Google Updates Image SEO Best Practices: 5 Key Takeaways
Google has recently updated its image SEO best practices, emphasizing the importance of consistent URLs for images across your website. This change aims to optimize crawl efficiency and enhance overall site performance. Here are five ways to make sure your site images are pulling their SEO weight for you:
- Use consistent image URLs across your site. Google now recommends referencing the same image with the same URL across multiple pages. This practice allows the search algorithm to cache and reuse the image without needing to request it multiple times, conserving your site’s crawl budget.
- What is crawl budget, you ask? Crawl budget refers to the number of pages Googlebot will crawl on your site within a given timeframe. Using different URLs for the same image can lead to redundant crawling, wasting valuable crawl resources that could be better spent indexing new or updated content and boosting your visibility in the SERPs.
- Implement a standardized image URL structure. To maintain consistency, audit your current image URLs and establish a standardized structure. Update your website templates and content management systems to ensure that images are consistently referenced by the same URLs across all pages.
- Monitor your crawl stats. You can regularly check your crawl stats in Google Search Console to identify any issues related to image crawling. Monitoring these stats can help you assess the effectiveness of your image URL strategy and make necessary adjustments.
- Recognize the broader impact on your site’s SEO. This update underscores that image optimization extends beyond alt text and file names. Efficient image URL management contributes to better crawl efficiency, which can positively impact your site’s overall SEO performance.
At ASTRALCOM, we specialize in optimizing digital strategies, including image SEO, to enhance your website’s visibility and performance. Our team can help you implement these best practices to ensure your site meets the latest SEO standards.
