Although a lot has changed from back in the day when you could abuse image naming by using exact-match keywords as a quick hack/trick to improve your search engine visibility – image naming is still extremely important.
There is a whole range of benefits to including images in content – including:
- It makes your articles easier to read (increasing time-on-page).
- It makes content more engaging; therefore, people are more likely to share.
- It can send you traffic from Google Image Search.
But, without proper image optimization, efforts can often go to waste. So, without further ado, let’s discuss image naming for SEO.
So, let’s look at how to do it the right way.
Google’s Image SEO Naming Advice
To begin with, it’s extremely helpful to know what Google says about image SEO – which they covered in their Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide:
Like many other parts of the page targeted for optimization, filenames are best when they’re short but descriptive.
Meaning, as you’d expect – it’s advised not to use long filenames and stuffing keywords into image SEO metadata (as with other aspects of your content)
1 Relevant File Names
It is a good practice to keep your image file names relevant to your image. However, when it comes down to SEO, it is essential to create descriptive file names with relevant keywords.
Normally a file name would be like “IMG_948392.jpg” or something similar to this. However, file names like these do not help the search engines. Therefore, it would be best if you changed the filename from its default name so that the search engines can understand your images and ultimately improve your SEO value.
For example, let’s take this simple, delicious image of an ice cream.
The above image can potentially be named “strawberry-ice-cream.jpg,” depending on the context, which makes it easier for users and search engines to understand the purpose of the images used in the content.
2 Do Not Stuff Keywords
This is one of the biggest mistakes when it comes to Image Naming. It would be best to keep in mind that image naming does not mean having an opportunity to stuff in keywords to improve your rankings.
If you do so, it will not do any good for your SEO. For example, if I name the above image “best-strawberry-ice-cream-with-essence-available.jpg,” Google will only consider this image spam.
Hence, it is recommended to keep your image names short and naturally include only your main focus keyword.
3 Keep Your Image Names Short
We recommend you keep your image names short and crisp. Try to keep your image names to 5 words or even less than 5.
Separate your image names with the help of hyphens. For example, “strawberryicecream.jpg” will be difficult for Google to understand. Hence, name it “strawberry-ice-cream.jpg” for better understanding. Do not even use underscores or spaces.
But, if you’ve already uploaded your image(s) and they have lengthy or irrelevant filenames or keywords, you can either rename the image on your PC before uploading it again or use the Phoenix Media Rename plugin to do it directly.
4 Write SEO-friendly ALT Text
Alt Text is nothing but the text alternative to the images that makes it easier for search engines to understand the content of your image. Therefore, make sure that the Alt text is relevant to the image. For example, the alt text for the above ice cream image would look like this:
<img src="strawberry-ice-cream.jpg.jpg" alt="Strawberry IceCream"/>
It’s important to describe what’s in the image so that both search engines and people can make sense of it. The more relevant information an image has, the more search engines consider the image as necessary.
Writing good Alt text also leverages your SEO value. Even when images aren’t loading, maybe because of a glitch, search engines can still read the alternative text to help rank a page. It can also help screen readers to convey the image’s content to users with visual impairments.
Moreover, adding appropriate alt tags to the images on your website can help your website achieve better rankings in the search engines by associating keywords with images.
Here are some simple rules for alt text attributes that you can follow:
- Describe your images in plain, simple language, just like you did with your image file names.
- Keep it short but descriptive.
- Be innovative, but don’t stuff your alt attributes full of keywords.
Well, you can use Rank Math’s Content AI to automatically create alt text for your images. Refer to this guide for instructions on how to do this.
5 Use Image Titles and Captions for Better Context
Google states that it “extracts information about the subject matter of the image from the content of the page, including captions and image titles.” While image titles and captions may not directly affect rankings like file names or alt text, they still provide helpful context for both users and search engines.
An image title is a short label you can add when inserting the image, often shown on hover in some browsers or themes. For example, for the “strawberry-ice-cream.jpg” image, a title like “Strawberry Ice Cream on Wooden Table” helps clarify the image’s content.
Captions appear directly below the image and are visible to readers. They’re useful for offering quick context or connecting the image to your content. For the same image, a caption like “A close-up of fresh strawberry ice cream served on a rustic wooden table” adds helpful detail and supports the surrounding text.
Not every image needs both a title and a caption, but using them thoughtfully can improve clarity, accessibility, and engagement — all of which support better SEO.
So, to wrap it up, naming your images the right way is super important for SEO. By implementing the strategies we discussed in this article, you’ll make your content more appealing and easier for search engines to understand.
If you have any questions or need assistance with Rank Math, you can always reach out to our support team. They’re always available 24/7, 365 days a year.