If you are running an online store, you can better understand the importance of product images. They are one of the most important design elements that can either make or break your e-commerce brand. Posting high-quality e-commerce product images clearly represent the quality of the products you are selling. They can also create an out-of-the-box shopping experience by highlighting each and every detail of the product.
Many e-commerce brands are using high-quality product images to establish brand credibility, build trust and increase conversion. Improving the quality of your products is important to increase your chances of closing more leads and boosting sales. Unfortunately, many UX designers and web design companies focus on creating a smooth user experience design but don’t focus on the quality of the images. Remember, poor-quality product images can have a negative impact on your shopping experience.
If you are wondering why product images are important for your e-commerce website and how you can effectively improve your product images, this post is for you.
Let’s explore what product images can do for your ecommerce store.
Crating a First, Positive Impression
When a visitor lands at your ecommerce store, you only have a few seconds to entice him/her to your store. According to a study, the human brain can process images faster than text. It is advised to create a first, positive image of your brand by showing your product image. The quality of product images matters most to create a long-lasting impression.
Help Customers Make Buying Decisions
Customers see images from different angles and zoom the image to check the details and quality of a product. They want to see the color, size, texture, shape, and other details of a product. Viewing pictures closely will give them a better idea of whether or not the product is the right fit.
A survey conducted by Shopify suggests that more than 60% of customers want to see images with 360ºview. Provide a number of product images so that customers make a well-informed purchase decision.
Create an In-Store Experience
In an e-commerce business world, customers solely relied on product images and descriptions to make a purchase decision. Unlike brick and mortar stores, the opportunity to touch and feel the product before purchasing is not possible during online shopping. Online shoppers can’t feel, touch, smell, or taste products.
Buyers rely on product photos and descriptions to make the purchase decision. They can see what they are buying even if they can’t touch the product. Therefore, posting high-quality product images is crucial to convince potential buyers to complete the buying process.
Drive More Conversions and Sales
One of the biggest advantages of posting product images on your e-commerce store is that it will increase conversions and sales. According to a survey conducted by Weebly, 75% of respondents believe that product images play a key role in making a purchasing decision. Basically, images catch the attention of prospects and create the desire for a product. It will increase your chances of closing more conversions and drive more sales.
Focus on Product Photography
Do you know bad product photography can have a negative impact on your e-commerce business? It’s no surprise that website imagery serves as an important design element. Bad images make it difficult for customers to purchase a product. It also negatively impacts your conversion and sales goals. The goal of product images is to clearly define your prospects and what they are going to buy. Poor quality images will make them move to your competitor’s website and never come again. So, focus on professional product photography to make your e-commerce store look professional and reliable.
Strengthen Your Marketing Efforts
Using high-quality product images on your e-commerce store is a sensible marketing strategy to attract more customers and sell more items. If truth be told, images can serve as a great marketing tool that increases your brand reach and attract more people. Images can be used on multiple social media platforms to promote your brand and reach a wider audience.
Improve Your SERP Rankings
Optimizing your e-commerce product photos for search engines is a sensible strategy to increase website traffic. Images with alt text and detailed descriptions help search engines better understand what your product is all about. When someone searches for the product, Google matches the alt text, keyword, and description to display your image.
Don’t forget the size of the image you upload on a product page. Reduce the size of the images, as high image size will only decrease the loading speed of your e-commerce website which negatively impacts your SERP rankings, eventually missing purchases. Optimizing the image size can increase the website loading speed, increase the amount of organic traffic to your store and increase your rankings.
Let’s explore some tried and tested image optimization hacks to increase your SERP rankings.
Image Optimization Hacks for Your Ecommerce Product Images
Use the Relevant Keywords to Name Your Product
When it comes to optimizing your product images, make sure to choose the relevant, keyword-rich file name. It is the best trick to help search engines understand your product and rank your product page higher on the SERPs.
Add Alt Attributes
Alt attributes are another important component that can increase SEO value of your product images. Adding relevant alt attributes to your product images can help you rank higher on search engines. It is recommended to choose the relevant keywords for alt text to boost your SEO efforts.
Avoid Uploading Large Images
Do you know approximately 50% of customers don’t bother to wait even for three seconds for a site to load? Google considers page load time as a major ranking factor. Images that take too long to load can make your prospects leave the site as it decreases the page load speed. Reducing the image size is the best strategy to increase the page loading time. However, you can go for a smart tactic. Uploading a smaller image with an option to zoom will allow visitors to check the details of the product.
Choose the Right Image Format
JPEG, GIF, and PNG are the most common file types you can use for website images. JPEG images can be easily compressed without affecting the quality of the image. The GIF format is a simple format that is used for icons and decorative images and supports animation. PNG is considered the best alternative to GIF and supports a variety of colors compared to GIF. When it comes to choosing the image format for your e-commerce website, JPEG is the right choice.
Test Your Images
Remember, the ultimate goal of e-commerce product image optimization is to drive more conversions and earn more profit. Testing your images can help you better understand what your prospects like. You can check the number of images that must be uploaded on a product page. In a variety of cases, uploading a lot of images can deliver a positive user experience, while in some cases, it won’t work. The key is to test and find the way that is best for your e-commerce store. Conduct surveys to know what your potential customers want and try to implement changes that work best for you.
Say NO to Decorative Images
It’s no surprise that fancy images can add a lot of aesthetic appeal to your product pages but adding large image file sizes will only affect your site loading speed. For e-commerce websites, product images, borders, CTA buttons, and background images are the essential ones. Adding anything else will have a negative user experience and affect your conversion rate. A professional web design company with a team of experienced designers can help you figure out which image type and size would be a perfect fit for your e-commerce store.
Responsive Product Images
Optimizing a website for mobile shoppers has become a necessity for e-commerce businesses. If your website is only designed for desktops, now is the time to contact mobile app developers and let them optimize your e-commerce website for mobile. They will ensure your product images look on mobile screens, load faster and deliver a positive user experience.
Image Optimization Tools
Fortunately, there are some amazing image optimization tools available that you can use for your e-commerce product image optimization.
· AVADA SEO Image Optimizer
· TinyIMG SEO & Image Optimizer
· TinyPNG
· JPEG Optimizer
· Kraken
· Optimizilla
· JPEG.io
· ImageRecycle
· Compressor.io
· Ezgif
Wrapping it Up
All in all, product images are the most important components of your e-commerce website that can brighten up your chances of getting top rankings on search engines. By uploading high-quality product images, you can increase the website traffic to your online store and convince people to complete the purchase decision. Hopefully, this post will definitely help e-commerce businesses understand the importance of product images and let them make more sales with this important design element.
Comments / 0