Images are an important feature on any product webpage. If you can’t see what you’re buying you are in essence buying blind and unlikely to make the purchase irrespective of good descriptions or price.
Image optimisation is key for online retail and as the value of the item increases so to does the need for good images.
Missing Images
How often have you visited a website and they simply don’t have any images?
Take the example below:
The likelihood of a potential customer purchasing these is almost zero as they simply cannot see what they are buying.
Number of Images
A clear, high quality image is vital to any product and again, the higher the price of the item the more images you would expect to see.
Within Fruugo we can show a maximum of 5 images, with the exception of ChannelAdvisor retailers who can display up to 10 images. These images should show the product from different angles and perhaps show elements such as packaging/ labels or hallmarks to show product authenticity.
Ebay.com Research Labs completed a study on the correlation between the number of images and conversion rates. They found that listings with one image had twice the conversion rates of listings with zero images.
Conversion rates then doubled again for listings with two images versus only one. The study found a clear trend that as photo count increased, the probability of making a profit also increased.
Image Background
Generally a plain, white background is recommended for the primary image. This helps display the product clearly and means it is more likely to be approved for Google Shopping.
In some instances these can be accompanied by more lifestyle type images but the focus needs to be on the product being sold to ensure customers are clear as to what they’re buying.
Remove.bg is a good tool for removing backgrounds if your products aren’t already shot on a white background.
Mismatched Images
Almost as bad as a missing image is a mismatched image.
If the image is of X but the title and description are of Y then a customer has no idea what they’re buying. This may lead to them contacting your customer services team and unnecessary work for teams which could easily be avoided simply by uploading the correct image.
The image below is a prime example of this. The customer doesn’t know if they are buying an Alsatian Dog Toy (as per the image) or a Sheepdog Dog Toy (as per the title):
SEO for Images
Jumpshot completed a study in 2018 that found 22.6% of web searches in the US were on Google images. So, considering how images can be searched is also of importance when we discuss image optimisation.
One of the best starting points is considering naming conventions for your saved images. Calling a file 444.jpg isn’t as clear as calling it D&GRedFloralDress.jpg. This helps Google understand what the image is when it crawls your site, and, if used in conjunction with Alt Text it strengthens Google’s understanding of the webpage.
Alt text simply describes what the image is and means if the image won’t load it is shown or if a visually impaired user lands on the page they can understand what the image is of. Alt text should describe the image as clearly as possible and be under 125 characters in length. Whilst you should put keywords in to describe the image this should not be used as opportunity for keyword stuffing or adding irrelevant terms.
Guidelines for Images for Google Shopping
Google Shopping has stringent guidelines for images which retailers should follow if they want shopping ads to be approved and showcased in Google Shopping. The following outline some of the things to avoid and which are likely to result in disapprovals:
Promotional Overlay on Image — this could be promotional text such as a logo or a watermark. A clear, unobstructed view is required of the product so anything that interferes with this is likely to cause a disapproval in Google Shopping:
Generic/ Missing Image — this could include placeholders or no image available. Google needs a clear image showcasing the product being sold:
Image Too Small — Google specifies that products need to be the following sizes…
“For apparel products, images must be at least 250 x 250 pixels and cannot be larger than 64 megapixels.
For all other products, images must be at least 100 x 100 pixels and cannot be larger than 64 megapixels.
Images cannot be larger than 16 MB in file size.
Do not scale up images or submit thumbnails. [Google] recommend that the product take no less than 75% but no more than 90% of the full image”.
Image size is also important when you consider things like webpage load speeds. If you have a huge image that takes a long time to load this can cause customers to leave your site and cause pages to be flagged in Search Console or on the Google Page Speed tool for speed issues.
If you do need to reduce image size, it’s vital you do this without compromising on quality.
When considering your products online hopefully we’ve illustrated the importance of images and how they can impact on conversion rates. If you have areas that could be improved we strongly recommend optimising your images for your website and Google Shopping. If you join Fruugo as a retailer we provide advice regarding areas such as image quality to try and ensure your data is the best it can be on the Fruugo marketplace platform. If you don’t believe the power images have perhaps complete some AB testing to see if the results speak for themselves.
