How to optimize images on a website?

Images on your website are of great importance. Especially when they are informative or when they accompany a text. Indeed, a large majority of readers prefer to look at an image than a wall of text.

Infographics and images can be essential tools to help your web ranking on Google. You will understand, after reading this, why it is important to spend time optimizing your images.

Optimizing your images should be an integral part of your SEO strategy. Adopt this practice by applying our essential image optimization tips.

Why use infographics on a website?

First of all, what is an infographic?

Computer graphics is a communication tool based on the visual representation of data. It is therefore a way to capture attention quickly and to facilitate the understanding of your message.

As Napoleon once said, 

"A good sketch is better than a long speech."

Joking aside, infographics have a huge impact in marketing. They can easily be shared, so it's an opportunity to get a message out to a wider audience.

So how do I properly integrate images and infographics without affecting the performance of my website?

Image optimization is one of the many techniques used to improve the quality and speed of a website in general. Just like keyword optimization, image optimization aims to strategically rank your website on search engines.

Image optimization is based on different parameters such as alternative texts, image size and loading speed.

Ready to learn more? Check out our essential image optimization techniques.

Essential image optimization techniques

Originality and high quality

The quality and originality of your infographics and images have an important impact on brand opinion and credibility. It is one of the main ways to increase the referencing of your site.

A well done infographic is a good way to establish your brand online. The appearance of the content on your website must be aesthetically pleasing since it is one of the first aspects that the consumer will remember. 

Have a reason to add an infographic

As previously mentioned, infographics support the information you wish to convey, in order to facilitate its retention. It is the ideal way to hold the attention of your visitors and thus prolong the time spent on your site.

However, be careful, adding images can slow down the loading of your pages and thus harm the referencing of your site on search engines. The addition of infographics must therefore be valid.

Use the right file type

On Wordpress, it is always recommended to upload your images for the web in JPEG format. As this type of file can be compressed into smaller sizes, it will not reduce the loading speed. This is a principle that applies to Wordpress, but also to all web hosts in general.

With GIF files, you compromise image quality, but gain in loading speed. They are ideal for animated images, icons or decorative images.

Finally, PNG files allow for higher resolution than GIFs and larger file sizes than JPEG images. Since they tend to be heavier and offer a lower level of compression, it is recommended to use JPEGs instead!

The size of the file is important

At this point, you have probably figured out that file size is important. But it's also important to differentiate between file size and image size. Just because your infographic or image is visually small doesn't mean the file size is either! To find out the file size, check the file details.

Several free image compressors are available online, allowing you to reduce the weight of your image.

We remind you that search engines prioritize web pages that load quickly. And large files will slow down the loading speed. 

Include descriptive captions

Adding a caption to your image can be a real advantage. The descriptive caption appears below the image, separate from the text it accompanies. It's a great place to insert information that might grab the reader's attention.

In addition to encouraging people to read your text or navigate your site further, captions promote message retention. In fact, a study by Richard E. Meyer shows that illustrations without a caption are 81% less memorable.

Make the alternative text of your image SEO optimized

If you don't already know, the integration of alternative texts to your images can play a very strategic role in their optimization. 

The alternative texts, basically, are intended to replace the image in a case where the reader could not see it. 

But in SEO, alt text is used to add more keywords to it. The alt text helps the SEO of your website in the image search engines. It is therefore an additional visibility for your website.

Always consider the loading speed

In short, you understand that a big part of optimizing your images is minimizing the impact on website loading speed. As mentioned above, pay attention to the file size and the relevance of adding an infographic.

But you can also speed up the loading of your pages by using the delayed loading technique. This technique consists in loading the images only once they appear. You avoid loading data unnecessarily.

If you are using WordPress, you can activate this setting from the free plug-in Jetpack.

Also increase your loading speed by avoiding unnecessary thumbnails. Too many thumbnails can affect the loading speed. 

Apply your new knowledge!

Now that you know the importance of fast loading speed and image SEO, it's time to put it into action. Add each of our techniques to your SEO strategy and see the results!

Managing an SEO strategy that includes image optimization is a daunting task that requires time and expertise. By entrusting it to an agency, you ensure the best possible results and a perfect execution!

Tell us about about your project, we will be happy to work with you!