Image SEO – Keyword stuffing or Not?

[AnthonyKBG]

Hey Everyone,

First of all Happy new year to all of you. Quick question regarding Image Seo.

I am building my web design/ graphic design website in Wordpress. On the portfolio page I will have clickable image thumbnails for both web and graphic design to showcase my work.
I fully want to SEO optimize the images, so I used important keywords for the titles, alt texts, captions, EXIF datas etc… (I use 4-8 keywords for each image)

My question is, if I optimize let say all the “graphic design” images (approx 30-40 images) the exact same way with the same keywords, same all texts, same titles on the same (portfolio) page, will it dilute the SEO juice for those keywords? Would Google consider it as keyword stuffing? Or it is a legit way of keyword distribution since they are individual images.


If it's not a good idea, than what's the best solution to SEO optimize the images on the same page?



Other question:

What is the better SEO solution for posting the images:

• – you click the image thumbnail and it opens up in a lightbox to display original size
• – you click the image thumbnail and it opens up in a new page where you have to click the image again to open up in a lightbox to display original size (wordpress offers this solution)

The 2nd option obviously has more opportunity to add keywords and additional content, but would it be worth it? Since this way it takes more clicks to get to the images for my clients.

If you have ideas or additional info about this topic please let me know. I’ll greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

[yukon]

I would skip the lightbox.

Think of the images just like you would an internal text link (with Anchor text).

I'm not sure I understood everything you asked, are you trying to rank the sites theme images or blog post images?

Don't worry about theme images, if that's what your asking, unless it's the header image.

Also, don't be afraid to create external backlinks to any images your trying to rank (it works).

[paulgl]

Yukon and I have gotten into spats over images and keywords in the past,
and I'm not revisiting that.

Here is a good google guide:
Images - Webmaster Tools Help

The text on a page puts the image in context, but the best thing is what you
name the file. But don't keyword stuff. These are the best lines:

The page the image is on, and the content around the image (including any captions or image titles), provide search engines with important information about the subject matter of your image. For example, if you have a picture of a polar bear on a page about home-grown tomatoes, you'll be sending a confused message to the search engines about the subject matter of polarbear.jpg.

Wherever possible, it's a good idea to make sure that images are placed near the relevant text. In addition, we recommend providing good, descriptive titles and captions for your images.

There is a lot of debate on alt text. I am of the mind to believe that the alt
attribute is helpful to google. Some say only if the image is in a hyperlink.

You want a correct alt attribute for your visitors, as well as search engines.

I'm including the Matt Cutts video here, only to irritate Yukon. (not really!)

YouTube - Matt Cutts Discusses the...

I would surround the images with context text, and name the image files
appropriately. Then it matters not what happens when someone clicks a
thumbnail. Unless you want to create a separate webpage for each
image, complete with page title, text, etc. that a click on a thumnail would
go to. Include a link back to the main page, of course.

#1 tip: name your images correctly, for example: instead of img0098098.jpg,
if it's a woman by a water waterfall, you name it woman-by-waterfall.jpg.
You should name the thumbnail something lihe woman-by-waterfall-small.jpg

Make sure that your thumbnails give regular hyperlinks with text, not a fancy
script or flash. You want the larger images to be easily indexed.

Paul

[AnthonyKBG]

Thanks for the quick reply and tips yukon!

I am talking about a static Portfolio page (not a blog post) in Wordpress where I post all of my previous work (images) in Graphic Design.
So imagine a static page with the Title: "Graphic Design" and 30 clickable image thumbnails in rows (5 columns) below it.

They are all SEO optimized the exact same way, with the same keywords, titles, alt texts etc. since i want them to rank for the term "graphic design mycity"...

***
e.g.

title tags:
"graphic-design-mycity-1"
"graphic-design-mycity-2"
"graphic-design-mycity-3"
and so on...

keywords:
graphic design mycity; mycity graphic design; graphic design firms mycity; graphic design company mycity;

alt text:
Graphic design in MyCity by MyCompany.
***

...and i optimize all the "graphic design" images like this. I hope you get the idea.

My question, is this solution good or bad for SEO? Would it dilute my SEO Juice for my keywords? Would Google consider it keyword stuffing?

[yukon]

Originally Posted by AnthonyKBG

Thanks for the quick reply and tips yukon!

I am talking about a static Portfolio page (not a blog post) in Wordpress where I post all of my previous work (images) in Graphic Design.
So imagine a static page with the Title: "Graphic Design" and 30 clickable image thumbnails in rows (5 columns) below it.

