How can you improve your web accessibility and SEO with optimized images and videos?

1 Why optimize images and videos?

Optimizing images and videos means reducing their file size, adjusting their dimensions, choosing the right format, and adding relevant metadata. By doing so, you can improve your site's performance, speed, and user satisfaction, as well as your ranking and visibility on search engines. Optimized images and videos can also help you comply with web accessibility standards and guidelines, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which aim to make web content accessible to people with disabilities.

2 How to optimize images for web accessibility and SEO?

Optimizing your images for web accessibility and SEO is important and there are several steps you can take to do so. For example, give your images descriptive and meaningful file names that reflect the content and purpose of the image. Alternative text (alt text) should also be provided to give a text equivalent of the image for screen readers and other assistive technologies. This alt text should be concise, accurate, and relevant to the context. Additionally, captions, titles, and long descriptions should be used to provide additional information and context about the image. Responsive images should also be used that adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions using the srcset and sizes attributes or the picture element. Furthermore, use appropriate image formats such as JPEG for photos, PNG for graphics, and SVG for icons and logos. Avoid using BMP, TIFF, or GIF formats as they are larger and less compatible. Finally, use compression tools such as TinyPNG, ImageOptim, or Squoosh to reduce the file size of your images without compromising their quality.

3 How to optimize videos for web accessibility and SEO?

Optimizing your videos for web accessibility and SEO can be done by following a few steps. Use descriptive and meaningful file names that reflect the content and purpose of the video. Also, use transcripts, captions, and subtitles to provide a text alternative of the audio and visual content of the video. Video descriptions or audio descriptions should be used to provide a narration of the visual content for people who are blind or have low vision. Additionally, responsive videos should be used that adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions. The appropriate video formats such as MP4, WebM, or Ogg should be used instead of AVI, WMV, or MOV formats as they are larger and less compatible. Lastly, compression tools like HandBrake, FFmpeg, or Cloudinary can be used to reduce the file size of your videos without compromising their quality.

4 How to test your web accessibility and SEO?

Once you have optimized your images and videos, you can test your web accessibility and SEO using various tools and methods. For web accessibility compliance, use evaluation tools such as WAVE, AChecker, or Lighthouse to identify and highlight potential issues and provide suggestions for improvement. For SEO performance and optimization, use analysis tools like Google Search Console, Moz, or SEMrush to measure and monitor your site's traffic, ranking, keywords, backlinks, and other SEO factors. Additionally, user testing and feedback such as surveys, interviews, or usability tests can help you understand how your users perceive and interact with your images and videos, as well as their challenges or preferences.

5 How to keep learning and improving?

Staying up-to-date with web accessibility and SEO standards is an ongoing process that requires constant learning and improvement. To keep up with the latest trends and best practices, you should stay informed of sources such as WCAG, ARIA, and Google Webmaster Guidelines. Additionally, you can learn from experts in the field through blogs, podcasts, courses, or forums. Experimentation is key too; try out new tools, techniques, or formats to optimize images and videos for web accessibility and SEO. Testing and comparing different options will show you what works best for your site and users.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?