# Image and Video SEO for Discovery and Accessibility > Publish original, fast-loading, accessible photos and video with clear descriptions and nearby context. Canonical: https://vassalmarketing.com/information/image-video-seo/ **Maintained by Vassal Marketing** · Last updated on September 26, 2026 Reviewed at least quarterly and whenever a platform or rule it cites changes. General information, not legal or professional advice. Check rules that affect your business with a qualified professional. Media SEO makes your photos and videos easy to find, quick to load, and useful on the page where they appear. ## Why this matters Original photos and video can show your work, explain a process, and help customers judge quality in ways text can't. Google can show that media in image and video results when it can access the files and understand them. Oversized, decorative, or undescribed media can instead slow pages and shut out visitors using screen readers. Start with why each image is there, then describe it, size it, and deliver it efficiently. ## Recommended practices ### Use original media with a job Photograph real jobs, staff, locations, and before-and-after results when you have permission. Place each image near text that explains what it shows and why it matters. ### Write useful alt text Describe informative images briefly and leave decorative images with empty alt text. Hypothetical example: “Technician replacing a water heater's anode rod,” not “plumber plumbing best plumber water heater.” Caption or transcribe meaningful video. ### Size files for the screen Use modern formats, sensible compression, and responsive image sizes. Reserve space so the layout doesn't jump. Don't lazy-load the main image at the top of the page. ### Give important videos a real page Put key videos on a stable page with a descriptive title, supporting text, a thumbnail, and playback that doesn't require a login. ### Add accurate media metadata Use image or video structured data and sitemaps where they apply. Keep file URLs stable and make sure markup describes media visitors can actually see. ## What to do next 1. List the key images and videos on each important page, with their purpose and file size. 2. Replace stock images with your own photos where they show real work or proof. 3. Compress and resize files, then check that pages don't shift while loading on a phone. 4. Add alt text, captions, and transcripts that a person has reviewed. 5. Use URL Inspection to confirm Google can fetch important image and video pages. ## Avoid these shortcuts - Stuffing alt text with keywords instead of describing the image - Uploading oversized files and relying on the page to shrink them - Embedding an important video with no useful page around it - Using stock or AI-generated images as if they show real work ## Questions business owners ask ### Does every image need descriptive alt text? Every image needs an alt attribute, but decorative ones should usually be empty so screen readers skip them. Informative images need a short description of what they show. ### Should image filenames contain keywords? A readable filename like “water-heater-install.jpg” adds a little context and helps you stay organized. It's no substitute for good placement, nearby text, and alt text. ### Do all videos need separate pages? No. Give a video its own page when watching it is the main point. Short supporting clips can stay inside a broader page if that serves visitors better. ## Primary guidance - [Google Images SEO best practices](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-images) - [Google Video SEO best practices](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/video) - [web.dev: Image performance](https://web.dev/learn/performance/image-performance) Search visibility, rankings, calls, leads, and revenue are not guaranteed. ## Related SEO guides - [Content Strategy and Topical Coverage](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/content-strategy.md): Write service pages and helpful articles that answer real customer questions with your own experience, instead of publishing many thin pages. - [On-Page SEO for Clear, Useful Pages](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/on-page-seo.md): Write titles, meta descriptions, headings, and page copy that make each page's purpose obvious to searchers and search engines. - [Technical SEO and Website Health](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/technical-seo.md): Make sure search engines can crawl and index your important pages, and that those pages load quickly and work well on phones. [Explore all SEO guides](https://vassalmarketing.com/information/seo.md).