Google has updated its image SEO best practices guide with new guidance on using the same URL when sharing images across your website.
Key Update Focuses on Crawl Budget
The most significant change in Google’s guide pertains to handling images that appear on multiple pages. Google now states:
“If an image is referenced on multiple pages within a larger website, consider the site’s overall crawl budget. In particular, consistently reference the image with the same URL, so that Google can cache and reuse the image without needing to request it multiple times.”
This means you should use the exact same image URL whenever deploying that image on different pages.
When you use the same URL, Google only needs to crawl and index that image once. This conserves time and resources for both Google and your website.
Why This Matters
For those managing large websites, this update addresses an important resource concern.
Crawl budget is the number of pages Google will check on your site within a specific timeframe. It’s limited, so you want to utilize it wisely.
When the same image appears with different URLs across your site, Google might waste time crawling what is actually the same image multiple times.
How to Implement This Advice
If your website contains numerous images, here’s how to start using consistent URLs:
- Check how images are currently linked across your website
- Create a standard structure for all image URLs
- Update your website templates to incorporate consistent image links
- Consider using a centralized image management system
- Monitor your crawl stats in Google Search Console to observe improvements
Looking Forward
This update indicates that Google aims to assist websites with efficient crawling as sites increasingly utilize more images.
For SEO professionals, it’s a reminder that image optimization extends beyond just alt text.
As websites rely more heavily on visual content, these refined best practices help ensure your images enhance your search visibility without hindering your site’s performance.
Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock
