Image Optimization with Yoast (Alt Text, Titles, and More)

by | Jun 12, 2025 | Blog Optimization, Marketing Tips, Publishing Tips, Resources, Writing Tips and Tools

Digital illustration showing image optimization tips for authors using Yoast SEO

Images do more than make your blog pretty. They help your content get discovered. For authors and creatives, optimizing images is an easy way to boost your visibility without overhauling your entire website. The good news? Yoast SEO gives you some handy tools to make that process easier. But not everything happens automatically. Here’s what you need to know about image optimization with Yoast, and what you still need to do manually.

Why Image SEO Matters for Authors

Search engines can’t “see” images the way humans can. Instead, they rely on cues like filenames, alt text, and image context. That means your blog post images could be quietly helping—or hurting—your search rankings.

Proper image SEO can:

  • Improve your blog’s accessibility for visually impaired readers
  • Help your images show up in Google Image Search
  • Reinforce your blog post’s focus keyphrase
  • Keep your website running faster (especially important for mobile users)

Every image on your blog is a small opportunity to be found. Don’t skip it.

How to Write Alt Text That Works for SEO and Accessibility

Alt text (short for “alternative text”) is what screen readers use to describe images to people who can’t see them. It’s also one of the first things search engines check.

Yoast SEO helps by checking whether your focus keyphrase appears in at least one image’s alt text. But it doesn’t write it for you.

Good alt text:

  • Describes the image clearly and naturally
  • Includes your post’s keyphrase, if relevant
  • Avoids “Image of…” (screen readers already assume that)

Good example:

Author at desk outlining a new fantasy novel (image optimization with Yoast)

Bad example:

blog keyword author blog image optimize book post Yoast plugin

If it sounds like spam, it probably is.

Where Yoast Helps (and Where It Doesn’t)

What Yoast does for images:

  • Checks if the keyphrase appears in alt text
  • Reminds you to add at least one image per post
  • Helps manage how images appear on social media via OpenGraph

What Yoast doesn’t do:

  • Write your alt text
  • Compress your image files
  • Rename image filenames for SEO

So while Yoast gets you part of the way there, the rest is still on you. Think of it like a helpful checklist, not a full assistant.

Quick Image SEO Checklist (Author-Friendly Edition)

Here’s what to do before you hit “Publish”:

  1. Rename the image file before uploading it to WordPress.
    • Example: fantasy-book-writing-tips.png
  2. Compress the file using TinyPNG or ImageOptim
  3. Add meaningful alt text using your keyphrase naturally
  4. Add a title and caption (optional, but helpful context for readers)
  5. Use relevant images that support your blog post’s purpose

And don’t forget to set a featured image so it looks great in social media previews.

Want more how-to guides like this? Browse our Winterwolf blog library or subscribe for tips tailored to authors navigating the online world. We’ve definitely got more than image optimization in Yoast.