Google says giving each image its own landing page can help it appear in image search. The company warns that some gallery setups may prevent images from being indexed individually.
The guidance came from Search Advocates John Mueller and Martin Splitt during the latest Search Off the Record podcast, where they discussed SEO challenges for photography websites.
Avoid Fragments & Lightboxes For Key Images
Many gallery plugins use JavaScript lightboxes or URL fragments (addresses with a # symbol) to display images.
Mueller explained that this can stop Google from treating each image as a distinct page:
“If you have something unique to add to the image like a unique text, longer description kind of thing and you want people to explicitly visit that image when they go from image search then yes, having a unique landing page for the image makes a lot of sense.”
When Google encounters a gallery page with many images, Mueller said the search engine may not view it as a relevant landing page for a single photo:
“If you only have a gallery page, then we’re like, ‘Oh, there are 50 images on this page and there’s a bit of text, but is this an image landing page that someone might be looking for?’ Which perhaps not?”
What To Do Instead
If image search visibility matters for your site:
- Give each important image a unique, crawlable URL that loads without relying on JavaScript.
- Include original text about the image, such as subject details, location, or technical info.
- Keep gallery pages for broader topics, but don’t rely on them to rank for individual images.
Responsive Images Help UX, Not Rankings
The conversation also covered responsive images and modern formats like WEBP and AVIF.
While useful for performance, Mueller noted they aren’t ranking factors on their own:
“These are good practices. But just because you’re doing these good practices, you’re not going to rank for underwater photography Switzerland automatically. You have to do more.”
Why It Matters
If you publish visual content, check how your site handles image URLs.
Default gallery implementations in CMSs, e-commerce platforms, and portfolio sites may be preventing your images from being indexed and surfaced in search results.
Auditing your setup and giving key images their own pages could unlock search visibility you’re currently missing.
Listen to the full podcast episode below:
