SEO Image Audit and Optimization Guide

---
name: seo-images
description: ")"
---
# Image Optimization Analysis

## Checks

### Alt Text
- Present on all `<img>` elements (except decorative: `role="presentation"`)
- Descriptive: describes the image content, not "image.jpg" or "photo"
- Includes relevant keywords where natural, not keyword-stuffed
- Length: 10-125 characters

**Good examples:**
- "Professional plumber repairing kitchen sink faucet"
- "Red 2024 Toyota Camry sedan front view"
- "Team meeting in modern office conference room"

**Bad examples:**
- "image.jpg" (filename, not description)
- "plumber plumbing plumber services" (keyword stuffing)
- "Click here" (not descriptive)

### File Size

**Tiered thresholds by image category:**

| Image Category | Target | Warning | Critical |
|----------------|--------|---------|----------|
| Thumbnails | < 50KB | > 100KB | > 200KB |
| Content images | < 100KB | > 200KB | > 500KB |
| Hero/banner images | < 200KB | > 300KB | > 700KB |

Recommend compression to target thresholds where possible without quality loss.

### Format
| Format | Browser Support | Use Case |
|--------|-----------------|----------|
| WebP | 97%+ | Default recommendation |
| AVIF | 92%+ | Best compression, newer |
| JPEG | 100% | Fallback for photos |
| PNG | 100% | Graphics with transparency |
| SVG | 100% | Icons, logos, illustrations |

Recommend WebP/AVIF over JPEG/PNG. Check for `<picture>` element with format fallbacks.

#### Recommended `<picture>` Element Pattern

Use progressive enhancement with the most efficient format first:

```html
<picture>
  <source srcset="image.avif" type="image/avif">
  <source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="image.jpg" alt="Descriptive alt text" width="800" height="600" loading="lazy" decoding="async">
</picture>
```

The browser will use the first supported format. Current browser support: AVIF 93.8%, WebP 95.3%.

#### JPEG XL: Emerging Format

In November 2025, Google's Chromium team reversed its 2022 decision and announced it will restore JPEG XL support in Chrome using a Rust-based decoder. The implementation is feature-complete but not yet in Chrome stable. JPEG XL offers lossless JPEG recompression (~20% savings with zero quality loss) and competitive lossy compression. Not yet practical for web deployment, but worth monitoring for future adoption.

### Responsive Images
- `srcset` attribute for multiple sizes
- `sizes` attribute matching layout breakpoints
- Appropriate resolution for device pixel ratios

```html
<img
  src="image-800.jpg"
  srcset="image-400.jpg 400w, image-800.jpg 800w, image-1200.jpg 1200w"
  sizes="(max-width: 600px) 400px, (max-width: 1200px) 800px, 1200px"
  alt="Description"
>
```

### Lazy Loading
- `loading="lazy"` on below-fold images
- Do NOT lazy-load above-fold/hero images (hurts LCP)
- Check for native vs JavaScript-based lazy loading

```html
<!-- Below fold - lazy load -->
<img src="photo.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="Description">

<!-- Above fold - eager load (default) -->
<img src="hero.jpg" alt="Hero image">
```

#### Detected lazy-loader methods (`lazy_method` field)

`scripts/parse_html.py` classifies each image's lazy-loading mechanism via the
`lazy_method` field on every image entry. Five values:

| `lazy_method` | Signal detected | Common stack |
|---|---|---|
| `native` | `loading="lazy"` HTML attribute | Modern browsers, plain HTML |
| `perfmatters` | `data-perfmatters-src`/`-srcset` OR class `perfmatters-lazy` | WordPress + Perfmatters plugin |
| `ewww` | `data-ewww-src` / `data-eio` OR class `lazyload-eio` | WordPress + EWWW Image Optimizer |
| `js-generic` | `data-src` / `data-lazy-src` / `data-original` / `data-srcset` OR class `lazyload`/`lazyloaded`/`lazy` | Lazysizes, vanilla-lazyload, jQuery plugins |
| `none` | Neither attribute nor class signal | Page is not lazy-loading this image |

When auditing image SEO, report `lazy_method` alongside `loading` so users know
whether their site is using a JS-driven lazy-loader (in which case the native
`loading="lazy"` attribute is intentionally absent — that is not a regression).

