Optimising Images: The SEO Hack You're Probably Ignoring
What Are We Even Talking About?
Images. The thing you probably slap onto your site last-minute without much thought - or worse, upload straight from your iPhone with a filename like IMG_4819.JPG.
Image optimisation is the process of making your images useful for both humans and search engines. That means faster load times, better context, and more ways for Google to fall in love with your content.
Why You Should Actually Care
Optimised images aren't just for people who obsess over pixels. They matter because:
Slow-loading images slow down your whole site - and Google hates that.
Alt text, filenames, and context help your images show up in search.
Image SEO boosts your content visibility without you writing a single extra blog post.
In short: it's free SEO fuel you're probably ignoring.
Make It Suck Less: The Practical Stuff
Descriptive Filenames (No More IMG_4829)
Search engines don't see images. They see code. So help them out by giving your files real names.
Bad:
IMG_0192.jpg> Good:sunset-bondi-beach.jpg
Use hyphens. Use relevant keywords. Keep it readable.
Resize Before Upload (Speed Is Life)
If you upload 5MB photos to your homepage, your bounce rate deserves you.
Resize to appropriate dimensions (do you really need that 5000px wide hero banner?)
Use tools like TinyPNG, ImageOptim, or Squoosh.
Aim for the smallest size that still looks crisp.
Alt Tags That Actually Mean Something
Alt text = accessibility + search engine context + fallback if the image breaks.
Bad:
alt="flowers"> Good:alt="Bright yellow sunflowers in a backyard garden"
Don't keyword stuff. Write like you're describing the image to a friend.
Add Captions, Don't Just Hope People Understand
Captions explain what's happening. They make your content more scannable, and yes - they also help SEO when done right.
Keep them short. Relevant. Helpful. Not cringe.
Geotagging: The Underdog for Local SEO
Photos taken at physical locations (like your business, a property, or an event)? Geotag them.
Use a tool like GeoImgr to embed location metadata - it helps reinforce local SEO signals.
Where Keywords Belong (And Where They Don't)
Yes, you should use keywords. No, you shouldn't shove them into every tag like a desperate high school essay.
Good places:
Filenames
Alt text
Captions
Page context
Just don't forget: readability > robot bait.
Stuff People Always Get Wrong
Uploading full-res DSLR photos directly to a homepage
Skipping alt text altogether (fail on both SEO and accessibility)
Using filenames like
pic1_final_FINAL_use-this-one-really.jpgForgetting mobile - if it breaks the mobile view, it's a bad image
Letting lazy CMS defaults write your image filenames and alt tags for you
Next-Level Image SEO (For Overachievers)
Add structured data with schema.org for product images
Use WebP or AVIF formats for better compression (and still crisp)
Generate custom Open Graph and social previews
Use image sitemaps to get them indexed faster
Optimise for Google Lens (yep, that's a thing now too)