If you own and maintain an online store, image optimization is something you need to understand thoroughly. Image optimization can be a critical piece of building an e-commerce website, from getting shopper attention through Google Images to reducing the amount of time it takes your site to load. Here are four tips on SEO Image Optimization.

DESCRIPTIVELY NAME YOUR IMAGES

The first thing that you need to know involving SEO image optimization is to be very descriptive and definite when naming your images. The more keywords you use, the better your web page will rank on search engines. Search engines don't just go through the text on your web page; they also search through keywords on your image file names.

OPTIMIZING ALT TAGS

Another thing to remember is to optimize your Alt tags. Alt tags are simply a text alternative to pictures when a browser can't appropriately render them. When you hold your mouse pointer, you can see the alt tag you created for that image. Having proper Alt tags for images on your website can boost your rankings in search engines.

REDUCING IMAGE FILE SIZE

An important thing to remember is to reduce your file sizes on your pictures. For the most part, if something doesn't load within a 5-second window, a consumer will go back and click something else. The amount of time it takes your page to load is part of Google's ranking equation. One way to reduce file size is to use "Save for Web" in Photoshop. If you don't have Photoshop, there are several online programs you can use. You always want to make sure the image is at or below 70kb.

KNOWING CORRECT FILE TYPES TO USE

The three most common file types used to post images are JPEG, GIF, and PNG. JPEG images can conveniently be compressed to a small file size, but still conserve good quality. GIF's have a lower quality and are mainly used for icons or decorative pieces. They can also be used for animation. GIF is not something you want to use with a large image, or it will have a massive file size. PNG's are becoming increasingly popular. They support many colors and hold their quality through file re-saves. They excel at simple, multi color decorative images because of their amazingly small file size.