Importance of Image SEO
Of late I have heard a lot of people saying that it’s getting harder and harder to get good SEO off a new, thin site, especially after Google’s May Day Update.
Recently I have been looking for ideas for a new bathroom renovation. For a project like this, the visual element is important and flicking through images is easier than reading through descriptions, so I started off by looking in Google Images.
It was interesting to note that ALL of the images I clicked through to were from a Blogspot site that didn’t have any textual content except for tags and headings – only images.
The site was http://kitchenbacksplashes.blogspot.com/. It’s covered with Google Ads and already has over 700 posts in 2010.
I think this would be a good, profitable venture for whoever created the site. I know from past experience how much traffic well-SEO’d images can generate. I was surprised how a site without text, especially good structured paragraphs, could rank so well and dominate the Google Images results.
What I don’t know is how much Google prioritises Blogger. My guess is that Google doesn’t – it’s just that Blogger marks up its images well for consumption by Google.
Ultimately this site was of limited use for me as a buyer because I could see something I liked but I couldn’t work out how to source the components. I also don’t know if the publisher has the copyright for these images or whether they are taken from elsewhere (really nothing to do with me).
As a business idea to make money, it’s good. My guess is that Google focuses on getting rid of these spammy sites from the normal index because they don’t really offer solutions or answer questions. But if you’re searching for images, then this site gives you exactly what you’re looking for, so why would Google get rid of it from the image index? This site has lots of relevant images which helps if you are purely looking for images. Where it doesn’t help me is that I am searching for those images as a connection to content, products, and services. I did find some copper tiles that I liked but there is no way for me to get more information about them or buy them.
Ultimately if this publisher wanted to make money out of more than just Google Adsense and if they had the traffic (why would they have 700 posts if not?) they could start to look at a real lead generation/advertising business for suppliers. If you pickup any kitchens/bathrooms magazine you can see how much is spent on advertising.
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