Pictures on a web page can generate extra traffic, thanks to Google Image Search. To get this boost you need to think about how pictures are added to a page and the text that surrounds them.
For websites (not blogs)
Take a read of my previous article about naming of pictures if you have not already. It is important that you get the name of the picture correct as it helps with getting traffic. Basically, use keywords in the file name of the picture but ensure it is a unique name.
Standard HTML coding for pictures is
<img src="name-of-picture.png" />
Now that CSS rules the web and standards are being followed (in most browsers but not all), we can leave the extra tags such as; Width, Height and Border. They should be dealt with using CSS.
In my article about naming image files, I explained how the ALT tag should be used as part of SEO (as is the file name). It should be a description using keywords for the page it appears on. Remember there are browsers for the blind and partially sighted so make sure it makes sense!
The ‘perfect sponge cake’ example
For a recipe website with a page all about the perfect sponge cake, you have a picture of the finished article. So lets name it, add the ALT and TITLE tag…
<img src="perfect-sponge-cake.png" alt="a perfect sponge cake that anyone can make" title="Make the perfect sponge cake" />
The ALT tag carries the keywords used in the file name as does the TITLE tag.
Choose your words before and after the picture.
Google gets some clues for Image Search from the ALT tag and file name. We can be more helpful by using keywords before and after the picture. For example…
<H1>How to make a perfect Sponge Cake</H1> <p>In this recipe we will make a perfect sponge cake that anyone can do!</p> <img src="perfect-sponge-cake.png" alt="a perfect sponge cake that anyone can make" title="Make the perfect sponge cake" /> <p>For this sponge cake you will need the following...</p>
As you can see, lots of mentions of “Sponge Cake” before the image, inside the image tag and after.
If anyone does an image search for ‘sponge cake’, the picture will be included in the search and hopefully fairly high up in the results. Just make sure that the picture is of high quality and large. Big pictures will do better than tiny ones and the better looking they are the more likely they will be clicked.
