Image SEO Ranking Factors That Actually Matter

There are countless pieces of advice floating around the internet about best SEO practices for images and what to focus on. We are here to define the only image SEO ranking factors you need to care about and debunk the rest.

SEO Image Checklist

If you would like to save time and be more efficient, we have compiled a free SEO image checklist for your reference below. Make sure to also bookmark this blog so you can visit it anytime you need.

No. 1 SEO Recommended Image File Formats: Best Way To Save An Image For SEO

Generally, Webp is regarded as the current best format for site speed and file size. But many users prefer PNG and JPG due to better image compatibility and chance of indexation. 

However, the best way to save an Image for SEO is by resizing the image to match desired placements and compressing as needed.

Continue reading to learn more about image SEO best practices so you can start seeing real-time movement in your SERP rankings using easily trackable factors you can verify.

Best Practices For Naming Images

Image file names should clearly explain what the image is about and should not involve any keywords that aren’t relevant to the page with the image. If your image shows two general contractors conducting a roof replacement in Lancaster, PA, then you could name the image something like: “2-contractors-performing-roof-replacement-in-lancaster-pa.jpg.” 

This not only allows Google to understand what the image is about, but it also gives you a chance to localize the image and support your local SEO. Because you’re accurately describing the location in which the photo was taken, it can potentially lead to increased relevancy in search results.

Naming the same image something like: “best roof replacement near me lancaster pa roof replacement contractors.jpg” does not describe any action of what’s going on in the image, causing Google to de-prioritize your photo for spam since it doesn’t accurately describe what has been captured. What it can do, however, is most likely to pick up on the fact that numerous keywords are present in an unnatural way.

For multiple images on the same page, you can keep the same naming convention, and just add a number onto each image, as long as it is natural and not “spammy” or “keyword stuffed”. 

Natural examples:

•  “2-contractors-performing-roof-replacement-in-lancaster-pa-1.jpg”
• “2-contractors-performing-roof-replacement-in-lancaster-pa-2.jpg”

“Unnatural” examples:

• “Best-roof-replacement-near-me-in-lancaster-pa-roofing-services-roofing-1.jpg”
• “Best-roof-replacement-company-near-me-in-lancaster-pa-roofing-services-roofing-maintenance-2.jpg”

Ideally, your images should also be organized and easy to recall. Naming images after the primary keyword may be advisable as well. But ensure those images are used only for that page or post.

Does Using Other Pages’ Images In Your Website Hurt SEO?

While there may not be a direct consequence, we advise using unique images on each page to help Google better establish relationships between your website pages. Additionally, this helps add a unique layer of freshness to your pages that reused images and stock photos cannot simply match.

One of the greatest builders of trust for new users on a local business’s website is the photos. So, it would be best practice to have a process in place to ensure only the best and original photos are being used across the site overall.

Are duplicate images a ranking factor for SEO? The answer is, it depends. Low-quality, poorly described images can appear spammy to Google, but properly optimized images help with crawling and accessibility.

How To Write Alt Text For Images In Seo

Alt image text should accurately reflect what the image is about, while also including details that help build further context for accessibility crawlers.

For SEO, you can include the location of where the image is taking place if it’s on a location page and that image is unique to this page. This could definitely help improve relevance and rankings in your local area when done correctly.

Examples:

• “Women’s pickleball practice at Long’s Park in Lancaster, PA Feb 2025”
• “Air Jordan 5 Retro Black Metallic Reimagined side profile view”
• “Customer browsing carrots in produce aisle of Stauffers in Mount Joy, PA”

Ultimately, image alt text is your chance to describe exactly what an image is about so anyone or anything trying to read the image without visual capabilities can properly understand.

Geotagging Images For SEO

Our latest consensus is that geotagging images (embedding location metadata in EXIF data) does not directly influence rankings in Google Search. Google has stated that they do not use EXIF data as a ranking factor. However, there may be indirect benefits:

• Local SEO: Providing location information in EXIF data made more of a difference in the past few years than it does now. There is evidence that it was once helpful to include, even if it isn’t as much anymore.

• Image Search & Metadata: While Google does not currently use EXIF data directly for rankings, it can sometimes display EXIF metadata in image search results, which may help with user engagement.

