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How do I put my pictures on Google images?

by | Mar 24, 2021 | Newsletter, newsletters

I recently had a client ask me this question:

When I Goggle ” wooden saddle stands” then click on images a ton of stands come up, how do I put a picture of mine on there?

Essentially, this is the same search engine optimization question of “how do I get listed on page 1 of Google?” except we are talking specifically about images. And the answer is the same as what I’ve talked about in the past. You don’t just add your picture to Google – they have to do it for you. What you have to do is tell Google about your photo by the way you put it on your website.

This includes what you name your image, the Alt-tags you assign to the image, and the product description and text you use one the page to describe your product image.

I’m working on another site that sells belt buckles. This site has the same problem. For example, one of the items is a brass buckle with an eagle on it. The image is named “5-2004-B-1-600×452.jpg”. The product name is “Eagle head cut-out” and the description is simply “Brass Finish Buckle”.

The quick steps to fix this are to rename the product to “Eagle head cut-out brass belt buckle”. Rename the image to “Eagle-head-brass-belt-buckle-5-2004-B-1.jpg.” (Notice that I still included the item number.) Add an alt-tag to the image of “Eagle head cut-out brass belt buckle.” And then give it a product description that tells both Google and customers all about the buckle. Don’t hold back, as neither Google or your customers can read your mind just by looking at a photo. For example, instead of just “Brass Finish Buckle,” do this:

This solid brass trophy belt buckle features a eagle’s head in the center with cut out background. The oval shaped buckle is cut-out to make a unique tribute to the top predator of the avian world. Feathers are on each side border in this solid brass buckle! This buckle is made of cast brass using the finest base materials available. Then it is acid washed to add the nice dark antiqued patina and finally hand buffed to bring out the highlights and details. A protective coating is then added to prevent tarnishing.

    • Buckle is solid brass and handmade in the USA.
    • Fits 1.5” standard width belt.
    • Buckle measures approximately 3″ high by 4” wide.

I see this all the time. Here’s another example for some earrings on a website. The title is “ear climber crystal curve” and the description is simply, “Sterling Silver, ear climber crystal curve – 2 pairs for $14.40.” The single image is named, “26446-600×600.jpg.” How is Google supposed to know what this is and direct traffic to this site for people searching for ear climber earrings? I suggest you look at the listings on Amazon (which typically rank high on Google search results) for inspiration on how to craft your own product names and descriptions.

The reason most people don’t do this is that it is a lot of work to get Google to rank every single product you sell. But people aren’t searching for your company, they are searching for what you offer. In this case, no one is looking for “your company name,” they are looking for an “Eagle Brass Belt Buckle.” Or in the case of the client who asked the question, a “Wooden Saddle Stand.”

Is this extra work worth it? Look at those who are ranking for your desired search term and you will see that it is.

This was the detailed answer I provided about the wooden saddle stand, but you can see that it applies to any product you are trying to get Google to display in their image search results…

You can’t just put a photo there – Google has to do that based upon how you tag an image.
If you search for “Your Company Full Size Saddle Stand” and click on images, you will see that yours is there. That’s because Google knows about you for those keywords. Here is what Google currently sees on your page:

 

Product name: Full Size Saddle Stand
Short description: Full Size Saddle Stand with Hair on Hide
Long description: With Hair on Hide Great for your Granddad’s saddle or the one that you won. Hand carved in the US these stands have several options as shown.
Image name: B-010909-057A-1-600×571.jpg
If you want to rank for “wooden saddle stands“, you need to tell Google that by what you name your product, what description you give it,  what you name the photo, and what alt-tags you attach to the photo. You should repeat the keywords several times on the page. Google also prefers long descriptions, while customers tend to prefer bullet points. For example, you might do this instead:

 

Product name: Full-Size Wooden Saddle Stand
Short Description: Our wooden saddle stands are sturdy enough to be in a show room, stylish enough to be in your living area, and durable enough to be in your tack room.

 

Product Description: These wooden saddle stands are hand carved in the USA and are perfect for your Granddad’s saddle or the one that you won. These wooden saddle stands are made of solid pine and are finished with a lacquer coating to protect them from scratches and will remain beautiful for years to come.  Each saddle stand measures 34″ high x 24″ Deep and 16″ wide. These wooden saddle stands are great for either Western or English saddles and hold up to 300 pounds! Each saddle stand has hair on the hide and come with several options including a pull-out drawer with metal ring handles for your accessories.
  • Wood – 3/4″ solid pine
  • Hand carved in the US
  • Hide on hair attached with brass grommets
  • Finish sanded and ready to be stained or painted
  • All screw holes are countersunk and finished with plugs (14)
  • Bottom drawer for your grooming tools and supplies
  • Dimensions: 24″L x 16″W x 34″H
  • Furniture quality construction

 

The wooden saddle stands that we produce will last for years and are made to strict standards of workmanship. You will be very pleased with the quality of our handmade saddle stands. Attention to the details in the building of our saddle stands is important to us. Edges are beveled or rounded over, the bases are glued and stapled together which produces solid support for the vertical legs and body of the saddle stand. The saddle stand is then sanded using multiple grades of sandpaper finishing up with a 220 grit which produces a finished surface ready to be stained or painted.

 

Unlike other wooden saddle stands, all our stands are pre-assembled, not a kit. The saddle stands are of furniture construction quality and will showcase your saddle for years to come.

 

Image name: wooden-saddle-stand.jpg
Alt-Tag: Wooden Saddle Stand

 

 

Then, to really make sure you rank for specific keywords, I highly recommend that you create a video and post it on YouTube. YouTube is owned by Google, and links from YouTube videos to pages on your website are considered extremely important to Google. So, you create a video named “wooden saddle stands,” and you link this video to the page on your website that has a title of “Wooden saddle stands.” YouTube inspects the video to make sure it is really talking about wooden saddle stands, the Google follows that link, sees that it is pointing to a page that describes wooden saddle stands (as I just showed you how to do), and says “Wow, this is a great link for the term “wooden saddle stands,” I think I’ll display that information to our users. You repeat this for each product / search term that you want to rank for.

 

Of course there are other factors that come into play, such as what other sites point to your page for that search term, how long the site has been in existence, and a host of unknowns, so nothing is guaranteed as you can’t force Google to do anything. But, if you do everything I just described, maybe Google will bless you and show your images as you want.

 

PS – We are specialists in doing this, including re-writing copy as shown and creating YouTube videos that rank on page 1. If you are interested, we can provide a quote.

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