Every Career Site Has Images....Don't Forget to Optimize them.

Traditionally, search engine optimization was focused on developing sites that were technically SEO-friendly, writing compelling & meaningful content and building trust through links but these tactics alone are no longer enough on their own. Search results have added videos, news, images and social media updates into the mix.

Companies looking to increase their search engine visibility now need to look to Digital Asset Optimization (DAO). The goal of DAO is to extend the reach of your audio, video and image content beyond the borders of your career site so that you can connect with more candidates and improve employment brand awareness.

Start with Your Career Site Images

Every career site has them, but the benefit in optimizing them for image search is often overlooked. Recruiters and hiring managers are not the only ones turning to Google for background information. Candidates use the web all the time to learn more about the companies they’re interested in. For example, let’s say a candidate does a search for “company name employee volunteer programs” and instead of finding the typical benefits page finds images of your employees smiling and working together at a habitat for humanity project.

3 Image Optimization Tips

1. Image Format – There are many different image formats, but to get the most out of your image optimization efforts its best to stick with either Jpg or Gif formats.



2. Descriptive File Names - Make sure that your image file names are descriptive and contain keywords where it makes sense. Search engines are unable to “see” images, using descriptive file names not only allows you to associate keywords with images but helps search engines understand what the image is about.



3. Don’t Forget The Image Alt Text - Ensure all images have image alt text. Image alt is important from a web accessibility standpoint but accessibility aside; there is also an SEO benefit to alt text. Good alt text would include the words used in the file name (minus the hyphens) if possible. Most importantly, text should describe the image or theme of the image and be no longer then a sentence.

Do you have any tips to add? Feel free to leave a comment below.