Image SEO for News Sites and Editorial Publishers

News sites have specific image SEO challenges and opportunities. Editorial images need accurate IPTC metadata, proper credits, and captions that serve both readers and search engines. Google News also has specific requirements for images appearing in Top Stories.

Google News Image Requirements

For images to appear alongside articles in Google News and Top Stories:

Minimum size: 1200px wide (for prominent placement)
Must be directly accessible — not behind paywalls
Must be relevant to the article content
Google recommends including images in article structured data

Editorial Image Caption Writing

News captions follow AP Style guidelines: who, what, where, when — and why if relevant. Captions must be accurate and should not editorialise beyond the facts shown in the image.

Element	Editorial Caption
Who	Prime Minister [Name]
What	speaks at a press conference
Where	at 10 Downing Street
When	on Monday, December 4
Photo credit	Photo: [Photographer Name]/[Agency]

IPTC Metadata for Editorial Images

Professional news organisations embed IPTC metadata in every image file. Key fields:

Caption: Full editorial caption
Credit: Photographer and agency
Source: Wire service if applicable (AP, Reuters, Getty)
Copyright: Rights holder
Keywords: Topic keywords for internal search

Article Schema with Images

Include an image in your Article schema to be eligible for Google's Top Stories carousel:

{"@type":"Article","headline":"Article Title","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://example.com/article-image.jpg","width":1200,"height":630}}

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