WordPress Image SEO Errors and How to Fix Them
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 10:58 am
Everything we've learned in the last two articles will go down the drain if we don't implement a proper image SEO strategy. Image SEO plays a major role in your overall SEO strategy and is crucial for tutorial sharing sites. Think about how much traffic you'd lose if your images were misnamed, didn't have 'alt' tags , or worse, were hosted on singapore b2b leads
different servers.
Contents hide
1 WordPress Image SEO Mistakes
1.1 You are not using relevant images
1.2 You don't focus on the image file name
1.3 You do not define ALT tags
1.4 You stuff your TITLE and ALT tags with keywords
1.5 You don't use image captions
1.6 You have not submitted an image sitemap file
2 Optimizing image performance
2.1 You are not optimizing your images
2.2 You are not using responsive images
2.3 You are not using a free CDN
2.4 You are not lazy to upload images
3 Some tips for using images
3.1 Ditch the standard stock photos
3.2 Use GIFs when possible
3.3 Use licenses carefully - #CC0
4 Conclusion
4.1 Related publications:
WordPress Image SEO Mistakes
We'll cover the top mistakes when it comes to image SEO - and recommend appropriate countermeasures.
You are not using relevant images.
Imagine that you and your travel buddies are seriously debating which mode of transportation to take on an upcoming road trip. Both the intercity bus and the plane seem like good options, but you are stuck in a debate between budget and time. There are two teams, led by Ronald and Jeremy. Ronald wants to catch the plane so that he does not have to reschedule his Friday meetings. On the other hand, Jeremy, being a fan of Mother Earth, does not mind changing the meeting schedule in order to enjoy the scenic beauty of the interstate bus ride . Of course, each member of the tour group chooses a side - those who do not want to travel ten hours by bus support Ronald. The other team, who wants to admire the beauty of Mother Nature, believes that traveling by bus is absolutely necessary. Both sides try their best to convince the other to take their side.
In the midst of what seemed like one of the most important discussions of their lives, Ron made the mistake of saying the following: RON: Guys, I’m fine with any kind of transportation. Who should babysit my cat this weekend? Jeremy: What? You can leave him with Emily! Wait, why are we even having this discussion? Yeah, can’t you see we’re having an important conversation? Team Roland: Come on, man! What the hell, Ron! Can’t you see we’re in a crisis here? RON (a little scared): Okay, okay, I’ll leave Sarah with Emily. God. TEAM: Damn it, Ron! You always do that… And the debate resumes. You don’t want to be Ron now, do you? Same thing with relevance . Pictures are worth a thousand words. But if you’re not careful, you can lose someone’s attention on another point. One of the first rules of adding a picture to a message is to improve the way you convey the idea. Images are meant to convey value. That’s why WPExplorer tutorials are filled with screenshots, and topic lists focus on showcasing the best parts/demonstrations of each topic. That value can be (a) informative in nature, (b) visually or emotionally impactful, or (c) a mix of both. The best images are often a combination of the three.
]
An example of a Github landing page is an illustration of a developer at his desk. However, there is no point in using an image for the sake of including one. Such actions often prove counterproductive. On the other hand, the right image can bring multifold benefits to your conversions. The screenshot above is one of many landing pages from Github. Let’s take a look at the image. First, you will notice that this image is actually a vector illustration. The illustration overcomes any racial/ethnic barriers. Additionally, the blue color, which harmonizes with the overall color scheme of the page, negates any subconscious profiling. A great example of the correct use of an image, combined with great copy and CTA , is a great landing page .
You don't focus on the image file name
I understand that creating quality tutorials is hard work. Each step needs to be clearly documented, but not so descriptive that your readers feel like it’s an insult to their intelligence. When you’re working on an 1800-word tutorial with over a dozen screenshots, it’s easy to get tempted to use titles like screenshot-1, screenshot-17, etc. But this is actually very detrimental to your SEO.
Think about it - if someone were to search for something remotely related to the image shown above, would they use 'screenshot-1' or 'image-1', or would they rather search for " how to turn off permalinks in WordPress". If you want to go 100% SEO, then add a TITLE attribute to your images. The value of this TITLE tag can be the file name of your image.
You don't define ALT tags
ALT tags stand for alternative text for an image. It should be used on every image, regardless of size, priority, or anything similar. Simply put, ALT tags are a description of your image. What is your image literally? ALT tags are used by search engines to view an image. If an image cannot be displayed, an ALT tag is used instead. ALT tags are also used by screen readers for people with vision loss. For example, the ALT tag or descriptive text for our previous screenshot might be:
A screenshot of the WordPress dashboard showing the permalinks settings, with the default option set .
Writing detailed ALT tags can be a pain, but the effort pays off. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any recent studies that showed organic traffic increases due to ALT tag optimization. Most of them are forum comments. If you come across any, please share them with us!
