Optimising Pictures On Your Blog Increases Page Views

Most of us use at least one picture on our blog posts. Yet not many of us make use of the vast amount of search engine traffic we could get from just these pictures alone. I have several good friends whose blogs are mostly made up of images. Think of all the thousands of people searching for pictures every day, and you will see the potential of search engine traffic they could be getting. Why miss out on thousands of views, right?

If you include pictures on your blog posts, this article is for you. If you do Google searches to 'borrow' images to suit your articles, this is for you. And if your site is a photography blog, or one made up mainly of original images you've taken, this is for you.

use images with your blog posts

How to optimize your images

1. Name your images

In 'New Post'  mode, look at the right of the box in which you create your posts and you'll see 'Edit HTML' and 'Compose'. Click on 'Edit HTML' and upload an image. You will see the name of that image embedded in the code. This is what the search engine reads when it's looking for an image.



Therefore, Save all your images on your computer with a suitable name. This name should be not more than 5 words and should be given careful thought. It should describe the image in a way that tells a search engine exactly what it shows, and it's about. When you upload this image, whether it's yours or not, search engines won't be given a series of random numbers (which your camera devised for the image) but words that help them identify your photo. When someone searches for (for example) 'Tile Floor' Google can see the saved name of your image, instead of a series of numbers. The search engine will then put your image forward if someone searches for this term. Don't be afraid to add a short description too.

Note: remember to always credit the site from which you take an image.

2. Use bold or headings with your images

Another way to point search engine traffic to your images is to use bold text to describe them. If appropriate, also use headings which are bigger than the rest of the text on your page. You can divide your post into sections/paragraphs like this one and label each section with a large heading near to the image you're using to illustrate your point. How to use larger headings: In 'Compose' mode, you should have a tool bar at the top of your 'New Post' page. Click on the 'tT' section, and change your heading into a slightly larger text. Don't use one that's too big. The next size up from your normal text is adequate. Search engines pay attention to headings and text in bold print. 

3. Use caption with your images

It is possible to use captions with your images on Blogger. This is a perfect way for Google to read the description of your picture. How to use caption: 

Upload an image in the normal way. 

Click on the image you've uploaded. (It will be highlighted). 

A toolbar appears, giving you options to resize or reposition the image. There are also options to remove or 'add caption' to the image. These last two are on the far right. 

Click 'add caption'. Type in your caption and that's it. If you need to remove the caption, click on the image again and 'remove caption'. Simple!

4. Allow others to use your images

This one is especially useful for people who upload a lot of original pictures on their blogs. Place a short message on your site, allowing other bloggers to use your images in exchange for a link to your blog. I know some people will still abuse this - you can't get everyone to behave as they should. However, the majority will link back to your site if they know that's your condition for using your original work. It's a small price to pay! 

5. Go back and fix all your old images

This is the hardest part, I know. I will do this too because I've been very careless with my images in the past. It may take me the rest of the year, but I'll do a small bit at a time. Hopefully, you can find more time than I could to properly optimise all of your old images. It's worth making those images work hard for you. After all, they take up the majority of space on your blog. It's the least they could do. Isn't it?

Do you have any further advice on optimising images on your blog? What do you do to get your images seen on search engines? Please share this post if you find it helpful. Thank you.