For most of us that own or have a blog and a website we understand that visual elements are crucial to its success. Those visual elements include the images and the graphics that contribute to the look and feel of the website or blog. They should reflect the ethos of the business or brand or they can tell their own story, plus contribute to the SEO ranking.
It’s a fact that in today’s digitally connected world attention-spans are shorter than that of a goldfish. An image or graphic is going to grab attention way before a piece of written content.
When I started my blogging and writing journey, images were just the “pretty” items I needed to include. I’ve realised that not only are they the attraction factor on my website and blog, but they have a far bigger purpose and impact.
Only use images of the highest quality. They should tell their own story, grab the attention of your audience and overall add to the value of the content being shared.
Images should form a fundamental part of your #SEO strategy. Increase your page ranking and #domainauthority today. Click To TweetIn our drive to reach the 1st page of Google, images now gain even more importance, as a fundamental part of your SEO strategy. Ranking well in Google images will definitely put you ahead of the pack and influence your overall domain authority and ranking.
In this week’s article roundup I have included some key articles that reveal the value of images for our virtual real estate and ranking. You will learn why we need them and how to create the best images possible.
Everything you need to win in the image SEO game.
Why you need images in your website and blog
Richard Nolan in his The Next Scoop.com article 10 Main Reasons Images Are Extremely Important for Blog clarifies the exact reasons why you need images. The same reasons can be applied to your website.
He shares 10 very valid reasons why you should include images in your content. Some of the points he raised are eye-openers. Points that you would not normally consider, but when applied correctly can really make a huge difference. His view is refreshing and casts new light on the topic.
Optimize your image content for increased SEO ranking
Next up is the world class article from James Reynolds, Founder of SEO Sherpa that reveals in great detail the value and importance of images for SEO. His article Image SEO: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide For Ranking In Google Images is an epic guide that should form the cornerstone of your image SEO strategy.
It really covers every aspect to using images in great detail. From what you need, what you should and must do and how, step-by-step. It includes both an infographic to tweak your memory about what you read, and the full written content. this article fully illustrates exactly how best to use images in your SEO strategy. James really drills down deep to reveal all the must know facts and spares nothing.
There is so much to be learnt from this step-by-step guide it’s well worth adding it into your master list of resources to use. This will be going into my Resources Page for others to use to win at image SEO.
Suggestion: Put aside enough time to go through this carefully. James operates in the SEO space daily and is the best equipped to guide us all with insight and knowledge to getting this right.
Making the most of the images on your website/blog
Another excellent resource I want to share with you is the extensive article from AmyLynn Andrews. She discusses crucial aspects of using images including some technical tips to get your images perfect. The article on her blog, aptly named, Tips For Using Images On Your Website, can be applied equally for your blog images.
What I really enjoyed about her content is that she left no stone unturned. She also very generously included links to other articles and sites to further expand your knowledge and skills. This is a value packed piece of content that I am sure you will return to many times for guidance.
I can say with surety that you will definitely learn something new from this, as I most certainly did.
Use Original and custom content to improve your SEO
In the next value-packed article, Lars Lofgren, CEO of Quicksprout.com details the use and value of original images. His title gives you a great intro into what he is going to share. “How to make custom images for your blogposts without hiring a designer.”
He reveals great sources of “free” and “royalty free” images that you can use for your website and blog. Then he dives deep into showing you how you can use these images to create your own custom images, making them unique. Using free graphic design software he shows what can be achieved with a little effort and imagination. The only limits are your own.
From this we can see that there is no real excuse not to make images work for you, not only in engaging your audience, but also to increase page ranking and authority.
So in Closing…
This is not the end of the road in terms of this subject. There is so much more that can be shared and I will be writing more of these posts in the future.
The fact is images provide another exciting opportunity for us to reach more people and grow our audience in our niche. Too many times, bloggers and business owners focus just on the written content SEO and forget that they have another whole portion of content that they can use.
I will be sharing in the coming weeks and months what worked for this blog and my website. Look out for those blogposts.
Please share your experiences and what worked for you. Add any other tips you have in respect of image SEO. I look forward to hearing from you.
Happy reading till next week
