At the end of the day, no one is interested in a website with no images. No matter how compelling, witty, and original your content is, no one (seriously, no one) will read all of it. What I’m trying to impress upon you is the importance of images (especially optimized images) in your site. Please don’t misunderstand my emphasis on images as a slight on text. Sorry, you will still need to create quality copy, not even the best images take precedence over your words, but you have to have some sort of visual appeal in order to dazzle your visitors. Of course, these images and graphics have to be relevant to your site and appropriate for its theme but nevertheless there must be images and graphics. 

Now that we have the issue of the necessity of images and graphics settled, let me advise you on how to use them to your SEO advantage. One of the most overlooked aspects of SEO is the optimization of images. A properly optimized image is one that has a relevant file name (i.e. if your image is a photograph of your grandmother it should be labeled gran.jpg not picture267.jpg). Search engines can read the uploaded file name so using something relevant or, if it makes sense, keyword specific lets them know exactly what the image is and how it relates to your site. Search engines aren’t actual human users, rather they are bots and can’t actually see your images. So, you have to read your images to them. Another way of doing this is by employing the alt tag. An alt tag is the way you label your image or graphic once it has been uploaded to your site. An example of an alt tag would look something like this: (if your image was a tulip) alt=”Red and White Tulip”/> .  It isn’t too complicated and by taking the time to label all your images with an alt tag you might generate an increase in your traffic.

 When labeling your images, keep in mind that not all searches are searches for content. Most search engines have an image search and labeling your images properly is a way to gain visibility there and increase the traffic to your site. Even if you aren’t looking to rank for the images themselves, optimizing them is part of getting a high rank for your website. Remember, search engines can read but they can’t see.