Image optimization is far too often an overlooked step for webmasters. If you're guilty of this (and we all have been at times) then you'll be pleased to know recent changes to Image Search have opened up some opportunities that not everyone knows about – yet! So now's the time to get ahead of the pack.

In your defense, you may have forgotten or didn't even realize that images are often used not only in Image Search but also in regular organic search. With the introduction of OCR (optical character recognition ) built into Google Lens, Image Search is increasingly becoming more mainstream. Now those top spots could be yours to snag as long as you follow the instructions we've laid out for you below.

In this article you'll get a refresher on the basics of image optimization to know where to get started, along with some of the latest changes.. These 7 techniques will help your images rank well in Google and Bing. Then we'll finish up this complete image tutorial in Part 2 where we dive into advanced topics in case you need that extra edge in tough keyword spaces.

All websites that make money from search traffic should at the very minimum use the methods listed below for the basics in image optimization. Even if you think you know it all, you should take a hard look at this article with the idea that you might pick up on at least one more thing (maybe two) — and we're pretty sure you'll find part 2 - advanced image optimization techniques worthwhile.

The Ba...