Image SEO Mistakes That Are Costing You Traffic
You've probably optimized your titles, meta descriptions, and headings, but what about your images? Neglecting image SEO can quietly bleed away rankings, impressions, and clicks. Here are the most common mistakes and how to fix them.
1. Generic Filenames (IMG_1234.jpg)
The Problem: Search engines use filenames as a ranking signal. Generic names like IMG_1234.jpg provide zero context about your image content.
The Solution: Use descriptive, keyword-rich filenames that describe what's in the image. For example, use red-wooden-chair.jpg instead of IMG_1234.jpg.
2. Missing Alt-Text
The Problem: Alt-text is essential for both accessibility and SEO. Without it, your images won't rank in Google Images, won't appear in rich snippets, and screen readers can't describe them to visually impaired users.
The Solution: Write concise, descriptive alt-text for every image. Keep it under 125 characters and describe what's actually in the image without keyword stuffing.
3. Oversized File Sizes
The Problem: Large image files slow down page load times, negatively impacting Core Web Vitals and search rankings. Google explicitly uses page speed as a ranking factor.
The Solution: Compress images before uploading and use modern formats like WebP or AVIF. Aim for images under 100KB for standard web use. Tools like TinyPNG, Squoosh, or ImageOptim can help.
4. Ignoring Lazy-Loading
The Problem: Loading all images immediately increases initial page weight and time-to-interactive, hurting your Core Web Vitals scores.
The Solution: Implement native lazy-loading with loading="lazy" on images below the fold. This defers loading until users scroll near them.
5. Skipping Captions and Context
The Problem: Google uses surrounding text to understand image context. Images dropped in without relevant text nearby miss ranking opportunities.
The Solution: Add descriptive captions below images and ensure the surrounding paragraph text relates to the image content. This reinforces topical relevance.
6. No Structured Data for Images
The Problem: Without structured data markup, your images miss opportunities to appear in rich results like recipe cards, product listings, and news carousels.
The Solution: Implement appropriate schema markup (Product, Recipe, Article, etc.) that includes image properties. This helps search engines understand your content type.
7. Forgetting Mobile Experience
The Problem: Images that don't scale properly on mobile devices create poor user experience and hurt mobile-first indexing rankings.
The Solution: Use responsive image techniques with srcset and sizes attributes to serve appropriately sized images for each device.
Takeaway
Image SEO isn't optional. Small mistakes like generic filenames or missing alt-text add up to lost visibility and weaker rankings. The good news: most fixes are simple and pay off quickly.
Instead of slogging through it by hand, tools like namethispic automate filenames and alt-text in bulk so you can fix the biggest SEO gaps instantly.