### `fetchpriority="high"` for LCP Images

Add `fetchpriority="high"` to your hero/LCP image to prioritize its download in the browser's network queue:

```html
<img src="hero.webp" fetchpriority="high" alt="Hero image description" width="1200" height="630">
```

**Critical:** Do NOT lazy-load above-the-fold/LCP images. Using `loading="lazy"` on LCP images directly harms LCP scores. Reserve `loading="lazy"` for below-the-fold images only.

### `decoding="async"` for Non-LCP Images

Add `decoding="async"` to non-LCP images to prevent image decoding from blocking the main thread:

```html
<img src="photo.webp" alt="Description" width="600" height="400" loading="lazy" decoding="async">
```

### CLS Prevention
- `width` and `height` attributes set on all `<img>` elements
- `aspect-ratio` CSS as alternative
- Flag images without dimensions

```html
<!-- Good - dimensions set -->
<img src="photo.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Description">

<!-- Good - CSS aspect ratio -->
<img src="photo.jpg" style="aspect-ratio: 4/3" alt="Description">

<!-- Bad - no dimensions -->
<img src="photo.jpg" alt="Description">
```

### File Names
- Descriptive: `blue-running-shoes.webp` not `IMG_1234.jpg`
- Hyphenated, lowercase, no special characters
- Include relevant keywords

### CDN Usage
- Check if images served from CDN (different domain, CDN headers)
- Recommend CDN for image-heavy sites
- Check for edge caching headers

## Output

### Image Audit Summary

| Metric | Status | Count |
|--------|--------|-------|
| Total Images | - | XX |
| Missing Alt Text | ❌ | XX |
| Oversized (>200KB) | ⚠️ | XX |
| Wrong Format | ⚠️ | XX |
| No Dimensions | ⚠️ | XX |
| Not Lazy Loaded | ⚠️ | XX |

### Prioritized Optimization List

Sorted by file size impact (largest savings first):

| Image | Current Size | Format | Issues | Est. Savings |
|-------|--------------|--------|--------|--------------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |

### Recommendations
1. Convert X images to WebP format (est. XX KB savings)
2. Add alt text to X images
3. Add dimensions to X images
4. Enable lazy loading on X below-fold images
5. Compress X oversized images

---

## Image SERP Analysis

When DataForSEO MCP is available, enhance the image audit with competitive data.

### `/seo images serp <keyword>`

Cross-reference on-page images with Google Images SERP rankings.

**Workflow:**
1. Fetch Google Images results via `serp_google_images_live_advanced` (depth=100)
2. Extract: top domains, image types, alt text patterns
3. Output competitor image SERP landscape

**Output:**

| Rank | Domain | Title/Alt | Image URL | Page URL |
|------|--------|-----------|-----------|----------|
| 1 | example.com | "Blue running shoes..." | .../shoes.webp | /products/... |

**Analysis includes:**
- **Domain dominance**: which sites own the most image positions (top 10 by count)
- **Alt text patterns**: common title/alt patterns in top-ranking images
- **Format distribution**: WebP vs JPEG vs PNG in top results
- **Opportunity score**: keywords where you have page rankings but no image presence

If DataForSEO MCP is not available, inform user and suggest installing the extension.

---

## Image File Optimization

Optimize image files for SEO: format conversion, metadata injection, compression.

### `/seo images optimize <path>`

Optimize image file(s) for web and SEO. Converts to WebP/AVIF, injects IPTC
metadata, compresses, and generates responsive variants.

**Tools used (in order of preference):**
- `exiftool` -- EXIF/IPTC/XMP read/write (install: `sudo apt install libimage-exiftool-perl`)
- `cwebp` -- WebP conversion (install: `sudo apt install webp`)
- ImageMagick `convert` -- Format conversion, resizing (pre-installed on most systems)
- FFmpeg -- Fallback for format conversion (pre-installed)

**Before running:** Check which tools are available with `which exiftool cwebp convert ffmpeg`.

### Format Conversion

Convert images to modern formats with metadata preservation:

```bash
# WebP (recommended default) - with metadata preserved
cwebp -q 82 -metadata all input.jpg -o output.webp

# WebP via ImageMagick (fallback if cwebp not installed)
convert input.jpg -quality 82 output.webp

# AVIF via FFmpeg (slower encode, best compression)
ffmpeg -i input.jpg -c:v libaom-av1 -crf 30 -still-picture 1 output.avif

# Responsive variants (400w, 800w, 1200w)
convert input.jpg -resize 400x -quality 82 image-400.webp
convert input.jpg -resize 800x -quality 82 image-800.webp
convert input.jpg -resize 1200x -quality 82 image-1200.webp
```

### Metadata Injection (IPTC for Google Rich Results)

Google Images displays IPTC Creator, Credit Line, and Copyright in search results.
This is **NOT a ranking factor** but improves rich result display and brand attribution.

