How to Optimize Gallery Page Images for Google Search

An artist wonders how to get his paintings ranking against photos in Google Search. Find helpful image optimization tips in this Ask an SEO. Advertisement SEJ  »  AskanSEO TonyWright October5,2021 4minread VIPCONTRIBUTORTonyWright CEOatWrightIMC Bio Follow  / October5,2021  /  4minread 219 SHARES 3.1K READS Today’sAskanSEOquestioncomesfromJohnnyinCalifornia,whoasks: “I’manartistwithgallerypagesfullofimagesofmypaintingsandverylittletext.HowdoIgetthosepaintingstorankbetter?I’vealsonoticedthatGoogleranksphotosmuchfasterandbetterthanimagesofpaintings.” I’mnotaveryvisualperson. Justaskmywife. WhenwelookatAirbnblistings,mywifeimmediatelygoesandlooksatthepictures. Iscrollstraightdowntothepropertydescription. MostvisualartistsIknowthinkwordsandfontsareugly. Theyunderstandablywantthevisualstobethestaroftheshow. Forpeoplelikeme,however,justlookingattheprettypicturesisn’tgoingtomakemebuy. WhenI’mlookingforart,Iwantittohaveastory. Iwanttoknowthe“why”behindthepaintingI’mgoingtobuy. GoogleImagesarePrettyCool OneofthecoolestandbiggestsecretsGooglehasisreverseimagesearch. TakeapictureandthrowitintoGoogle,andthroughthemagicoftechnology,Googlefindssimilarimagesandcaneventellyouwheretheimagecamefrom,inmostcases. Thisisparticularlyusefulforthoseofuswhousestockphotography. Weuseittomakesurethatthestockimageweareusingisn’toverlyusedonothersites. Forartists,itcanbeagodsend,aswell. Byplacingimagesofartonyoursite,youcanshowupinsearchesforsimilarimages. Intheoriginalquestion,thereisanassumptionthatphotosrankfasterthanpaintings. I’mnotcompletelysurethatthisassumptionisaccurate. AstheanswertendstobeinSEO,itdepends. Iimaginesomepaintings,particularlyoftheJacksonPollacktypevariety,aremoredifficultforthealgorithmtoclassify–andthereforemaytakelongertobeindexed. Photosareprettyeasy,inmostcases,forGoogletoseeandanalyzewithmodernimagerecognitiontechnology. APictureisWorthaThousandWords–ButSearchersStillNeedtheWords AsgreatasGoogleisatindexingandrecognizingimages,it’sbetteratindexingandunderstandingtext. Ifyouaresellingart,youneedtowriteaboutyourart(orhavesomeoneelsewriteaboutyourart). Awallofimagesrarelysellsverywellonasite–evenanecommercesite. Ifyouwanttogetyourarttorank,youneedtowriteaboutit. Weallcomplainaboutrecipesitesthattelllongstoriesbeforeyougettotheactualingredientlistandinstructions. Butthosesitesrankwellandconvert. Andthankfully,mostofthemnowincludeanavigationbuttontobringyoustraighttotherecipeifyoudon’twanttoreadabouthowgrandmausedtomakethedishbackduringthedepression. Ifdonecorrectly,writingdescriptionsandstoriesaboutthepaintingsyouaresellingwillactuallyincreasenotonlyyourrankingsbutyoursales,aswell. IdefinitelywanttoknowabouttheartI’mbuying–especiallyifthatartcostsalotofmoney. Somakesurethatyou: Useanoptimizedimagefilenameandwritedescriptivealttext. ReadWhyContentIsImportantforSEOtodeepenyourunderstandingofthevalueofuniquecontent. Findawritingprocessthatworksforyousoyoucanwritebetterandfasterdescriptionsofeachpainting. LearnmoreaboutwhatGoogleislookingforinqualitycontenthere. Whenacollectorvisitsagallerytobuyaveryexpensivepieceofart,theyfrequentlywanttomeettheartistandknowmoreaboutthepaintingitself. Understandingwheretheartcomesfromisavaluablepartoftheart-buyingprocess. Andit’salsogreatforgettingapaintingtorankforrelevantkeywordsinGoogle,Bing,andbeyond. MoreResources: The11BestImageSearchEngines 11ImportantImageSEOTipsYouNeedtoKnow TheCompleteGuidetoOn-PageSEO Editor’s note: Ask an SEO isa weekly SEOadvice columnwrittenbysomeoftheindustry’stop SEOexperts,whohavebeenhand-pickedbySearchEngineJournal.Gotaquestionabout SEO? Filloutourform.Youmightseeyouranswerinthenext#AskanSEOpost! 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TonyWright CEOatWrightIMC Iama19-yearveteranofthedigitalmarketingworldwithpreviousexperienceinjournalism,publicrelationsandadvertising.I've...[Readfullbio] ADVERTISEMENT SuggestedArticles IsTheQuantityOfImagesOnYourWebpageAGoogleRankingFactor? 4WaystoOptimizeforGoogle’sPageExperienceUpdate HowToAppraise&OptimizeAnyLandingPageByCampaignPerformance SubscribetoSEJ Subscribetoourdailynewslettertogetthelatestindustrynews. JobTitle*AgencyManager/DirectorAnalyticsManager/ProfessionalMarketingDirector/ManagerMarketingProfessionalSEODirector/ManagerSEOProfessionalSocialMediaProfessionalSocialMediaDirector/ManagerPaidSearchDirector/ManagerPaidSearchProfessionalOwner/PartnerITProfessionalITManager/DirectorSales/BusinessDevelopmentOther Topic(s)ofInterest*SEOPPCContentSocial Byclickingthe"Subscribe"button,IagreeandaccepttheprivacypolicyofSearchEngineJournal. 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