In it Chris outlines how to optimize images that you might use on your blog to increase the chances of them being highly ranked in Google Image Search.
Speaking from personal experience – the optimization tips works and I would recommend following his advice.
In short – make sure that before you upload an image that you name it with relevant keywords for your post and that you use the ‘alt’ attribute (again with relevant keywords – I make them the same as my image name) when adding your code.
Now some people might say that traffic from Google Image Search doesn’t ‘convert’ in terms of becoming loyal or in terms of revenue.
My experience is that this is not true for a few reasons:
- CPM Ads – when you select an image using Google Image Search you not only see the image but the site it comes from . This creates an impression (or page view) which is counted in your CPM ads.
- Non CPM Ads – I was of the opinion that other types of ads wouldn’t see much of an increase from Google Image Search traffic – however a year ago I saw something that made me think twice about this. I was involved on a blog at that time that saw over 90% of it’s traffic arrive from Image searches. My assumption was that this wouldn’t make much from AdSense – but was surprised to see that it converted quite well. This one off site could have been a freak of nature – but to me it showed made me realize that it is possible to earn money from non CPM ads from Image Search Traffic.
- Loyal Readers – On the same site I saw (over a period of time) the conversion of Image Search Traffic into a loyal readership. When people arrived on the site looking for images they obviously saw content that they found compelling enough to read more of (beyond the images).
I suspect that traffic from Google Image Search doesn’t convert as well as other traffic – however at some levels traffic is traffic and getting eyeballs on your blog via any means gives you the chance of ‘conversion’ (what ever that might mean for your particular site).
But Wait There’s More
I should also add that many SEO experts that I’ve read believe that the technique that Chris outlines will also help with SEO in Google Search (and other search engines).
Having the keywords of your post appear in your image tags is just another small onsite SEO factor that tells Google what your post is about. While it might not be as powerful as other techniques it all adds up and is a good habit to get into when using images.
Found via Fitness Mantra
