Okay, I’ve shared Image Optimization Tips to Apply (Part 1) and Image Optimization Tips to Apply (Part 2) with you.

Here’s the last of the image optimization tips to help you enhance your website for the better. Are you ready?

6. Don’t forget to add alt text.

Alt texts are the written description displayed when a web browser can’t properly display the image.Like the image file name, the alt text is added to describe the image. Once the image won’t appear, the alt will be displayed on the top left corner of the image box. More on: 5 Best Practices when Writing Anchor Texts

So, you need to be sure that the alt text perfectly describe the image. Alt texts help you with your SEO strategy as search engines will read the texts instead of the actual image. You might think these optimizations are little and insignificant but, trust me, alt tags can help your website achieve better SERP rankings. Google even emphasized this on their best practices for images.

Aside from Google’s rules, the addition of alt texts are mandated by The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for users who are visually impaired. The alt text can help them decipher what the image is about without actually see it. For example, instead of just indicating “milk chocolate”, be more specific by putting the exact name “Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Milk Chocolate with Almonds”.

Lastly, a good alt text can also serve as an anchor text of an internal link.

7. Categorize your image files.

If you look at the same guidelines I mentioned above, Google made it clear that the file path and the file name are important factors when they rank images. What does this mean?

For instance, your website is selling different types of dresses. Don’t just dump all the photos in one folder. Instead, create subfolders to further classify your photos and start adding folders such as “Casual”, “Cocktail”, “Work”, “Formal”, “Maxi”, “Floral”, and so on.

8. Optimize your titles and meta description.

Aside from the file path and file name of your images, other factors added to the search algorithm are the page title and meta descriptions.

According to Google’s best practices:

“Google Images automatically generates a title and snippet to best explain each result and how it relates to the user query. This helps users decide whether or not to click on a result. We use a number of different sources for this information, including descriptive information in the title, and meta tags for each page. You can help us improve the quality of the title and snippet displayed for your pages by following Google’s title and snippet guidelines.”

9. Include mobile-friendly images.

How do you create images fit for the mobile devices? Easy! You add responsive images, meaning the photo will adapt to size whether a particular user is viewing it on a desktop computer or a mobile device. Other than that, here are some tips to help you. 1) Choose clear images that aren’t too complex when reduced to a small size. 2) Upload an appropriately-sized image, meaning you should choose the image with the largest pixel dimension for a website with large or wide photos. 3) If it’s the opposite, you can use a photo editor, such as TinyJPG, to downsize.

Today, we are going to focus on images. Take a moment to examine your website, and check if the images are stock photographs from various providers. Whether you paid for these stock photos or not, these images will be a huge part of your website. They can be added to blog posts, product pages, or simply add color to the background.

However, it doesn’t end there because you have optimize these images. Why? Because the images, altogether, add weight to your growing website. Thus, slowing it down in the process. Remember, page speed is an important ranking factor. You can’t just ignore it! Be sure to apply the 5 Steps to Increase Website Speed.

Plus, images are useless without alt text. If you just add them to your page without optimizing, search engines can’t detect them!

So, you now realize the importance of image optimization is in a given website. In this series of blog posts, I will share with you a number of image optimization you to apply on your site now.

1. Choose what image format works best.

“What? There are many image formats?”  Yes, it’s like ordering different burgers at McDonald’s. So, before you start adding them, you better be sure you know the different file types and choose what is best. Here are the common types:

• PNG means the Portable Network Graphic (PNG) format. The image is compression with lossless compression. What does this mean? Images are better because it doesn’t loose its quality. However, the downside is that the file size is larger, meaning it may take time to load.
• JPEG is the shorter term for Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG). It’s the opposite of PNG, utilizing a lossy compression for images. Upon losing quality, you get to have a lighter set of images that will speed up your site.

There are still other formats to choose from, but PNG and JPEG are commonly among different websites. Personally, I prefer PNG for the quality. As long as you don’t add too many PNG files in one page, I don’t think it will affect page speed that much. At the end of the day, it boils down to your preference.

2. Don’t forget to compress it.

It’s not only important to choose what image format to use, but you also need to compress your chosen images. If you don’t compress, your website inflate like a huge hot air balloon.

