Definition

Image SEO covers the file formats, markup, metadata and on-page context that influence whether an image is indexed by Google Images and how it appears in image-related search features.

Google's image-discovery signals include the standard `<img>` element and `src` attribute, descriptive filenames, alt text, surrounding page text, structured data, image sitemaps and the page's overall load performance. Google Images supports common formats including BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG and AVIF. Pages with optimised images can also earn rich result badges (such as product or recipe badges) inside image search.

Examples

• Product image discovery

  An e-commerce site serves product photos via `<img>` tags with descriptive filenames like 'leather-chelsea-boot-tan.jpg', alt text describing the boot, and product structured data on the parent page. The images appear in Google Images with a Product badge.

• Recipe blog

  A recipe blog includes a high-resolution hero shot, a descriptive alt attribute, and Recipe structured data. The image surfaces in Google Images with a Recipe badge linking back to the post.

Sources

• Google Search Central — Google Images SEO best practices

Related terms

• Alt Text
  Text in an image's `alt` attribute that describes the image. Used by screen readers and by search engines that cannot see the picture.
• Lazy Loading
  A technique that defers loading of off-screen images, iframes, or other resources until the user is about to scroll them into view.
• Schema Markup
  Structured data added to a page that describes its content to search engines in a machine-readable format.
• Rich Results
  Search results enhanced with visual or interactive elements — review stars, prices, FAQs, recipe images — generated from a page's structured data.
• Page Speed
  How quickly a web page loads and becomes interactive, measured by metrics such as Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint, and Time to First Byte.

Where QueryCatch uses this

• Image Optimisation
• SEO Audit