Do images hurt your SEO ranking? Does performance also have an issue in SEO?

Do images hurt your SEO ranking? Does performance also have an issue in SEO?

These are the questions most people ask me. As a full-stack developer, I always work on projects that involve SEO. When I start working to optimize a web or mobile application, I first check the database schema, especially how models interact with other models using ORM, particularly in Laravel. Most developers use joins rather than leveraging the relationships Laravel offers out of the box. Joins can slow down application performance. When optimizing the database and relationships, I use indexing for complex projects. If a cache system like Redis is needed, we always implement it.

Caching static items in the user's browser can also speed up your website/app performance. Especially when using the .htaccess file, I always use mod_expires.c to cache .woff2 and other static items for one year.

# Cache-Control for specific file types
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
    ExpiresActive On
    # Set the default expiration time
    ExpiresDefault "access plus 1 month"
    # Specific cache settings for WOFF2 files
    ExpiresByType font/woff2 "access plus 1 year"
</IfModule>

If you are using CPanel, just install NGINX Caching to help your application improve web/app performance and boost user experience.

If you have a website that involves a lot of images, like an e-commerce system with many products, using high-resolution images without compressing them can hurt your SEO ranking, provide a poor user experience, and slow down your web/app. Developers often make the mistake of uploading images without compressing them. If the application uses many images, it is time-consuming to give each image to a graphic designer for compression.

The best image compression tool is Shekzify, which offers a lot of functions out of the box. You just need to drag and drop your image and relax; they will compress your images with extra care, and you can download all your images once they are compressed. Let’s talk about lossy compression: this type of compression reduces the file size of an image by slightly lowering the quality. When we use lossy compression, some image data is removed, which can sometimes be noticeable if it's compressed a lot.

On the other hand, lossless compression reduces the file size without losing any quality; the images stay the same as their original. Shekzify takes care of these technical details and provides the services seamlessly. It's the best image compression tool I've ever used. The above discussion was just about .jpg and .png compression tools. Let’s discuss converting images to WebP.

WebP is a modern image format created by Google that makes images on the web smaller and faster to load. It’s great because it keeps the quality of your pictures high while making their file sizes much smaller than traditional formats like JPEG or PNG. This means websites using WebP images load quicker, which is really good for visitors and can also help the website rank better in search engines. WebP is becoming popular because it’s efficient and supports cool features like transparency and animation.

Shekzify also offers services that convert your images to WebP. Their drag-and-drop function saves you time and effort. Once you convert the images, you can download them one by one or download all images with a single click. Both services are free, but you can buy a subscription to unlock extra features like a maximum file size of 70MB; the free version has a 2MB/5MB size limit.

In the free package, you can compress only two images at the same time with a maximum upload limit of 20, but in the pro account, you can upload unlimited images at once and compress/convert 6 images at the same time.

Using the WebP format for your images, along with compressing them, can really help improve your website's SEO ranking and make the experience better for your visitors. When images are in WebP format and compressed, they become much smaller in size, which means your website loads faster. Search engines like Google prefer fast-loading websites, so this can boost your site's ranking in search results. Also, visitors enjoy using sites that load quickly, especially on mobile devices.

Faster websites keep people happy and engaged, leading to a better overall experience. So, by using WebP and compressing your images, you're not just making your site faster, but also more appealing to both search engines and people who visit your site.

Attached are screenshots demonstrating the image compression process using Shekzify:

Conclusion:

In the fast-paced world of online content, where images play a crucial role, Shekzify stands out as an essential tool for any developer, e-commerce site, or content creator. By optimizing images efficiently and effectively, Shekzify not only enhances the user experience but also contributes significantly to better SEO performance. Whether you’re dealing with a high volume of images or need to ensure your site runs smoothly, Shekzify provides a reliable, user-friendly solution for all your image optimization needs