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EXIF Data Optimization?

by dconjar
3 replies
  • SEO
    • |
This is a gray/black hat technique that I've never heard anyone talk about.

Image EXIF data manipulation.

I've done it on occasion. Stuffed old, 600+ word articles into image EXIF data descriptions, and 301'd the old content to the new content.

I'm not sure if it had any effect, and I probably won't do it again.

But I can't help but wonder, has anyone else done this before? Were the results positive or negative, or uncertain?
#data #exif #optimization
  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    I've tested EXIF data on my largest site, that has a lot of images (1k+ images) & didn't see anything worthwhile happen in the SERPs.

    Still, you never know If/when Google will make EXIF data important for ranking.

    Right now, ALT text is still one of the most powerful things for ranking images.

    The best thing about ranking thumbnail images in Google organic search is, very few people even try to rank images.
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    • Profile picture of the author aaron86
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      I've tested EXIF data on my largest site, that has a lot of images (1k+ images) & didn't see anything worthwhile happen in the SERPs.

      Still, you never know If/when Google will make EXIF data important for ranking.

      Right now, ALT text is still one of the most powerful things for ranking images.

      The best thing about ranking thumbnail images in Google organic search is, very few people even try to rank images.
      You are right buddy ALT text is still one of the most powerful for ranking a images. I have tried that before and it really works.
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      • Profile picture of the author dconjar
        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        I've tested EXIF data on my largest site, that has a lot of images (1k+ images) & didn't see anything worthwhile happen in the SERPs.

        Still, you never know If/when Google will make EXIF data important for ranking.
        Yeah, a friend of mine attended a black hat conference, and one of the presenters was very enthusiastic about EXIF stuffing.

        I might try it out again, just on existing pages that rank on the first page for certain keywords. See if it causes any statistically significant change to rankings.


        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        The best thing about ranking thumbnail images in Google organic search is, very few people even try to rank images.
        That's true, but I wonder what the commercial value of high image rankings would be. Has image SEO been profitable for you?

        I could imagine it working in a few select niches, but not many. I have some impressive image result rankings for extremely competitive web search keywords, but very few people search Google Images for the keywords.

        And if they do, they typically don't load the website containing the image. I don't think they do, at least. I certainly don't, and I don't recall ever seeing Google Images as a referrer in my analytics.


        Originally Posted by aaron86 View Post

        You are right buddy ALT text is still one of the most powerful for ranking a images. I have tried that before and it really works.
        I've also noticed that a washing machine is still one of the most powerful for doing laundry. I have tried that before and it really works.
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