Google is one of the most famous companies in the world. Most of all, it is valued precisely for active traffic, which can help develop any business. Because of this, Google Ads is the main effective advertising channel that every marketing strategy includes.

Recently, Google has released an update that addresses image SEO optimization. Read about how this affected promotion and advertising below.

What is SEO Image?

Before discussing Google's innovations, it is important to clarify what SEO image is.

The role of such an aspect of SEO as image optimization is undoubtedly important. Now any image or picture is a full-fledged part of the overall mechanism of the website. As a result, with the help of an online photo resizer, the image is changed to the standards or dimensions of the website, and algorithms are added to it and placed on the page. Then everything depends on traffic, advertising, etc. To evaluate the content of images, search engines rely on 3 tools:

• Studying the text near images,
• Analyzing objects in images by algorithms,
• Reading SEO tags written inside the image.

This is a summary for those who have heard about it for the first time. Therefore, further material of the article will be devoted to the main features and aspects of the recent Google SEO update.

SEO-optimization of images on the site affects both the improvement of the issuance of the entire page and the likelihood of getting to the top of the image search.

Content Just Got More Valuable

The main phrase of the December 2022 Helpful Content Update was that the quality of content and the quality of its presentation is the main argument for Google algorithms. Previously, website ranking required spamming content and breaking keywords as much as possible to attract traffic.

The update put everything in its place. The same applies to images; now, spamming a web page with pictures with alt will not be welcomed and ignored by the search engine.

The quality of content and images is also a major aspect of high rankings. The higher their level, the higher the chance of being on the first page of Google search. The title and link elements are now the most important signals for tracking an RSS feed on Google Discover. Google also parses img elements even within others, including images.

AI Content Policy

AI race  activity is gaining momentum every day. The special talent of neural networks is noted due to creating unique images and text. 

But despite this, Google is actively fighting against AI content. Although marketers continue to use artificial intelligence programs to speed up workflows, those who do not use them significantly lose out in the traffic race. 

The requirements for expertise and personal experience in the content are growing. This trend is driving the development of artificial intelligence, as an increase in generated text and images is inevitable. Search engines must and will face the challenge of separating the generated from the non-generated. This can only be done by clinging to some additional things. The main disadvantages of AI programs are inaccuracies, bias, and obvious errors. 

New algorithms can recognize text written by AI, like ChatGPT, and generate images. As a result, sites where AI content is found, will be less actively promoted.

Improved Image Search

Seeing the trend for this category of searches, the company decided to give this a separate section in the update. Many users at the initial stage positively assessed the search by photos. Over time, a search function was added for photos taken immediately on the spot, which also positively expanded the possibilities of SEO images.

As a result, now images should be optimized alt and description, have an optimal size, and load quickly.

Other Features Updates

In general, what we have described above is mostly about image SEO. But it is also worth mentioning other interesting features and innovations, including:

• New algorithms for searching, identifying, and limiting spam content (including this category of SEO);
• Placement on a certain search position will depend on the site's quality. The lower the rating and the overall structure of the site, the lower its position will be;
• Rating boost for sites that do not use (or use minimally) AI for content creation;
• Encourage sites that post useful content for different categories of people;
• The update updated the repeat offenders policy;
• The update has a global label and is available in all languages and territories of all countries.

Conclusion

This update is one of the best and higher than the previous Performance Max. Most of the attention was paid to images and AI since now the visual aspect is one of the main ones for getting traffic. Google services themselves are also moving into a more automated mechanism. Whether this is good or bad is hard to say. But we will keep an eye on the updates and keep you informed.