5 SEO tips for using photos in Squarespace
There are many variables that affect your success with search engines. In this blog post, we provide tips on the use of photos and small adjustments to photos that will make your website more visible in search results.
1 . Name of image file
It's important to name the photo you want to publish on the website. The name of the image file will help the search engine to rank the website more easily by retrieving relevant keywords in the file name.
File names such as 123bilde.jpg do not tell search engines what is depicted. So a good rule is to save the image with a name that is descriptive of what you see in the image, but keep it as concise as possible. Name image files with lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens as spaces. Image names should be natural, so don't include all relevant keywords. Choose those that are relevant and natural to integrate.
To add names to photos in Squarespace:
Find the relevant image and click Edit.
Update the Filename fieldin the Content tab.
Click Apply.
2. Add alternative text (alt-text) to boost important keywords
Alt text is the description that is displayed on the screen if the image is not uploaded. Alt text helps search engines to index and rank websites in search results. It is also highly relevant in terms of accessibility, as users with screen readers will be able to read this alternative text.
The alternative text should be a maximum of 125 characters and specifically describe what is in the image.
To add alt text to images in Squarespace:
Find the relevant image and click Edit.
Enter alt text in the Filename field. If you do not add a caption, the text in the description field will be transferred as alt text. You can find this field under the image where it says: write a caption here.
Click Save.
3. Use banner images with the right size
Banner images can be difficult to get right, and since it's the first thing visitors see, it's important that it looks professional. Think carefully about which photo you want to use, as this often sets the tone for the website.
Important things to keep in mind are first and foremost size. Try to save your banner image as a landscape image with a size of 1500 x 1000px to achieve the best result. The width of the image should not exceed 2500 pixels, as this will affect the speed of the website.
4. Choose the right size for your images
Optimizing the file size can make a big difference in loading time and overall first impression of the website. Our tip is to keep the file size below 500 KB.
5. Optimization of image
A website that loads too slowly can damage SEO and click-through rate (CTR), which can also mean lower conversions. Google recommends a loading time of less than 3 seconds.
Check the speed of your website here.
Common search engine algorithms scan for how quickly a page loads, so it's important to optimize your images. The tips below will not only help you improve your SEO, but people will also stay longer on your website.
Upload images as JPEG: Upload photos in jpg format, not png. The reason for this is that PNG files take up more space digitally than a JPEG file, but have higher quality for editing.
Do not upload too many images: The amount of images you have on your website can affect the loading time. A tip is a maximum of 3-5 images in each gallery.
Compress images: Downscaling images to a smaller size can help your website load faster and keep visitors on your website longer. Each image should be 300 kb or smaller. Get a tool that makes it easy to compress photos, such as JPEG Mini or TinyJPG.
Finally, we would like to mention that a strong SEO strategy contains several measures and variables that can influence more organic traffic and higher rankings in search results. In our experience, you can have a successful SEO strategy even if you don't necessarily implement all the tactics, but you should try to implement as many as possible for the best results. See our checklist for SEO in Squarespace.