• User Experience & Context: Geotagging can provide more context for users and image accessibility tools; especially in travel, real estate, and local business industries.

SEO Image Schema

Google Image Search primarily relies on text-based signals like surrounding text, alt tags, and page context​. However, image schema can help improve discoverability by providing clearer metadata for crawling.

If you want to use schema markup effectively, here are a few use cases you can use to do so.

Use ImageObject schema in JSON-LD format:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "ImageObject",
  "contentUrl": "https://example.com/product-image.jpg",
  "name": "Nike Air Max 2024",
  "description": "A pair of Nike Air Max 2024 running shoes in red and black.",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://example.com/product-thumb.jpg"
}

For an eCommerce website, add Product schema:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Nike Air Max 2024",
  "image": "https://example.com/product-image.jpg",
  "description": "A lightweight running shoe with improved cushioning.",
  "brand": {
    "@type": "Brand",
    "name": "Nike"
  },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "120.00",
    "priceCurrency": "USD"
  }
}

But, at the end of the day, image relevancy will always be the top factor in determining what images are shown by Google.

Recommended Image Sizes For SEO

Unfortunately, there is not a “one-size-fits-all” for sizing images that magically makes them work for all desired placements of various shapes and orientations.

However, there are some guidelines we can follow on a case-by-case basis that may require adjusting as needed. They are the following:

1. Best Resolution By Image Type

Image Type	Recommended Size
Blog/Article Images	1200 x 628 px (Good for Google Discover)
E-commerce Product Images	1000 x 1000 px (Ensure zoom capability)
Hero/Banner Images	1920 x 1080 px or 1280 x 720 px (for full-width)
Thumbnail Images	150 x 150 px (For previews, smaller sizes are fine)

2. Best Aspect Ratios For Image SEO

Google Images often prefers standard aspect ratios (like 4:3 or 16:9).

• Best aspect ratios:
  • 4:3 (Most common for photos, natural look)
  • 16:9 (Best for widescreen & featured images)
  • 1:1 (Square, good for product images & social media)

Avoid extreme aspect ratios (e.g., very tall and narrow images), as they may be cropped in search results.

3. Use Responsive Sizing For Images

You can make images responsive using CSS so they adapt to different screen sizes.

Use CSS for flexible sizing:

img {
    max-width: 100%;
    height: auto;
}

Serve multiple image sizes using or srcset:

<picture>
  <source srcset="image-large.jpg" media="(min-width: 1200px)">
  <source srcset="image-medium.jpg" media="(min-width: 768px)">
  <img src="image-small.jpg" alt="Optimized Image">
</picture>

This should help ensure fast loading on mobile while maintaining high-quality imagery on desktop.

4. Optimize Image File Size With Compression

Google ranks faster pages higher, so keep images lightweight:

• Ideal file size:
  • ≤150KB for general images
  • ≤300KB for high-detail images (e.g., product photos)

✅ To help, we gathered our favorite choices for online image compression tools:

• TinyPNG / TinyJPG (Web-based, simple)
• Squoosh (Google’s image optimizer)
• ImageOptim (Mac tool for lossless compression)

5. Use Next-Gen Formats When Possible (WebP, AVIF, JPEG XL)

Although many users online still use PNG and JPG/JPEG, Google recommends switching to next-gen image formats for speed:

Format	Advantages	When to Use
WebP	30% smaller than JPEG, supported by all modern browsers	Best general-purpose format
AVIF	50%+ smaller than PNG/JPEG, excellent for detailed images	Best for high-resolution images
JPEG XL	Superior quality at low file sizes, supports transparency	Future-proof, but limited browser support

If you still find yourself having speed issues using JPEG/PNG, consider converting them to WebP.

6. Use Lazy Loading For Faster Page Speed

Lazy loading defers image loading until the user scrolls to them, which may help improve your page speed.
Add loading=”lazy” to images:

<img src="image.jpg" alt="Example Image" loading="lazy">

SEO Experts In Lancaster, PA

Using best practices for image SEO from sources such as Google’s official documentation should help ensure proper compliance and could help post organic performance when done correctly.

Interested in learning more about strategy and implementation? Tower Marketing uses efficient strategies to audit and optimize images on a large scale and quickly start seeing a difference in the SERP.