Quick Answer: If you have duplicate images on your site—meaning multiple pages that feature the same exact image—this can negatively impact your freshness score and, as a result, your SEO ranking.
When it comes to website optimization, images are often an afterthought. But the truth is, they can have a big impact on your site’s ability to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
One of the key ranking factors that search engines take into account is the “freshness” of your content. And since images are a form of content, it stands to reason that they would be included in this calculation.
In this blog post, we’ll explain why duplicate images can hurt your ranking and give you some tips on how to avoid this problem.
Understanding How Duplicate Content Affects SEO
One of the main issues that can adversely affect a website’s SEO is duplicate content.
This is defined as content that appears in more than one place on the internet. Search engines like Google crawl the web constantly, indexing all the content they find.
When they come across identical or very similar content, they have to figure out which version is the original and which ones are duplicates. This can be a time-consuming process, and it can lead to your website getting lower rankings than it otherwise would. In some cases, your website may even be removed from Google’s index entirely.
That’s why it’s important to make sure that all the content on your site is unique. If you have to use some duplicate content (for example, if you’re quoting someone else), be sure to use the rel=”canonical” tag to tell Google which version is the original. By taking these measures, you can help ensure that your website has a strong SEO foundation.
What Are Duplicate Images?
In short, duplicate images are exactly what they sound like; two (or more) identical or nearly identical images. This can happen for a number of reasons, including using the same image in multiple places on your website or across different websites entirely.
Duplicate images can have an impact on your website’s SEO. Here’s how.
How Duplicate Images Impact SEO
When it comes to ranking in search engines, originality is key. That’s why using duplicate images—or even worse, stolen or plagiarized images—can hurt your ranking. If search engines deem your content as unoriginal, they may penalize your site by lowering its ranking in the search results.
This is especially true for Google Image Search.
Since Google launched Image Search in 2001, it has become one of the most popular search engines on the web. And just like with traditional Google searches, when users conduct a Google Image Search, the goal is to find relevant results.
To determine what results are most relevant, Google uses a number of factors, including the titles and text surrounding an image.
If you’re using duplicate images—say, the same product photo across different pages of your website—Google may have difficulty determining what the image is actually about and where it should be ranked in the search results.
This can lower your organic reach and result in fewer people finding and visiting your website.
Imagine, for example, that you run a blog about fashion. You write a post about the latest trends for spring and include some images from a runway show.
A few weeks later, another fashion blogger writes a post about the same topic and also includes some images from the same runway show. Google sees that these two posts have identical content—including the same images—and may deem them to be duplicated. As a result, your website could take a hit in terms of its SEO ranking.
Avoiding Duplicate Images
The best way to avoid having duplicate images on your site is to simply use original photos that you’ve taken yourself or commissioned from a professional photographer.
Of course, this isn’t always possible or practical—especially if you’re running a news site or blogging site. In those cases, there are some steps you can take to make sure your use of other people’s photos doesn’t result in duplicate content penalties.
1) Use Modifiers
When using photos from other sources, make sure to modify them in some way before adding them to your site. For example, you could crop the photo, add text overlays or even create a completely new image by combining several different photos together.
2) Provide Context
Whenever you use someone else’s photo on your site, make sure to provide context around it so Google understands that it’s being used in an original way. This can be done by writing catchy captions or providing thoughtful commentary along with the photos.
3) Give Credit
If you do use someone else’s photo on your site, make sure to give credit where it’s due. This not only shows respect for the original photographer but also helps Google understand that you’re not trying to pass off someone else’s work as your own.
Bottom Line
So, can duplicate images impact your website’s SEO ranking? The answer is a definitive yes. Google looks at a number of factors when determining where to rank your website in their search engine results pages (SERPs). One of these factors is how much unique content your website has.
If you have multiple pages with the same or very similar images, Google may consider those pages as not being original and may rank them lower in their search results.
To avoid this, make sure that all of the images on your website are unique or that you’ve modified the images sourced from your competitors by image editing tools like Canva.
