picture is worth more than a thousand words. Discover how screenshots can improve your Image SEO ranking on SERP pages.
Our minds always think of text results when we think of SEO, but image search is also a popular way of finding relevant results. An advantage of image SEO is that this kind of web search is centered around visual content, so there’s a higher chance of being remembered by the audience with an original image. That is why one must pay attention and track image SEO.
If you are already working on an SEO strategy, you will understand how essential image searches can be to enhance your website position. In this article, we will look at the most important aspects of image optimization, how useful it can be to track image SEO, and how to track your SERPs using Stillio.
Key aspects of image search optimization
Before getting into the details of how to track your progress in image search, we will highlight some important aspects that will boost your results. Here is a list of a few major image search optimization parameters:
1. Sourcing unique images
Any business owner will understand how important it is to make their images pop brightly on their site. If you keep filling your site with low-quality stock photos, your work will look unoriginal and generic, and people will get bored.
Instead of using the same pictures as everyone else, why not fill your site with original ones? Your SEO will also shoot up this way! Pay attention to image quality and originality for better results.
2. Including images on your sitemap
A sitemap is a file that provides information about the pages on your site and how they're linked. It allows search engines like Google Images to know about its contents and structure. Image sitemaps are a significant part of SEO because they feed search engines with all your site's pages.
Therefore, you must add your images to your sitemap for search engines to pick them up. You need to include the image and its URL, and you can also add an image title, description, license URL (such as Creative Commons), and location. If you have your website on WordPress, you can use an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO to automatically add the visuals to your image sitemap.
3. Create correct file names
Another best practice for image optimization is to have the correct file name. If you want your SEO to progress, you need to create descriptive and keyword-rich file names. You're bound to fail later if you don't customize each image file name.
That is because image file names are a way to notify Google Images and its search engine crawlers about the content of the images. Try to change the name of the file from the default name. Keep the file name as detailed as possible without using too many words.
4. Paying attention to size and format
Remember, image size and file size are different things. Image size refers to the image's dimensions, while image file size refers to the space needed to store the image. Larger images add load time to your site, so you should scale them down.
Choosing the correct image format is also crucial. You can go for PNG, JPG, or GIF, but simple images should be stored in the PNG format, while brightly-colored ones should be in JPG. Image optimization can create a better user experience and attract more traffic.
5. Including alt texts
Image alt tags are text alternatives to images when a browser cannot read them properly—they work like captions where the text describes the contents of the image. If the image fails to load, you will find the alt text being shown. These alt texts are included in the site's code.
Alt texts are also crucial for accessibility purposes. For example, people with visual disabilities may use a screen reader to go through your website, and when it gets to images, it reads the alt text. Therefore, it's necessary to make sure this text describes the picture for a compelling user experience.
Adding proper alt texts can significantly improve your SEO rankings because Google values them. While there is no ultimate rule, you can aim at a maximum of 100 characters for each image.
How to track image optimization progress with automated screenshots
No matter how many tips you see on the web, you have to start incorporating them into practice. Once you start making these changes, it's time to monitor your progress. You can go back to your SERPs periodically, but this involves much manual labor. As an alternative, we show you how to keep track of image search with screenshots for SEO.
Stillio is an automated website screenshot service that can help you capture image search results. Then, you can go back to these captures to track the performance of your images on different search engines. Screenshots can be beneficial because they provide visual proof, just like the image search result page, and you can even clearly see your progress. It is also helpful to track the progress of your competitors by using screenshots.
Further, you can also set the screenshot frequency to daily, weekly, monthly, or even up to 5 minutes for the best plan. Finally, safely store all these images in your drive for later use.
You can do more than customize the frequency of the screenshots. With Stillio, you can even customize the locations from where you want to track your images and your competitors'. You can take screenshots of SERPs from over 150 different countries. That can be particularly useful if you wish to expand your business and see what the world is up to nowadays.
But how do you know when a screenshot is made? We understand that you can't have the app open at all times. That is why Stillio's notifications are here to help you out! Instead of checking manually, Stillio will automatically notify you when a new screenshot is available. That makes your work so much easier.
Pricing starts just at $29 for daily screenshots of 5 URLs.
Conclusion
If you want people to notice your website and your content, image search optimization is the way to go. Stillio can be a handy image SEO tool and an SEO monitoring tool. If you have any doubts, you can book a free demo with us!