Image SEO
How to Conduct an Image SEO Audit
AltTagsForImages.com · Image SEO Guide · 2025
Disclosure: Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase.
Learn more.
An image SEO audit identifies gaps between your current image optimisation and best practice. For most established websites, an image audit reveals significant quick-win opportunities. This guide shows you exactly how to conduct one.
Step 1: Crawl Your Website
Use Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free up to 500 URLs) to crawl your site and extract all image data:
- Open Screaming Frog → enter your domain → Start
- When crawl completes → click Images tab
- Filter by "Missing Alt Text" — list all images without alt text
- Export as CSV for reference
Step 2: Check Image File Sizes
In Screaming Frog: Images tab → click Size column → sort descending. Any images over 200KB should be targeted for compression.
Step 3: Check for Broken Images
Images tab → filter by "Broken" (status code 404 or other errors). Broken images are both a user experience problem and a waste of crawl budget.
Step 4: Check Google Search Console
- Search Console → Performance → Search type: Images
- Review which pages drive image search traffic and which don't
- Pages with content but no image traffic likely have missing/poor alt text
Step 5: Test Page Speed
Google PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev) → enter your URL → check Opportunities section for image-specific recommendations including: "Properly size images", "Defer offscreen images", "Efficiently encode images", "Serve images in next-gen formats".
Audit Scoring Framework
| Metric | Score 0 | Score 50 | Score 100 |
|---|
| Alt text coverage | 0% images have alt text | 50% have alt text | 100% have descriptive alt text |
| File size | All over 500KB | Mixed sizes | All under 150KB |
| Broken images | Over 10% broken | Under 5% broken | Zero broken |
| Image search traffic | Zero | Under 5% of total | Over 10% of total |
Start fixing: Once your audit identifies images missing alt text, use our
free generator to create accurate descriptions quickly. Upload multiple images at once to speed up the process.
Need Professional SEO Help?
Hire an expert: If you would rather have a professional handle your image SEO, you can find experienced
SEO freelancers on Fiverr starting from $5. They can audit your images, write alt text, fix technical issues and improve your rankings.
Browse SEO experts →
Generate Alt Tags, Titles & Keywords Instantly
Our free AI-powered tool generates complete image metadata in one click. No subscription. No credit card.
Try the Free Tool →