How to get more traffic through the images in your blog post

Images are an important component of your blog post because they add interest, often reinforcing your written message.  They’re also a way to attract the search engines to your site.

When you upload a photo to your blog, most blog systems will give you the option of adding an alternative title. Often the existing title, if you’re importing a photo you’ve found on Flickr for example, is just a string of numbers.

I’ve tended to skip over this step, but won’t anymore, after hearing Ross Dunn’s SEO presentation to our Social Media Club last night.

The problem according to Ross is that a string of numbers is not search engine friendly.

You’re better off to use a more descriptive title such as:

• image of man reading newspaper, or
• picture of person at computer.

There’s a much greater chance that this will get picked up by sites such as Google.  And in addition to the SEO benefits of a descriptive title,  visitors to your site who have images turned off will appreciate it, as will those who use assistive technology to surf the net.

Use a title that’s meaningful, and don’t stuff it with keywords.

With your images appropriately titled, people searching for specific images may end up coming to your site. If it’s inviting and your popular posts are easy to find, there’s a good chance these passersby may stay and look around.

Good luck, and I hope this gets your blog some additional traction.

Photo credit: pedrosimoes7

About these ads