Image File Names

[pbnj53]

I have searched previous posts and did not find this topic, so I apologize if it has been discussed elsewhere.

My question is: Does naming images with a related keyword have any SEO value? For example, if I am selling personalized mini footballs, does naming the product image personalize-mini-football.jpg have any merit?

[SnerdeyWebs]

No, not really. It's more the folder and file name of the page, content.

If you don't want an image to be found during an image search and used on other sites. I'd use numbers and letters

[Web-Design-Guy]

I use descriptive/keyword terms in image file names.

As for SEO value, who really knows, but my feeling is that it does help in building the theme of the page. It's easy to do, so why not.

And if it isn't now, maybe at some time in the future it will be one of the 200+ variables in Google algorithm.

[full house]

I don't think so. . . maybe on the alt tags.

[Palindrome]

From a Google perspective, image file names do have relevance and are worth the effort. Perhaps not as significant as alt tags, there's a Google video you might want to look through on these:

Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Using ALT attributes smartly

Beyond that, the text around the image and on the page are important, as is the way the images relate to this. Try a few combination search terms in image search, using fairly unique image file names you know, along with terms or maybe a location that would normally bring the site up well.

All about context and using the tools available to you to help build the pieces for the SERPs assembly jigsaw.

[fulleffect]

We've actually gained lots of business through people finding our product images on google image search and then subsequently buying the product.

If you're worried about people finding your images on Google image search and then stealing them and using on their site.. Put a watermark of your website address in the image and to prevent people linking directly from the images on your site, put this anti-hot-linking code in your .htaccess file.

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://example.co.uk$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://www.example.co.uk/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://www.example.co.uk$ [NC]
RewriteRule .*\.(jpg|jpeg|gif|png|bmp)$ - [F,NC]

[SmokieMac]

From a Google perspective, image file names do have relevance and are worth the effort.

Can anyone confirm that Google does use image file names?

I'll spare you the rant, except the short version: file names are for file management, not for indexing! ... but if those @#$% at Google are using them, I need to deal with it.

Arghhh!

[Palindrome]

Arghhh!

I wouldn't feel too bad about the work, this can help in Google search returns. I looked round for an example but most I know were on established sites, so then tried a tiny community website. Helps other community sites and new businesses but not going to be seen much on SERPs in such a competitive field.

Took one of their image file names at random with a file name likely to produce competitive results - calling google - and combined this with a word of significance to them, producing - calling google surrey - In image search they hit page one:

calling google surrey - Google Image Search

with the image named calling_google.jpg. Which is on page:

Working With Google

To prove the page has no special relevance to the term, try the same term in web search and they are nowhere:

calling google surrey - Google Search

Bear in mind the normal caveat that we all see different results but even so, there is no escaping the fact the only reason this image is on SERPs page one is the file name. The alt text is close but not close enough, just to confirm that, checked the nearest relevant image search to the alt text, not found at all, neither is there anything on the page.

call google surrey - Google Image Search

I did also check a few others in a similar vein, with the same results. Can also confirm, without being able to supply the URL, that I carried out a similar exercise to the one you intend for a high volume, low end of the market shopping site. Took a couple of months to see real effect but hits from image search increased about 18%.

As others have pointed out, image file names are not going to rocket you up Google search by themself but used well, in context with the website and particularly page content, they are a real factor.

[Terry Van Horne]

Ok so how does the Google Image algo work?
Image SEO | Optimization | SeoUnique Blog
AIUI, filenames and folders are used in Google Universal/Image search.

[seosean]

I tend to give my images descriptive names with keywords as I've found you can get your images ranked well in Google's image search that way and that is just another way to drive traffic to your site.