Google is launching a new referrer URL specific to Google Images.

It should make it easier to drill down into search referral traffic and analyse what’s really bringing in the crowds.

Important images in analytics

Knowing where your web traffic comes from is a pivotal part in building and developing an audience. Analytics reports the sources of traffic as ‘referrer URLs’.

Google Images has just been given a shiny new referral URL of its own: https://images.google.com.

Hitherto, analytics tools have largely conflated Google Images referrals with other traffic from Google Search.

The change means that pages which owe traffic to their popular images will now be able to see that and do something with the info.

Optimising to get Google Images search traffic

To get the best out of the new referral URL data on offer, you’ll want to make sure your web pages are optimised for Google Images. As with so much official Google SEO advice, the main upshot of the Images guidelines are to design with users in mind.

So, put the most important image at or near the top of the page, keeping file-size low and ensuring mobile compatibility.

Then, make sure you use descriptive alt text for images, add image file URLs to your sitemap and make sure your page includes structured data for Google prominence.

In the grand game of SEO, can you see image optimisation being a significant factor for mainstream websites?

Copy Transmission is a Melbourne-based agency :: Better Brands. Loud & Clear.