SEO and photography: Why alt texts and file names are important
For photographers, a professional website is the showcase for their work. However, even the best images are lost on the internet if they are not optimised correctly. Two often underestimated aspects of technical SEO are alt texts and file names. They play a key role in increasing the visibility of photos - both for search engines and for users.
In this article, you will learn how SEO and photography go hand in hand and why these two factors are so crucial. You will also learn how to optimise SEO and which other measures can improve image SEO.
What are alt texts and why are they important?
The alt text (alternative text) describes the content of an image for people who cannot see it and helps search engines to understand the context of the image. It also appears as a placeholder if an image is not loaded for technical reasons.
Advantages of alt texts:
- Accessibility: Alt texts ensure that users with visual impairments can also understand the content of the website. They are an important part of an inclusive website.
- Better ranking: Search engines such as Google use alt texts to analyse the content of an image and rank it better in the image search.
- Increased traffic: Well-optimised alt texts can lead to more users reaching the website via the image search. This offers photographers an additional opportunity to reach potential customers.
How do you write a good alt text?
- Be precise: Describe what can be seen in the picture without going into detail.
- Use keywords: Place relevant keywords that match the image and the target group.
- Avoid redundancy: Terms such as "image of" or "photo of" are superfluous.
Example:
- Bad: "Picture of a beach at sunset"
- Good: "Sunset on the beach of Es Trenc, Mallorca, with sailing boat in the background"
SEO and photography - Why file names are crucial
File names offer another way of describing the content of an image. Standard names such as "DSC_1234.jpg" or "IMG_5678.jpg" tell neither the user nor the search engine anything about the content of the image. Instead, file names should always be meaningful and relevant.
Best practices for file names:
- Descriptive and concise: The file name should describe the image content as precisely as possible.
- Use hyphens: Words in the file name should be separated by hyphens, as search engines can interpret this better (e.g. "portrait-woman-mallorca.jpg").
- Insert keywords: Relevant keywords should not be missing here either.
Example:
- Original: DSC_5678.jpg
- Optimised: portrait-business-photography-mallorca.jpg
SEO and photography:
Further tips on image SEO
In addition to alt texts and file names, there are other measures to optimise images for search engines:
- Optimise image sizes: Large files can significantly slow down the loading time of the website. Tools such as TinyPNG or ImageOptim help to compress images without affecting the quality too much.
- Select suitable formats: Modern formats such as WebP reduce the file size while maintaining the same image quality and are supported by most browsers.
- Use title attributes: These offer an additional opportunity to store information about the image. They are particularly useful for informing users about the content when they move the mouse over an image.
- Insert structured data: Markups such as schema.org enable search engines to better understand the context of images. This increases the chance that images will appear prominently in search results.
- Include images in the XML sitemap: This helps search engines to index images faster and recognise their relevance for certain search queries.
Why is this particularly important for photographers in connection with SEO?
As a photographer, you are competing online with countless other images. Whether potential customers come to your website or go to the competition often depends on how well your images are optimised. A well thought-out SEO strategy for images can be the key to standing out from the crowd.
Search engines such as Google are getting better at recognising what can be seen in images, but without the support of alt texts, file names and other measures, a lot of potential remains unused. Images should not only be aesthetically impressive, but also technically perfect.
Small changes with a big impact
Optimising alt texts and file names is a relatively simple but effective step to increase the visibility of images. Together with other measures such as optimising the image size or using structured data, you can ensure that your website not only looks good, but can also be found.
Your next step: Go through all the images on your website and adjust alt texts and file names. It may be time-consuming at first, but the long-term effect on your SEO ranking and reach will be worth it.
8. public holidays and seasonal campaigns
Use public holidays or seasonal events to get creative. Such themes offer you the opportunity to adapt your content to current events.
Ideas:
- Post pictures with seasonal motifs (e.g. autumn decorations or a Christmas tree).
- Share a year-end message to thank your customers.
- Launch a seasonal discount campaign and advertise it with appealing visuals.
Why important: This content appears approachable and shows that your company is active and relevant.
9. storytelling: tell the story of your brand
Use social media to tell the story of your company. Show where you come from, what values you stand for and what drives you. Stories make your brand tangible and emotional.
This is how it works:
- Share pictures of milestones in the company's history.
- Post a video that shows how it all began.
- Tell the story behind your most successful product.
Why important: Stories stay in the mind and help your brand to stand out.
10. interactive content: Involve your community
Interactive formats promote loyalty to your community and ensure more engagement. You can use surveys, quizzes or challenges to actively involve your followers.
Ideas:
- Start a survey ("Which design do you like better?").
- Create a quiz about your product or industry.
- Post a challenge where followers can create their own posts.
Tip: Interactive content works particularly well on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
Your content strategy for social media
With these 10 tips, you can make your social media channels varied and professional. The content will not only help you to increase your reach, but also build trust with your target group. Particularly important: high-quality images and videos are a must in order to present your content in a visually appealing and professional way.
Do you want to take your social media content to the next level? I offer professional shoots in Mallorca and Frankfurt - from team photos to creative product shots. Get in touch with me and let's realise your vision together!
Or read more about my best photo spots and discover how I can perfectly showcase your company.