They are all SEO optimized the exact same way, with the same keywords, titles, alt texts etc. since i want them to rank for the term "graphic design mycity"...

***
e.g.

title tags:
"graphic-design-mycity-1"
"graphic-design-mycity-2"
"graphic-design-mycity-3"
and so on...

keywords:
graphic design mycity; mycity graphic design; graphic design firms mycity; graphic design company mycity;

alt text:
Graphic design in MyCity by MyCompany.
***

...and i optimize all the "graphic design" images like this. I hope you get the idea.

My question, is this solution good or bad for SEO? Would it dilute my SEO Juice for my keywords? Would Google consider it keyword stuffing?

The way I would set this up would be (example):

1) Index page with 9 thumbnail images (3x3)

2) Each of the 9 thumbnail images hyperlink points to an individual large image page, that has on-page seo for that images keyword.

Note:
SEO the thumbnail image to match the keywords on the individual large image Page Title.

I would also include zip codes with those city names. You might want to include surrounding area towns & zip codes, related text will help.

Pick your best targeted keywords & put them in the Index Page Title, & , <h1> tag (only a single h1 tag on the Index page).

Wrap the 9 thumbnail images (index page) in <h2> tags, do alt-text, & title-text.

Now, on the individual large image page...

Only have a single <h1> tag (again), this time wrap the image in the <h1> tag with appropiate alt-text for the image.

Again, external high PR backlinks pointing to the Large image & Large image individual page will help.

I wouldn't name any two images the same, instead do something like:


"graphic-design-mycity-12345" <--- (12345 = zip code)
"graphic-design-mycity-23456" <--- (23456 = surrounding area zip code)
"graphic-design-mycity-34567" <--- (34567 = surrounding area zip code)

Search engines don't rank exact content very well, give them some related text.

[AnthonyKBG]

Thanks Paul for the reply,

I am not an SEO expert and not sure if this is a viable option, but my intention with Image SEO is to capture targeted traffic, people who are looking for Graphic Design companies in my city, not someone who's looking for cat picture. It seemed logical to utilize this option as well to grow my site's overall SEO punch in my keywords.

Question is, if e.g. all my thumbnail captions are named to:
"Graphic Design MyCity 1"
"Graphic Design MyCity 2"
"Graphic Design MyCity 3"
...
"Graphic Design MyCity 35"
and so on...
...would this be considered keyword stuffing, since it is on the same page?

also can you explain more what exactly did you mean by:
"Make sure that your thumbnails give regular hyperlinks with text, not a fancy
script or flash. You want the larger images to be easily indexed."

Thanks!

[yukon]

Originally Posted by AnthonyKBG

also can you explain more what exactly did you mean by:
"Make sure that your thumbnails give regular hyperlinks with text, not a fancy
script or flash. You want the larger images to be easily indexed."

Thanks!

Google reads plain text very well, so that is the best option IMO.

The best way to learn how Google handles images is to look at the Google Cache (text only version).

Example...

Wikipedia Google Cache for a large image page.

1) Original page here

2) Google Cache of the same page here

See how well the Alt-text stands out (screenshot below) in the Google Cache (text only). Wikipedia just happens to name their alt text with a .jpg that really is the Alt-text & not the image name, that is showing up in the Google Cache.

Stick with simple html methods, things like flash don't work very well.

[AnthonyKBG]

Originally Posted by yukon

The way I would set this up would be (example):

1) Index page with 9 thumbnail images (3x3)

2) Each of the 9 thumbnail images hyperlink points to an individual large image page, that has on-page seo for that images keyword.

Note:
SEO the thumbnail image to match the keywords on the individual large image Page Title.

I would also include zip codes with those city names. You might want to include surrounding area towns & zip codes, related text will help.

Pick your best targeted keywords & put them in the Index Page Title, & , <h1> tag (only a single h1 tag on the Index page).

Wrap the 9 thumbnail images (index page) in <h2> tags, do alt-text, & title-text.

Now, on the individual large image page...

Only have a single <h1> tag (again), this time wrap the image in the <h1> tag with appropiate alt-text for the image.

Again, external high PR backlinks pointing to the Large image & Large image individual page will help.