Basing from HTTPArchive.org’s report, images take up nearly 1/4 space. An average of 21% to be exact will be added to the weight of a page.

So, in order not to occupy the much needed space for website, it is recommended to compress your images. Do not upload the original files; instead, use tools — such as TinyJPG and Smush — before inserting the images to a page. Of course, there’s always desktop applications like Photoshop, but TinyJPG and WP Smush are online tools you can conveniently add to your WordPress site!

According to Increasingly’s Case Study, image compression has improved page speed by 2 seconds. A faster page speed is something attractive to users for sure!

If you don’t know your current page speed, just go to PageSpeed Insights and input your website link.

Next? Image Optimization Tips to Apply (Part 2)

Now that the list of NOT to-dos are done, let’s go over some important to-dos. However, if you want to recap all the previous tips, here they are:

• The Writing Not To-Dos (Part 1)
• The Writing Not To-Dos (Part 2)
• The Writing Not To-Dos (Part 3)

Today, more than ever, online writers are essential to formulate creative product descriptions, meta descriptions, blog posts, and many others.

Before I begin, I would like to stress that this list won’t focus on content strategy. Instead, this will be about marketing writers in order to cater to the SEO side and the creative side of online writing.

1. DO practice patience

• Writing is not not something you can do in a snap. As I stated previous, you should not skip making the outline. You need to draft what needs to be in the intro, body, and conclusion.
• Yes, a great article may longer than usual. Like the other important things in life, you can’t rush writing. Most of the time, you will allocate time in editing. So, practice the art of being patient in writing, editing, revising your work. (But remember, don’t try to procrastinate in order to attain perfection!)

2. DO try to improve your craft

• Just like singing and dancing, writing is a skill that you can polish. Though complete mastery is not something one can achieve, it doesn’t mean that one should just sit and relax. We should all strive to be better writers.
• When you strive to write better, you keep aiming for the best you can be. Whatever your skill may be, instill discipline.
• Think of the most influential people in history and study how they don’t settle for mediocrity. They honed their craft for as long as they lived! Their written stories are timeless and will be enjoyed by the future generations. How about your work?

3. DO revise your work

• Writing is an endless cycle of drafting, editing, and revising. After you have written one article, you edit and revise it again. During these repetitive tasks, make sure to improve your work. If you see something unnecessary, don’t hesitate to cut it out. In the end, you would want to simplify the complicated topics.
• But first, you need your outline. Write your outline without worrying of the grammar, spelling, and word choices.  Once it’s done, then, rewrite your work with the changes you want to apply. As I always point out, you should aim to make things better and NOT to “perfect” your article. No one is perfect; you will just go crazy perfecting every little detail!

4. DO study the subject matter and show authority

• Lastly, I believe that in order to be a good writer, you should also be a writer. You can’t write well if you don’t read.
• Whether you feel like reading a book, listening to audiobooks, or streaming, you do what improves your passion. Never stop studying and pursuing your passion. The more you know, the easier the words will come to you. More knowledge means more words! So, keep learning until you are revered as an expert in your niche!

More tips? 2020 Edition: The Writing To-Dos (Part 2)

In 3 Must-Have Tools to Help Get You Started with Your Online Business (Part 1), I already shared three free tools that help you in every step of the way. Now, I will share more useful tools in order to help your business to continually grow. Some tools may be familiar to you, but stick around because you might discover a thing or two.

At the end of the day, these tools aim to simplify tasks without spending as much. So, are you excited to know more about the different tools to help your new business?

4. Tweetdeck

Today, it’s impossible not to include social media in your marketing plans as practically everyone you know is on, at least one, social media platform. If these people are more active on Twitter, then, you are in luck. Tweetdeck is a tool to track and organize all your engagements on Twitter. It’s easy to know what tweets worked and what didn’t. Best of all, you can schedule your future tweets with this tool!

No matter what industry your business is under, social media is important in order to survive in this ever-changing digital landscape. Other social media sites, like Facebook, already has a built-in feature in order to schedule posts on business pages. If you are just starting, it’s not bad to utilize these free tools. However, the downside is that they will be time consuming for you to switch to different platforms. If you want a more easier option to manage social media accounts, proceed to the next number.

