Image SEO: use website and product photos to explain the right details
A photo can support a choice, explain a working step or simply decorate a page. Those purposes need different treatment. Start with the image's job, then check its description and technical delivery. Our workflow connects understandable content with a reviewable handover to editorial and development teams.
Build an image inventory around the page's job
Choose an important category or service page first. Record what question each image answers and who maintains the file. Our example is a product detail photo: it can show a connection or surface that is unclear in the overall view. Another arbitrary photo does not automatically do that job. Prioritise images that support a real decision.
- Page and image position.
- Purpose: information, function or decoration.
- File, origin and agreed permission to use it.
- Required description and owner.
- Checks needed on mobile devices.
Describe the actual information
The W3C decision tree bases alternatives on purpose: informative images need a suitable description, while purely decorative images generally use empty alt text. A functional image should make its action or destination understandable. Complex diagrams also need an accessible explanation in the page content.
Our example for an informative product photo is side view of a black bag with the outer pocket open. Describe the relevant visible detail. Do not add properties the photo cannot demonstrate or copy a list of search terms into every image field. Have the description checked in the language of the page.
Review embedding and context together
Google can discover images through an img element's src attribute; it does not index CSS background images as images. Place important pictures near the text they explain. Short descriptive filenames can offer a small clue about the subject, but they do not replace understandable page content.
For handover, we recommend recording the actual image address alongside its visible context. Check that the file is reachable and still belongs to the right product or project after release. A working file link does not establish that the photo remains current.
Make mobile presentation part of acceptance
Our acceptance check starts with a narrow screen: is the important detail still visible, or has it been cropped out? Can labels be read without extensive zooming? Also inspect the page while it loads. Agree an image size suited to its position with the developer and review the real content rather than asking only for the smallest possible file.
Recheck photos when the offer changes
Include images in the change process. When a product, interface or service changes, review the related photos, captions and descriptions too. Our measurement suggestion is to observe whether visitors on important pages find a product or sensible next step. Adding more photos is not itself evidence of better search performance.
Frequently asked questions
- Should every image have the same alternative text?
- No. Purpose and context determine the alternative. Informative content needs different treatment from decoration or an image acting as a button.
- Should I rename all existing files?
- We suggest checking important content and broken embedding first. Do not change existing addresses without planning for their uses and availability.
- Will a long keyword list help the image field?
- It does not explain the picture to a reader. Write an accurate description of the relevant image content instead of repeating search terms.
- Does every page need an extra photo?
- Not in our view. Add an image when it answers a question or supports a decision. Extra volume alone is not a useful objective.
Sources
Show us an important page and its image files. We can review purpose, descriptions and embedding, then prioritise the next improvements.
Discuss website images