I wouldn't name any two images the same, instead do something like:


"graphic-design-mycity-12345" <--- (12345 = zip code)
"graphic-design-mycity-23456" <--- (23456 = surrounding area zip code)
"graphic-design-mycity-34567" <--- (34567 = surrounding area zip code)

Search engines don't rank exact content very well, give them some related text.

Thanks Yukon, great tips!

Now my concern is Image SEO vs. User friendliness.

Visitors want info fast. They want to browse through the portfolio as quick as possible. Introducing a new page for each image is definitely a time concern. (50+ images)

Question now is, do I gain enough extra SEO punch from this solution that justifies slower visitor experience?

Is that a reasonable concern?

I don't see competitors, web design companies using Image SEO at all.

[yukon]

Originally Posted by AnthonyKBG

Thanks Yukon, great tips!

Now my concern is Image SEO vs. User friendliness.

Visitors want info fast. They want to browse through the portfolio as quick as possible. Introducing a new page for each image is definitely a time concern. (50+ images)

Question now is, do I gain enough extra SEO punch from this solution that justifies slower visitor experience?

Is that a reasonable concern?

I don't see competitors, web design companies using Image SEO at all.

Can you break that 50+ images into 5 smaller categories?

Example :

1) Business
2) Hobby
3) Travel
4) Technology
5) Gov.

Just some random categories, I'm sure you could come up with something better, maybe sort by price, colors, theme, etc...

[yukon]

Originally Posted by AnthonyKBG

I don't see competitors, web design companies using Image SEO at all.

A lot of people don't take the time to seo images, which makes it that much easier for the rest of us.

When I search for a new Wordpress theme, the first place I go is Google Images.

[AnthonyKBG]

Originally Posted by yukon

A lot of people don't take the time to seo images, which makes it that much easier for the rest of us.

yeah, that's exactly why I'm interested in Image SEO.

Anyway, I'll definitely consider the solution, thanks for your time.


By the way, my favorite Dwight quote is hands down:

"I never smile if I can help it.
Showing one’s teeth is a submission
signal in primates. When someone
smiles at me, all I see is a
chimpanzee begging for its life."

[yukon]

Originally Posted by AnthonyKBG

yeah, that's exactly why I'm interested in Image SEO.

Anyway, I'll definitely consider the solution, thanks for your time.


By the way, my favorite Dwight quote is hands down:

"I never smile if I can help it.
Showing one’s teeth is a submission
signal in primates. When someone
smiles at me, all I see is a
chimpanzee begging for its life."

Ha!

I could watch "The Office" all day.

It's one of those shows that everyone in the cast is hilarious. When was the last time you watched a show & someone put another guys entire personal property into a vending machine, then hands him $20 in nickels to buy it all back! LMAO!!

[coolseo]

Originally Posted by yukon

Also, don't be afraid to create external backlinks to any images your trying to rank (it works).

hey, i wanted to know this...thanks

[TrollFighter]

Keep it simple. No trash lightbox nonsense. And well named images (not more than 4-5 words separated by hypens) should get you some image traffic!

[vegasfitness]

I frequently use Photoshop's multi-process feature to rename all images designated for a particular keyword theme with a numeric digit after the keywords. lasvegas-bootcamp_001, lasvegas-bootcamp_002, etc. That way the page title, page content, alt tags, and images are all on the same keyword theme. After some searching for higher knowledge on this topic of keyword stuffing, I continue to do as I have. Can anyone advise me?

[vegasfitness]

Originally Posted by yukon

A lot of people don't take the time to seo images, which makes it that much easier for the rest of us.

When I search for a new Wordpress theme, the first place I go is Google Images.

So, in other words, you find the appropriate images and rename them for your keywords?

Have you found an automated way to do images, alt tags, and captions?

[yukon]

Originally Posted by vegasfitness

So, in other words, you find the appropriate images and rename them for your keywords?

Have you found an automated way to do images, alt tags, and captions?

No, it's the other way around.

I create all of my own images per blog post, every single blog post gets a single image (about 300x300 px).

The image is 100% related to the entire web page (page title, content, etc...)

I optimize every single page on my sites, that includes images.

Each page gets a single (only 1) root keyword that I promote more than the other related on page keywords. Then I include my Index page keyword after the image page keyword in the ALT-Text.

Example, an image of a red car: alt="Really fast red car - Index-Page-Root-Keyword"

The reason I put the Index Page root keyword at the end of the image Alt is to keep the individual image page/title/keyword at the front (that's the keyword I'm promoting), I still want that Index page root keyword tied to that page also.