5. Hootsuite

If you plan to automate your post on all your social media accounts, then, Hootsuite is the solution for you. No matter what platform, this helps you plan your social media posts ahead of time. Hence, saving you more time for other things to do.

The only downside? It’s a paid service. Like I said, if you don’t mind manually scheduling posts, then, read tip #4. However, if you want a faster approach, then, give this a try. For only $19.00 a month, you are allowed to add 10 different social media accounts and to schedule an unlimited number of posts.

Other notable features include:

• Use premade replies to make your responses appear more professional.
• Reply to messages and comments without switching to different platforms. It’s all in one dashboard!
• Know the post with most interactions and engagements in order to develop more marketing strategies.

With Hootsuite, you won’t ever get frustrated with handling different social media accounts all at the same time. No need to hire a social media manager because Hootsuite is ready to help you. Whatever you decide to use, please remember the 4 Things You Should NOT Do on Social Media.

6. Google Analytics

A list of free tool won’t be complete without Google Analytics because, let’s face it, Google Analytics help you understand your website, making it easier to track your web visitors. I don’t mean this in a creepy way. What I meant was track in a way that you will know where your traffic comes from!

The Google Analytics can quickly tell you that whether the traffic comes from an organic search (or search engine), a social media posting, a referral site, or from a direct link. Upon knowing the area with the most traffic, you can formulate more strategies in the future to fit this newly acquired data.

Next?  3 Must-Have Tools to Help Get You Started with Your Online Business (Part 3)

Now that The Writing Not To-Dos (Part 1) and The Writing Not To-Dos (Part 2) are done, I’ll give the final list of not to-dos. This post does not only apply to bloggers and online writers, but it will also be helpful for social media managers, product description writers, and web content writers.

9. DON’T focus on the money.

• Blog campaigns and other marketing campaigns take time. If you are here expecting immediate returns, then, this is not for you. SEO may be free for everyone, but it will require a lot of your time.
• There are things you must work on before you see noticeable returns. First, you need to work on your on-page SEO, off-page SEO (or link building), and technical SEO such as page speed. So, if you merely focus on the short-term returns, better find something else.
• However, if you are here for the long run, I must remind you to:
  • be patient because results will eventually come.
  • trust the process. It may take time, but results will manifest soon.
  • not focus on the number of likes. It’s not about the quantity of likes, but it’s about brand loyalty.
  • continue writing more of what works for your website.
• So, if you are writing SEO articles, invest on trusted strategies. It’s usually the long-term strategies that deliver surefire results. More reading for SEO newbies: 3 Things to Focus on If You Are Still an SEO Beginner

10. DON’T just write to add keywords.

• Next,  you aren’t hired to write the same keywords over and over. Yes, adding relevant keywords help to rank your pages better. SEO is important, but it shouldn’t be your main focus. If you just keep adding keywords, your articles will lose its value.
• You aren’t writing just to please Google; you are also writing for actual people. Thus, there should be a balance between writing for search engines and for people.
• Remember, you should write a specific content that caters to your users. What’s the use of your keyword-filled blog post when no one will read it? So, consider your reader first. What do they want to read? What do they search for? More on: 4 Things to Remember When Selecting Keywords to Rank for

11. DON’T write aimlessly.

• Whether in traditional writing or online writing, there should be an outline. Creating an outline allows you to organize your thoughts, and it won’t randomly go out of topic.
• If you need help with writing your next blog post, refer to 3 Aspects of a Superior Blog Post (Part 1) and 3 Aspects of a Superior Blog Post (Part 2).
• If you are out of ideas, there are also tools that will help you. More on: 5 Tools that Will Assist You in Producing Better Blog Posts
• At the end of the day, as long as your post has an intro, body, and conclusion, then it’s all good. It doesn’t matter if you come up with a conclusion first, the intro next, and then the body of your post. The important thing is to have a clear outline before you start writing.

Want more? Let’s now go to the Writing To-Dos. Click on the Writing To-Dos (Part 1) for more tips!