You spent money and time photographing the hotel pool, the plates in your restaurant or the before and after of a renovation. Then you uploaded them to your website. But does anyone see those photos when they search on Google?
Many people look at photos before they buy: food, rooms, models, ideas for a building. They switch to the "Images" tab in Google, and the photo they find there can lead them to your site. In this article I explain why your photos may not show up in Google Images, what you can check yourself and what to ask your web specialist for.
How does Google know what is in a photo?
Google does not look at a photo and say "that is the hotel pool by the coast". It looks at the clues around it: what is written on the page where the photo sits, the file name, the short description written for the photo and the text next to it. If those are empty or meaningless, the photo is almost invisible to Google.
A simple example: from a file called "IMG_4021" and a file called "dental-clinic-waiting-room-london", which one do you understand better? Google is the same.
The description does two jobs. It lets visitors who cannot see well listen to the page with a screen reader. It also tells Google what the photo shows. So a good description is first of all for the visitor.
Possible reasons your photos are not showing
- The photos are too heavy. A photo taken on a phone can be several megabytes. Uploading it as it is slows the page down. A slow page loses both customers and Google.
- The file names mean nothing. Phones and cameras name files with strings of numbers.
- There is no description, or they are all the same. Repeating the same sentence under every photo does not help.
- The photo is set up in a way Google cannot see. On some sites photos are placed in the page so that Google cannot find them.
- The page text is weak. If the page where the photo sits does not describe the service or product, the photo does not look meaningful either.
- Stock photos everyone uses. If hundreds of sites use the same stock photo, you will not be first in line. Real photos of your venue and your work are far more valuable.
Photos: what to watch when shooting
Taking the photos is the part in your hands. A specialist can do a lot, but without good photos the result is limited. A few simple principles:
- Shoot in natural light, in landscape and in focus. A blurry or dark photo helps neither the customer nor Google.
- Take several angles of the same thing: a close-up of the product, a wide view of the space, the work before and after.
- Show your own team and real working environment. People like to see real faces.
- If you add text or a logo on a photo, keep it readable and small.
If you give these photos to your specialist before they go on the site, resizing and naming can be done in one go. If you have many photos, it makes sense to start with the ones people look at most, meaning those on the home page and the service and product pages, instead of fixing them all at once.
What you can check yourself
- Search for your own photo on Google. Go to Google Images and type your business name and service. Do you see your own photos?
- Measure your site speed. Type your address into Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool. If it warns about images, your photos are probably heavier than they need to be.
- Are your photos real? Photos showing your own work, team and venue are more trustworthy to customers and to Google than stock images.
- Try it on your phone. Do the photos load quickly and fit the screen?
- Ask your web person. "Are my photos being reduced in size, and have descriptions been written?"
What the specialist does
| Topic | What the specialist does |
|---|---|
| Size | Makes photos lighter without spoiling the quality |
| File name | Gives each photo a name that describes it |
| Description | Writes a short, honest description for each important photo |
| Placement | Puts the photo next to the related text and heading |
| Loading | Loads only the visible photos when the page first opens, to keep it fast |
| Checking | Follows whether Google can see your photos |
What is asked of you is the right photos: well lit, uncluttered, truly reflecting your business. No amount of editing rescues a poor or irrelevant photo.
Why speed is tied to photos
When a customer opens your site on a phone, the first thing they see is usually a large photo. If it is heavy, the page opens late and the customer leaves without waiting. The loading time Google considers good for the main part of a page is about 2.5 seconds. So photo work is not only about Google Images but about the general speed of your site. Making your photos lighter is one of the jobs that gives the most visible gain for the least effort.
You can also ask your specialist whether photos load only as visitors scroll down, which makes the page open faster.
Who benefits most?
Image search matters most where people decide with their eyes before they buy: hotels and restaurants, furniture and decoration, hairdressers and beauty, renovation, weddings, architecture and shops selling products. For a lawyer or an accountant, image search may be a lower priority; for them the speed and general health of the site matter more.
Judge this together with your specialist according to your business model. Not every business will get many customers from image search, and it is not something anyone can guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
Will making my photos smaller spoil the quality?
If it is done well, there is no loss you can see. The aim is to bring the file to the size you need, so that it looks good on screen and loads fast.
Can anyone take my photo from Google and use it?
Copyright is a separate matter. A photo appearing in search results does not mean it is free to use. For important photos you can ask a legal adviser.
Should I write a long description for every photo?
No. One short, true sentence about what is in the photo is enough. Exaggerated descriptions or ones that repeat the same words do not help.
Don't my Instagram photos do the same job?
No. Instagram photos do not push your website up on Google. The photos on your website lead directly to your website.
Your photos are already the strongest promotion of your work; a little order is enough to make them findable. If you would like to go through your site's images together, you can write to me through my SEO services page.