Is your business website getting little to no traffic, although you’ve included all the relevant keywords, optimized titles, and created content with valuable information? Or you’ve even paid for search engine optimization (SEO) services but still not seeing results?
If so, visual search optimization may be the missing link holding back your business website from reaching its target audience and achieving optimal results.
What is Visual Search?
Before getting into the optimization techniques, it’s essential to understand what visual search is and how it can benefit your website.
Visual search involves using images as a search query to find related information, products, or services on search engines. Instead of typing a keyword into the search bar, users upload an image.
It is an evolutionary step in the search engine algorithm, making it easier and faster for users to find what they need on various sites.
The best part is that businesses from various industries can benefit from visual search optimization.
With that said, let’s learn how you can optimize your website for visual search and improve its ranking:
1. Use High-Quality Images
Visual search works best with high-quality images that are clear and consistent. Make sure to use well-lit, high-resolution photos on your website.
Besides, all the images should look consistent and have the same style throughout your website. This way, users are more likely to recognize them in the search engine results page (SERP) and click through to your website.
Other tricks for visual search optimization include picking the right size and ensuring each product has its unique, relatable image. You can also use high-quality stock photos from online stock photo agencies/platforms.
2. Optimize Your Images
Website speed matters, especially when it comes to visual search. A slow, poorly optimized website will lead to low rankings and fewer visitors. Therefore, you must optimize your images for the web. It includes resizing them to the standard size, compressing them to reduce their size, and using file types and formats generally supported by web browsers.
Besides, use a content delivery network (CDN) to speed up the download times of images and other website files. It will help ensure that your website loads quickly and efficiently, increasing the chances of being found in visual search.
You should also optimize your website’s code, eliminate unnecessary code that could slow down your website, and check for broken links and images.
3. Include Descriptive Image Alt Text
Alt texts are meta tags that tell search engine crawlers what an image is about. It appears when the image fails to load or the user hovers over it with their mouse.
Using descriptive and keyword-rich phrases for each image on your website is essential for optimizing it for visual search. For instance, if you have a photo of a coffee mug on your website, use phrases like “ceramic coffee mug” or “white ceramic mug with a handle” as its alt text. So, when somebody searches for an image of that coffee mug, they will see your website in the search results.
Keep your alt text short and direct, as longer descriptions might not appear on the results page.
4. Write Captions for Your Images
Captions provide an extra layer of context, making it easier for search engines to understand the content of your website and rank it higher in the SERP.
Write descriptive, keyword-rich captions for each image on your website, including the product name, description, and other relevant details. Also, make them easy to read for your readers by avoiding jargon and complex sentences.
For instance, if you’re running an e-commerce website offering shoes, mention shoe type, size, color, and style in the caption. This way, when somebody searches for an image of a specific kind of shoe, they will see your website in the search results.
Place your captions underneath each image for maximum visibility, and keep your captions short, as longer descriptions may not appear in the SERP.
5. Maximize SEO Potential with Structured Data
Structured data is also known as schema markup. It categorizes a website’s content and provides search engine crawlers with valuable information about products, services, and other details.
However, use the correct schema markup for your business website for the best results. Let’s assume you sell products on your website. In that case, you must use Schema Product and include details for each item, such as the product name, description, price, images, etc.
Using the correct schema markup on your website can increase its visibility in search engine results and make it easier for visual searches to find relevant information.
6. Optimize Your Website for Mobile
As more and more people are using their phones to search the web, your website must work properly on those devices. It is one of the best ways to maximize your chances of being found on a visual search.
What you can do:
Scale and compress your images for quick load times. Additionally, you should check if the alt text and captions appear on mobile devices. This way, users can find your website in the visual search results, irrespective of the device they use for searching.
7. Promote Your Content
Once you’re done optimizing your website for visual search, the last step is to promote your content. It means sharing it on visual search platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram and submitting your images to image search engines like Google Images.
You can also use paid search ads (e.g., Google Ads) and display ads (e.g., banner ads) or leverage social media campaigns to promote your content and target a larger audience.
Conclusion:
Visual search is quickly becoming a top trend in digital marketing and for a good reason. It helps customers find what they are looking for faster, increasing the chances that your website will appear in the search results.
To maximize your website’s visibility on visual search engines, include descriptive image alt text, write captions for your images, utilize structured data, and optimize for mobile. Additionally, ensure your images are scaled and compressed for quick loading. Lastly, promote your content on social media or leverage advertising and marketing to tap into a wider audience. These steps can help you get more website traffic, boost sales, and increase your overall visibility.
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
