Three-quarters of internet users search for visual content before they shop online. Everybody would like to see the product first before they buy it. Most shoppers regularly look for visual content before making a purchase. You would expect to be able to view the product before you commit. An e-commerce website must create positive experiences for potential customers by using Google images.
Optimized e-commerce images make it easier for search engines and readers to understand your site and help you get your content noticed online. Image optimization is a way to rank images in Google’s Image Search. This can increase traffic to your site and build your brand.
Google Images is a great place to find accurate and up-to-date product information. ADMS provides you tips to optimize product images, so they appear in Google e-commerce searches. We’ll give you an overview of image optimization and a few techniques to get new quality traffic.
The Basics of Image Optimization
Image optimization refers to reducing the file sizes of your images while not sacrificing quality to ensure that your page loads quickly. Image SEO is a technique to get your product images for e-commerce and ornamental images to rank on Google or other image search engines.
Additionally, image optimization is the art of ensuring images look great on mobile and desktop without slowing down web performance. It is about creating high-quality images for e-commerce website optimization at small file size. Take note of these three main elements:
- Image file size (JPEG, PNG, vs. WEBP)
- Compression level
- Image height and width
Find the right balance between these elements to increase website performance when using Google images. Longer page load times are associated with higher bounce rates and a shorter average time on the page. An improved user experience and interaction with your site will positively affect search engine rankings. This can increase engagement, conversions, customer retention, and customer retention.
Image Optimization Techniques
Web pages can load faster with image optimization for mobile and web. These improvements make shopping easier. A delay of just two seconds in page speed can cause your bounce rate to increase by 123%. When you optimize your images for e-commerce website rankings, you also improve the browsing experience. Delays as small as one-tenth of a second can be detected by visitors and interrupt their thought processes.
Images for e-commerce website optimization is an excellent way to drive customer acquisition. If your website has not been optimized for Google Image searches, it will be missing out on an excellent opportunity to create additional traffic channels that can generate more sales and expand your brand’s reach.
Here are a few techniques on how to use Google images to optimize your e-commerce website:
1. Master the SEO Basics for Images
Optimizing your images allows Google to match them with relevant search queries. This process is similar to optimizing web pages for traditional search results. Google considers page or website authority and page specificity when displaying images for search keywords. Images on product pages will rank higher than images on category pages because they are more relevant to the search terms being searched.
Optimize your images using these tips:
- Name your image files. Be descriptive and relevant to the image and page it is on. For example, if you had an image of a waving American flag, you should give the image a name like waving-american-flag.jpg rather than leaving a default filename like IMG-01234.jpg.
- Add descriptive alt text. Alt text is essential for visibility and SEO. It also helps users understand the image’s purpose. It is important to include a descriptive phrase in an image’s alt field if you want it to rank high.
- Include captions. Captions allow the visitor to grasp the context of the image quickly. Google e-commerce sites, and you’ll find that captions offer additional opportunities for adding relevant keywords to the image. Captions below images are read an average of 300% more than the body text. If you don’t use them or do not use them correctly, you will miss out on a great opportunity to engage with many readers.
- Implement schema markup or structured data. Adding schema markup or structured data to your website defines the content and elements of your website to allow Google to pull them into search results. Search engines will be interested in product schema. This is information such as product name, description, and price.
- Make sure your images are responsive. Mobile devices are increasingly used every year. Therefore, it is vital that your website and images are both responsive and can resize appropriately depending on the size of your screen. Google considers responsiveness a ranking factor. It creates a better user experience for those who prefer to use their mobile devices.
- Create an image sitemap. An images sitemap is an extension to your XML sitemap. It helps Google find images faster on your site. This is particularly important in today’s world, where websites use increasing amounts of Javascript.
- Examine the content surrounding the image. The content should be closely related to the image. This content will help Google place your image in relevant search results.
2. Leverage User-Generated Content
To increase trust and conversions, harness the power of user-generated content.
Connecting with your audience is key to building a brand and increasing sales. This connection is possible with user-generated content. User-generated content is a great way to build your brand. It attracts new customers by showing others how they use your product and leaving positive reviews. Encourage customers to upload their photos (with your products) on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Then, repurpose the content on your product pages and checkout pages.
3. Include Product Info in Google Images & Google Search
E-commerce images should come with accurate information about the products. This information should be visible in Google Search and Google Images. You can update product information in real-time with the recent modifications to Google’s product feeds to match relevant queries from buyers or high intent searchers. The ranking of product information, such as images, is determined based on how relevant it is to the search queries provided by the user.
Recent changes have been made to Google product feeds. These updates allow you to instantly update your product information to match related searches from buyers or high intent searchers. Retail brands will benefit from this new Google expansion. This is also important for marketers who want to correctly display product information, such as images, in real-time.
4. Compress Images
One of the first things to understand about how to use Google images is that image optimization is not complete without compressing images. It doesn’t make sense to load large photos on your web server if you only need a small version on the page. Google e-commerce sites usually use Tiny PNG to compress images and speed up image loading.
Many hosting platforms also offer CDN services to speed up delivery. Optimized file sizes will improve your chances of indexing Google Images.
Drive More Traffic to Your Site With ADMS
Keeping up with the latest trends to grow your company digitally does not have to be a challenge. With the ever-changing developments in the internet world, e-commerce website owners must adapt to new technologies and build strategies that take advantage of emerging opportunities like optimizing product images for e-commerce. Competitors will catch up if you remain stagnant.
If you want to learn more about how to use Google images for your site, contact our team for a more in-depth strategy that will increase your online presence. We at Advanced Digital Media Services would love to talk about our SEO Services in Denver and how we can help you grow your business.
