18 Jul 4 Helpful Tips to Optimise Images for SEO
Updated: 26 August 2025
There’s more to images than making your website and content visually appealing to users. Well-optimised images are great for SEO and can help your content stand out against a sea of websites that may not have thought to do the same.
The best part? It’s super simple and can help you gain more traffic, leading to more conversions. Faster site speed, improved user experience and accessibility are just a few added benefits of why image optimisation should be included in your SEO checklist.
Here are a few tips to help optimise your images:
Resize and format your images
Images should be formatted and scaled down for the web. Images with higher resolution and larger dimensions will slow down your webpage, leaving users feeling frustrated and ready to click away. The key is to find a balance between size and quality, and choosing the correct image format can be a great help. A tip to remember is that JPEGs are smaller in size and retain image quality, while PNG images are larger with slightly higher quality.
Optimise image file names
Adding an image title provides users and search engines with a bit more information. Boost your SEO by labelling your image file with relevant keywords, but make sure it’s done in a way that describes your image well.
“Since search engines can’t actually see an image, they depend on file names and other details to understand what it’s showing. Using the right names not only makes your images more discoverable in Google Image Search, but it also gives search engines useful content,” explains our SOMS’ SEO Expert, Geoff.
Use alt tags
While users may understand that they’re looking at a picture of a boy eating an ice-cream, search engine crawlers need a little extra help. The alt text is a written description of an image that not only serves as a way for Google to index your images correctly, but can help visually impaired users too. According to Geoff, “it’s also helpful when your site hits a technical snag as it can give context to your image when it doesn’t download. This ensures users know what should be there.”
“When it comes to SEO, alt tags help search engines understand what your images are about,” he explains.
Ensure it’s mobile-friendly
Did you know that more than half the internet’s traffic comes from mobile? It should come as no surprise then that your images need to be optimised for mobile, which can be done by opting for a website layout that’s responsive on various mobile devices, along with resizing and formatting your images. If you’re not sure, check out Google’s mobile-friendly test.
While there’s nothing like having good quality content to get your website ranking, adding image optimisation to your SEO to-do list can help give you a tiny push in the right direction.
SOMS is a Digital Marketing Company that’s ready to help you optimise your images and your digital marketing strategy. Browse our SEO Services or get in touch with us today!