You stuff your TITLE and ALT tags with keywords
Keyword stuffing is essentially throwing in all your popular keywords just to get some SEO juice in the last mile. However, in reality, it’s like using bad oil in a well-oiled car. Google is getting smarter every day, which means it knows when you’re trying to confuse it. The result? Your SEO scores go down. A typical example of a keyword -stuffed ALT tag looks like this:
different servers.
Contents hide
1 WordPress Image SEO Mistakes
1.1 You are not using relevant images
1.2 You don't focus on the image file name
1.3 You do not define ALT tags
1.4 You stuff your TITLE and ALT tags with keywords
1.5 You don't use image captions
1.6 You have not submitted an image sitemap file
2 Optimizing image performance
2.1 You are not optimizing your images
2.2 You are not using responsive images
2.3 You are not using a free CDN
2.4 You are not lazy to upload images
3 Some tips for using images
3.1 Ditch the standard stock photos
3.2 Use GIFs when possible
3.3 Use licenses carefully - #CC0
4 Conclusion
4.1 Related publications:
WordPress Image SEO Mistakes
We'll cover the top mistakes when it comes to image SEO - and recommend appropriate countermeasures.
You are not using relevant images.
Imagine that you and your travel buddies are seriously debating which mode of transportation to take on an upcoming road trip. Both the intercity bus and the plane seem like good options, but you are stuck in a debate between budget and time. There are two teams, led by Ronald and Jeremy. Ronald wants to catch the plane so that he does not have to reschedule his Friday meetings. On the other hand, Jeremy, being a fan of Mother Earth, does not mind changing the meeting schedule in order to enjoy the scenic beauty of the interstate bus ride . Of course, each member of the tour group chooses a side - those who do not want to travel ten hours by bus support Ronald. The other team, who wants to admire the beauty of Mother Nature, believes that traveling by bus is absolutely necessary. Both sides try their best to convince the other to take their side.
In the midst of what seemed like one of the most important discussions of their lives, Ron made the mistake of saying the following: RON: Guys, I’m fine with any kind of transportation. Who should babysit my cat this weekend? Jeremy: What? You can leave him with Emily! Wait, why are we even having this discussion? Yeah, can’t you see we’re having an important conversation? Team Roland: Come on, man! What the hell, Ron! Can’t you see we’re in a crisis here? RON (a little scared): Okay, okay, I’ll leave Sarah with Emily. God. TEAM: Damn it, Ron! You always do that… And the debate resumes. You don’t want to be Ron now, do you? Same thing with relevance . Pictures are worth a thousand words. But if you’re not careful, you can lose someone’s attention on another point. One of the first rules of adding a picture to a message is to improve the way you convey the idea. Images are meant to convey value. That’s why WPExplorer tutorials are filled with screenshots, and topic lists focus on showcasing the best parts/demonstrations of each topic. That value can be (a) informative in nature, (b) visually or emotionally impactful, or (c) a mix of both. The best images are often a combination of the three.
]
An example of a Github landing page is an illustration of a developer at his desk. However, there is no point in using an image for the sake of including one. Such actions often prove counterproductive. On the other hand, the right image can bring multifold benefits to your conversions. The screenshot above is one of many landing pages from Github. Let’s take a look at the image. First, you will notice that this image is actually a vector illustration. The illustration overcomes any racial/ethnic barriers. Additionally, the blue color, which harmonizes with the overall color scheme of the page, negates any subconscious profiling. A great example of the correct use of an image, combined with great copy and CTA , is a great landing page .
You don't focus on the image file name
I understand that creating quality tutorials is hard work. Each step needs to be clearly documented, but not so descriptive that your readers feel like it’s an insult to their intelligence. When you’re working on an 1800-word tutorial with over a dozen screenshots, it’s easy to get tempted to use titles like screenshot-1, screenshot-17, etc. But this is actually very detrimental to your SEO.
Think about it - if someone were to search for something remotely related to the image shown above, would they use 'screenshot-1' or 'image-1', or would they rather search for " how to turn off permalinks in WordPress". If you want to go 100% SEO, then add a TITLE attribute to your images. The value of this TITLE tag can be the file name of your image.
You don't define ALT tags
ALT tags stand for alternative text for an image. It should be used on every image, regardless of size, priority, or anything similar. Simply put, ALT tags are a description of your image. What is your image literally? ALT tags are used by search engines to view an image. If an image cannot be displayed, an ALT tag is used instead. ALT tags are also used by screen readers for people with vision loss. For example, the ALT tag or descriptive text for our previous screenshot might be:
A screenshot of the WordPress dashboard showing the permalinks settings, with the default option set .
Writing detailed ALT tags can be a pain, but the effort pays off. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any recent studies that showed organic traffic increases due to ALT tag optimization. Most of them are forum comments. If you come across any, please share them with us!
You stuff your TITLE and ALT tags with keywords
Keyword stuffing is essentially throwing in all your popular keywords just to get some SEO juice in the last mile. However, in reality, it’s like using bad oil in a well-oiled car. Google is getting smarter every day, which means it knows when you’re trying to confuse it. The result? Your SEO scores go down. A typical example of a keyword -stuffed ALT tag looks like this: