Shopify Image SEO: 4 Steps to Drive More Traffic and Conversions (Part 3 of 5)

Crystal Waddell:

0:00Images can show up in Google or any other search engine's image search results. And then also Pinterest. Hello, free traffic!

Welcome to the Simple and Smart SEO show podcast, where we talk all things brand building SEO.

Helping you connect with your audience, elevate your visibility and grow your business.

I'm your host, Crystal Waddell, here to bridge the gap between SEO strategy and real world business success.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, marketer, or SEO enthusiast, this is your place to learn, share, and build a brand that stands out.

Crystal WaddellSEO for your business.​​​

Welcome back to a simple and smart SEO show podcast and welcome back to the Shopify SEO from Strategy to Action series.

So far, we've tackled the mindset side of SEO and built your foundational tech stack.

1:00Now we're gonna get visual.

Today's episode is all about something. You already spend time on: your images, and you already know how to take beautiful product photos.

So now let's make sure that those images are doing more than just sitting pretty.

They should be bringing in traffic too, boosting conversions, and helping your store get found.

So let's talk about why image, SEO matters.

Images can show up in Google or any other search engine's image search results. And then also Pinterest. Hello, free traffic!

Images affect site speed, which can impact your rankings.

And good alt text improves accessibility and keyword relevance.

If your image file is called IMG_ 8 2 3 4, and there's no alt text.

It's basically invisible to search engines.

And now that Google has started ranking Instagram as well, good image sEO matters more than ever.

Good image. SEO gives context, which is as important or even

2:00more important than actual content.

So let's talk about four key steps to optimize your Shopify images.

StepRenaming Image Files

Crystal WaddellFirst, you need to rename your files.

Before uploading to Shopify, rename your images using keywords, for example.

StepWriting Strategic Alt Text

Crystal WaddellCustom Mothers Day mug jpeg.

Number two, write strategic alt text.

Use simple, clear descriptions. Think " Pink Ceramic Mug with best mom ever." in Gold Script.

Now that we're in the era of chat, GPT, you can do way better than that in 255 characters or less.

And we'll talk a little bit more about that later.

And when you're writing strategic alt text, you don't wanna write things like mug comma, mother's day mug, comma pink mug, that's keyword stuffing.

So we want to avoid stuffing keywords.

StepCompressing Images

Crystal WaddellAnd then number three, compress your images.

I use TinyPNG. Which can be free, or cost something like $39 per year.

But the

3:00point is we want to keep our images small.

Many sources say that under 300 kilobytes is ideal, and this improves load time and conversion rate.

But I want to share with you that you can actually get those images to a hundred kilobytes or less without sacrificing image quality.

And the queen of image compression? The web P format.

It gets your images oftentimes under a hundred kilobytes without losing that image quality.

Which means that your Shopify site is going to load lightning fast, and your images are still gonna look great.

I have noticed there's a couple places it doesn't work as well.

I believe it's the collection image holder. And maybe like the blog featured image in Shopify.

And if you use a basic WordPress blog, sometimes Web P doesn't play nice there either.

StepChoosing the Right Format

Crystal Waddellnumber four, you wanna choose the right format.

You could use JPEGs for product shots. PNGs for transparent elements like your logo.

And WebP, if your theme supports it.

Okay, so I promise we'd revisit using

4:00chat GPT for alt text help.

Sometimes it's hard to describe your own product without sounding repetitive. So you could try a prompt like this, with any LLM of your choice.

"Write alt text for ceramic mug that says Mama Fuel. And includes the keyword: coffee gifts for moms, as well as my business website."

It doesn't have to be fancy, just accurate, clear, and helpful.

And speaking of chat, GPT and alt text.

I actually have a free tool that I'll link below. That my SEO squad absolutely loves.

It's an image title generator, as well as an alt text generator.

And it's absolutely free. So definitely check it out if you need a little help getting started writing more descriptive alt text.

Additionally, if you want a quick reference to make sure that your images are SEO Ready.

I made a printable image SEO checklist for Shopify Sellers, and it's only $7.

Inside, you'll get my full step-by-step image

5:00SEO Process.

Chat GPT prompts to help you write your alt text.

And as a bonus, Pinterest optimization tips.

Grab it at simple and smart seo.com/images and get those visuals working for you.

Okay, so let's recap. We wanna rename your image files before you upload them to your Shopify store.

We wanna add meaningful alt texts. We wanna compress those images to speed up our stores.

And. We wanna make image SEO part of our standard upload process. Not an afterthought.

But if you go into your Shopify store and you realize that you have hundreds of pictures without alt text.

That would be a great time to utilize my free GPT to knock out a bunch of alt text at once.

And if Pinterest is part of your strategy, make sure that you're using vertical image and the Pinterest save button.

That's a free Shopify app from the Shopify app store. It's an easy win.

And coming up in

6:00episode four, we're getting into templates.

How to tweak your homepage, product, and collection pages so that your SEO efforts aren't wasted.

Until then, update one image today. And tag me when you do. You've got this. See you next time.