Google’s WebP image format has a critical role play in enabling you to achieve the levels of image optimisation you desire. Let’s take a look at what WebP is and how it can help you in your quest for the best optimisation for your online images.
What is WebP and why is it critical for SEO?
WebP enables you to compress all types of images (including PNG, lossless compression and more) to a tiny size so they only take up a teeny amount of space without compromising the quality of the images in any way.
It is compatible with all major browsers except Safari so you’ll need to use an image optimisation tool such as: ImageMagick, Cloudimage, EWWW Image Optimizer, WP Smush Pro or a CDN so that your images are automatically converted to WebP on any browsers that support it.
How does WebP benefit SEO
- Page speeds: We all know how much images can slow down your page speeds. With WebP it is possible to make all of your images smaller, guaranteeing an increase in your web page speeds across the board whilst saving you lots of time that would otherwise be spent optimising images in a range of ways.
In fact, WebP can deliver a whopping reduction of around 70- 80% across all images and thus significantly improving your web page speeds.
- Competitive advantage: We know SEO requires constant attention and the WebP image format is another update we must keep up with. Delivering such dramatic reductions in image size means not using WebP will put you at a significant disadvantage.
Whether we like it or not, technology is constantly evolving and if we don’t keep up, we simply get left behind. It’s a case of adapting now by choice or in the future because you have to and it’s always better to be out in front than struggling to keep up at the back.
- No loss: There is no visible loss of image quality when you use WebP. The primary goal of any website is to function at its best for the user and that means fast speeds, plenty of images and responsive performance.
If WebP makes it possible to achieve all three without any effect on the quality of your images there is no reason not to use it.
WebP: Why it is critical for SEO
As with any new additions to your website, it is crucial that WebP is implemented correctly and any changes are checked thoroughly to ensure the user experience remains at its best.
This may feel like one update too far but in truth, image optimisation is something you have to spend time on regardless, if you want good SEO. If you haven’t got the time or expertise to administer the WebP image format properly, get in touch with us today.
We can implement WebP across your site, alongside any other growth strategies you need to take your business to the next level.