Images do a lot of work on a business website. They show your products, your team and your results, and they break up long text. They can also be the heaviest part of a page and an overlooked source of search traffic. Getting the basics right is mostly about habits: how you name files, how you describe them and how you prepare them before upload.
Start before upload: choose the right image
The best optimisation is choosing a useful image in the first place. Original photos of your work, products or premises carry more value than generic stock imagery. They are more likely to appear in image search, more convincing to visitors and less likely to appear on dozens of other websites.
Crop images to the shape they will actually be displayed in. A wide banner does not need the full height of the original camera shot.
File names that describe the content
Search engines read file names as a small clue to what an image shows. "IMG_4471.jpg" says nothing. "oak-dining-table-extended.jpg" says a lot.
Simple rules:
- Use a few descriptive words separated by hyphens.
- Write in lowercase and avoid spaces or special characters.
- Describe the image, not the page's target keyword.
- Rename before uploading, because changing names afterwards can break links.
Alt text: written for people first
Alt text is a short description read aloud by screen readers and shown when an image fails to load. It is first an accessibility requirement, and secondly a signal to search engines.
How to write it
- Describe what matters about the image in context, in a short sentence or phrase.
- Be specific: "Technician installing a heat pump outside a brick house" beats "heat pump".
- Skip phrases like "image of" or "picture of".
- Do not stuff keywords. If a natural description includes a relevant term, that is enough.
When to leave it empty
Purely decorative images, such as background patterns or divider graphics, should have an empty alt attribute so screen readers skip them. Images containing important text, such as a chart or an infographic, need that information available as text somewhere on the page.
Compression and formats
Heavy images are a common reason pages feel slow, especially on mobile connections. Address it in three ways:
- Resize images to the largest size they will display at, rather than uploading straight from a camera.
- Compress them with a tool or plugin that reduces file size while keeping acceptable quality. Compare before and after visually.
- Use modern formats like WebP or AVIF where your platform supports them, with fallbacks for older browsers.
Vector graphics such as logos and icons are usually best as SVG files, which stay sharp at any size and are often tiny.
Delivery settings that help speed
- Lazy loading delays images below the fold until the visitor scrolls near them. Do not lazy-load the main image at the top of the page.
- Responsive images serve smaller files to smaller screens.
- Width and height attributes reserve space so the layout does not jump while loading.
- A content delivery network serves files from servers closer to visitors.
Many of these are handled by a good theme or a well-built custom website, but they are worth checking.
Surrounding context matters too
Images rank better when placed near relevant text, with a helpful caption where appropriate, on a page that is itself about the subject. Including important images in your sitemap can help them be discovered.
FAQ
Is the image title attribute important for SEO?
It has little effect. Focus on the file name, alt text, caption and surrounding content instead.
Will compressing images make them look bad?
Not if done sensibly. Moderate compression is usually invisible to visitors. Check a few results at full size and adjust the setting if you see artefacts.
Should every product photo have unique alt text?
Ideally yes, describing what differs between shots, such as angle, colour or detail. Repeating the same alt text on every image adds little.
Next step
Need help with product photography, graphics or a faster image setup? Export Apps offers design and visual content alongside technical SEO. Get in touch to discuss your site.