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Image SEO: The Ultimate Step-by-Step-Guide for Ranking in Google Images

Peter Jones • Sep 14, 2021

The Ultimate Step-by-Step-Guide for Ranking in Google Images


There is no doubt that keywords and Meta description play a vital role in SEO and ranking, but surprisingly images are also pivotal in SEO optimisation. Most people prefer to click the image tab of Google than reading the content. As per the industry reports, 21% of the total search volume is based on image-specific searches.

Not just pictures, but Google also pays attention to the quality and content of the picture during the ranking of the picture. It also shows that creating original, optimised website images will bring more and more traffic to your web page.

Here we have brought you an ultimate step-by-step-guide for ranking images in Google. This will help you rank on the top not just on Google but other search engines as well.

If you are looking forward to ranking your images in Google search results, then it’s best practice to follow these steps:


Research the topic your image is for

After choosing a project or topic for your picture, start researching online and review the related images. Invest your time in researching specific keywords for images and content keywords. You can do this in three simple steps:-

  • Type a broad keyword
  • Short them based on your topic category
  • Now select the keyword that has highly relevant search volume for your image.

Pro Tip: Copy the example images you need into a file for future reference.


Google avoids stock photography.

Needless to say that high-quality images can go a long way in SEO ranking. Whereas, Stock photography can have a negative affect on SEO and due to the E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, and Trust) algorithm. To avoid this, schedule a photoshoot for your content. 

Make a list of pictures required for your content. Try to take these pictures by yourself and utilise them in your content. For this, you need a good quality camera or good phone with good picture quality and include some pictures of your surroundings. 


Optimisation of keywords and Images

You need to follow the following steps for optimisation of your SEO material:-

  • Resize the images to match the display area of the website. If you file the picture's size, it will also display the picture according to how you’d like it to be displayed.
  • Update your file name and include target keywords along with pictures. Use words like ‘at’ or ‘end’ to separate the file from each other. 
  • Use an image compression tool to compress the image.
  • Create alt-text for your images. Cover your description within 125 characters. 
  • Add captions to your image with hashtags, titles, and incorporate LSI keyword (latent semantic indexing keywords are known as phrases that are highly correlated with your target topic)


Optimisation of page

After you optimise a perfect picture, design a strong page where your pictures can live on. Do not forget to add target keywords with your picture to the page title or URL string. For better ranking, keep your URL short and accurate. 

Including LSI keywords around the images in the content is also an excellent way to optimise your images. Include these keywords in the image caption also so that they both correlate together. 

These are the best steps to boost your image SEO, however, even after applying all these steps, if you are still struggling to increase your ranking, you should seek the help of experts. Kangaroo UK is a Leicester based SEO Agency and our experts can help you optimise your images. 


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