How to Designate File Name When Uploading Photos

Much like the alt text you apply to describe an image, Google will read the filename of the image to acquire well-nigh it.

Leif Lessons

• Optimizing all of your content for SEO is important for your rankings, including image filenames.
• User-friendly image filenames are more likely to be recommended past Google.
• The filename should be descriptive, include applicative keywords and use hyphens instead of spaces to separate words.
• Go along your filenames to under five to half-dozen words.
• Keep in heed that this is just one aspect of your overall SEO strategy and something you should address going forward. Exercise Not worry about going back to re-upload and rename all your images!

Whomever who coined the old adage, "a picture is worth a yard words," probably never considered search engines.

Information technology may be true every bit far as your readers are concerned, but when it comes to Google, they're just worth as much every bit a computer can read.

That'southward why, when information technology comes to optimizing images for Google, the #1 search engine recommends using descriptive filenames for images.

Below, we break down filenames — what they are, why they're important and how they can assistance your rankings.

What is an epitome filename?

The filename is what you probably expect. Typically, information technology's the same name of the image file that lives on your reckoner before you upload it.

This is especially true if you lot use the WordPress media library and most image hosting services.

If you're exporting photos from your camera or phone, chances are the filenames are going to be a random set of numbers and messages such as "IMG_3073.jpeg"

In this case, the filename is the same name that's sitting on your local figurer (IMG_3073.jpeg), including the extension (.jpeg).

If yous were to simply upload that to WordPress and insert it into a post, then that would be the filename on the internet as well.

Why Google cares about filenames

If a user downloads your photo from the internet, its default filename when downloaded to their computer is that aforementioned filename.

Just similar Google cares nearly SEO-friendly URL structures then it's easy for users to see at a glance what's on a given page, it recommends convenient image filenames.

The idea is simple: A user knows what a photo is without having to open the file. It'due south just a better overall user experience.

SEO for epitome filenames

In the Google SEO Starter Guide, Google gives the aforementioned communication for writing filenames equally for alt text and information technology's easy to execute:

Go along things brusk and descriptive.

Google besides wants you to use an extension that accurately describes the file type. Again, information technology'south piece of cake and makes perfect sense.

For case, if you're using a jpeg image, apply .jpg or .jpeg. If yous're using WebP or PNG, apply their respective extensions, .webp or .png.

Chances are your photograph editing software will automatically take care of the extension for you. Simply make certain that when you get to rename your epitome, you're not changing this to make it less accurate.

Allow'due south await at a existent earth instance of an image and how y'all should proper name information technology:

Now, if you had to describe this image in a few words to a reader so they could see what you were talking about before showing them the image, what would y'all call information technology?

Hint: You tin use a like clarification to what y'all're writing for the alt text, or the alternative text for the writing for the visually impaired.

It's the same thought: Employ a name that assumes if the user never gets to see the image, they'd all the same know what's in it.

Google flat out says not to use filenames similar "image1.jpg" or "1.jpg" in their examples of what not to do. In other words, don't only employ what your photograph software spits out by default.

Rename the file so information technology's descriptive. That'southward the long and short of it.

Use hyphens to separate words and don't use special characters

An important thing to annotation: Since you'll be manually naming these photos, you won't have the luxury of WordPress making certain your formatting is written out correctly.

Instead, y'all'll have to do the work of making sure you're only using letters and numbers, and ensuring you lot're using a hyphen (-) and not something like an underscore ( _ ) to dissever words.

If you lot stick to using only letters, numbers and hyphens, avoiding apostrophes or other special symbols, yous'll be in proficient shape.

Should I use keywords in image filenames?

Similar to our advice regarding alt text SEO, yous'll desire to employ your focus keyword in your filename when it'southward an organic fit.

Put another manner, if your long tail keyword happens to naturally depict the photo you're uploading, so 100% utilise it.

Of course, at that place can be too much of a good thing. If y'all accept four photos, all described past the same keyphrase, you run the risk of keyword stuffing.

Utilize synonyms and vary things upwardly so all photos in the same post aren't called "cheeesecake-photo-ane.jpg," "cheesecake-photo-2.jpg," etc.

Instead, recall about file names much like you would your alt text, e.g. "completed-cheesecake.jpg" and "cheesecake-filling.jpg."

Similar to alt text, if you tin can't remember of different filenames for every photograph you're using in a mail service, are they really providing value to the reader?

How long should filenames exist?

Historically, filenames on operating systems were meant to be shorter. At that place are historic filesystem limitations, such every bit a limit of 256 characters, which means you should err on the side of shorter for your names.

What the heck is the man translation of that? While we've recommended using your alt text equally guidance for your prototype filenames, you'll probably desire to think shorter.

Keep your filenames to under five to vi words and you should be fine inside whatever graphic symbol limits, and still have enough language to accurately describe the image.

Again, these are theoretical limits with most modern filesystems and operating systems. However, information technology never hurts to go short and descriptive, especially when that'south Google's communication in their SEO Starter Guide.

What about existing images?

WordPress makes information technology difficult to rename files in one case they're uploaded to the media library, then chances are yous'll have to re-upload them.

How important is this for SEO?

Image SEO is just i attribute of SEO overall, and not the about important one. Without sweating this too much, I'd recommend you just adopt this process for images you lot upload from now on.

If you lot take an incredibly important, highly-trafficked postal service, it may be worth the time to give your images more useful file names.

In general, however, this is a small part of your SEO — but an piece of cake and intuitive all-time practice to put in place going forward.

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Source: https://www.mediavine.com/image-filename-seo/

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