**With exiftool (preferred):**
```bash
# Read all metadata
exiftool image.jpg

# Inject IPTC + XMP metadata for Google Images rich results
exiftool \
  -IPTC:ObjectName="Product Photo Description" \
  -IPTC:Caption-Abstract="Detailed image description" \
  -IPTC:By-line="Brand Name Photography" \
  -IPTC:Credit="Brand Name" \
  -IPTC:CopyrightNotice="Copyright 2026 Brand Name" \
  -IPTC:Source="brandname.com" \
  -XMP:Title="Product Photo Description" \
  -XMP:Description="Detailed image description" \
  -XMP:Creator="Brand Name Photography" \
  -XMP:Rights="Copyright 2026 Brand Name" \
  image.jpg

# Batch inject to all images in directory
exiftool -overwrite_original \
  -IPTC:By-line="Brand Name" \
  -IPTC:CopyrightNotice="Copyright 2026 Brand Name" \
  *.jpg *.webp *.png
```

**With ImageMagick (fallback):**
```bash
identify -verbose image.jpg | head -50

convert input.jpg \
  -set comment "Product Photo Description" \
  -set IPTC:2:80 "Brand Name Photography" \
  -set IPTC:2:116 "Copyright 2026 Brand Name" \
  output.jpg
```

**IMPORTANT:** WebP supports EXIF and XMP but NOT IPTC natively. For WebP files,
use XMP fields instead of IPTC. exiftool handles this conversion automatically.

### Metadata Audit

```bash
# Quick audit with exiftool
exiftool -IPTC:all -XMP:all -EXIF:ImageDescription image.jpg

# Batch audit - find images missing IPTC Creator
exiftool -if 'not $IPTC:By-line' -filename *.jpg *.webp *.png
```

### Full Optimization Pipeline

For maximum image SEO, run this pipeline on each image:

1. **Audit existing metadata**: `exiftool -IPTC:all -XMP:all image.jpg`
2. **Inject IPTC/XMP metadata**: Creator, Copyright, Description
3. **Convert to WebP**: `cwebp -q 82 -metadata all image.jpg -o image.webp`
4. **Generate responsive variants**: 400w, 800w, 1200w
5. **Verify metadata preserved**: `exiftool image.webp`
6. **Generate `<picture>` HTML**: AVIF > WebP > JPEG fallback chain

### What Matters vs What Doesn't for Google Images

| Factor | Impact | Where to Set |
|--------|--------|--------------|
| Alt text | **CRITICAL** (ranking) | HTML `<img alt="">` |
| Filename | **HIGH** (ranking) | File system (descriptive, hyphenated) |
| Page context | **HIGH** (ranking) | Surrounding HTML content |
| File size/speed | **MEDIUM** (indirect via CWV) | Compression + format conversion |
| IPTC Creator/Copyright | **LOW** (display only) | Image file metadata |
| EXIF camera data | NONE | Irrelevant for SEO |
| IPTC Keywords | NONE | Google ignores these |

---

## Error Handling

| Scenario | Action |
|----------|--------|
| URL unreachable | Report connection error with status code. Suggest verifying URL and checking if site requires authentication. |
| No images found on page | Report that no `<img>` elements were detected. Suggest checking if images are loaded via JavaScript or CSS background-image. |
| Images behind CDN or authentication | Note that image files could not be directly accessed for size analysis. Report available metadata (alt text, dimensions, format from markup) and flag inaccessible resources. |
| exiftool not installed | Fall back to ImageMagick for metadata. Recommend: `sudo apt install libimage-exiftool-perl` |
| cwebp not installed | Fall back to ImageMagick or FFmpeg for WebP conversion. Recommend: `sudo apt install webp` |
| DataForSEO MCP not available | Skip Image SERP Analysis section. Note extension is not installed. |