Using Your Brand Photos to Improve SEO Performance
- Emily Marcella
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
Anyone remember the ‘Set it and forget it!’ infomercials of the 90s?
No? Just this marketing nerd? 🤓
🍗 Let me bring you up to speed - there was an at home rotisserie machine (because we all needed one of those) where you could cook a whole chicken by placing it in this machine, setting the timer, and forgetting it until it was ready.
One action - setting the timer - and you could forget about the rest.
But wait there's more! *get it?!*
The ‘Set it and forget it!’ concept is one of my favorites, especially as a small business owner looking for easy marketing wins.
Here’s an easy ‘set it and forget it’ marketing tip you need to try 👇🏼
RENAME YOUR BRAND PHOTO FILES
Use your relevant keywords in your brand photo file names before you upload them anywhere on the web.
Especially your website.
For example, you're a local hair stylist who wants to show up higher in search results when potential clients google a hair salon near them. Simply changing the name of your brand photo from something nondescript like 'IMG_3454.jpg' to 'Warrenton-VA_hair-stylist.jpg' can boost your performance.
Remember to use keywords that describe what you do and where you serve.
Why It's Important to Rename Your Image Files with Keywords
Google and other search engines are always trying to understand what is on your website. Basically, what you do and who you serve. That way the search engine is producing the most relevant results for their users.
Since search engines technically can't 'see' your images, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to understand the images you use on your website.
Changing the generic file names to something with relevant keywords will help search engines understand your images.
Bonus - writing out your Alt tags for your images helps even more and makes your website more user friendly. Simply write a short description of what's happening in the brand photo.
What Happens When You Rename Your Images
Once you've set it (aka rename your image files), you can forget it. For the most part.
Time will need to run its course to give time for SEO crawlers to gather data on your website. These crawlers then take the data and report back to search engines with their findings.
As time marches on and search engines understand you better, you'll likely show up higher in local search results. Same goes for aligning the keywords in your image file names with the keywords on your website to reinforce your existing SEO.
Finally, keywords in your brand photo file names will boost your image search results, as well.
DING! Your Micro-Marketing is Done!
You won’t flood your website with new leads but you will have made one simple improvement that will boost your marketing performance. And you can forget about it once you've done it. Win-win!
💾 SAVE this post for the next time you’re uploading images to your website.
And if you’re looking for new brand photos to upload - I’m here to help with bringing your brand photos to life 🙋🏼♀️
About the Branding Photos in This Post
The Hair Hub is a Northern Virginia hair salon located in Warrenton, Virginia. Carissa and her team of stylists will help you redefine your hair story. Through exceptional cuts, dimensional or vibrant hair coloring, and a variety of natural hair care products, you're guaranteed to find a solution to your hair needs. Learn more about the Hair Hub on their website and connect with them on Instagram.
About the Northern Virginia Brand Photographer
Emily Marcella is a personal brand photographer located in Northern Virginia. Emily aims to connect with women solopreneurs who are ready to show up confidently in their marketing with brand photography. Through strategy and creativity, Emily creates a library of on-brand images ready to support content marketing needs. Connect with Emily on Instagram or Pinterest to see more of her work.
