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I’m really struggling with the Google indexing implications when it come to similar images.
Steve (Cascoly) tells me that Google doesn’t index similar images. I guess that’s why only 15% of my images are indexed.1. For instance, I have four bald eagle close-ups. Same botanical description and similar poses, but four different specimens.
All with a white head, yellow beak and bulging eyes.
As far as I can tell, all keywords and descriptions for one portrait apply to all other portraits. The only difference might be the date of birth which in this case is unimportant.2. Or some islands off the Lake Superior coast – all are rocky, populated with green trees and surrounded by water. The main difference might be the length and shape, again not something a buyer would search for.
3. Or some boathouses on a lake. Most are made from wood, with a rooftop terrace, surrounded by a wrap-around dock with a boat or two. There are differences like number of windows, color of flowers under windows, and different boat engines in the vessels – but the main searchable keywords and meta descriptions would be pretty much the same.
Initially, I tool time to write one good and long description with as many applicable keywords as possible and then I applied it to all similar images. If they are now not indexed, what’s my recourse? Four short but different descriptions?
How do you deal with this problem?
for the image indexing,desc, title, etc don’t seem to matter as much as the actual image – if it’s similar to another one already indexed, it’s less likely to get indexed; again, most SEO advice is for text, not images, so what works there may not work for images.
and it’s not perfect or even always consistent —
eg do google search for ‘images moose walking’ – 2 of my images appear in the first 8 imgaes (from 123) and the imaes aso appear farther down the page (this time from shutterstock). the exact images shown change from week to week, but those first 2 are always among the first shown. and those same images are at a half dozen other agencies, yet don’t get indexed.there doesn’t seem to be any way to deal with it — you’re competing against millions of other images, so trying to super optimize each image is a dead end; best you can do is continue to produce new images.
when I first started my sym site, I was getting about 25% of my images indexed, but it’s grown over time to my current rate of about 75%; some of this may be because I upload to my site about the same time as I submit to agencies, but most of my content is still available elsewhere
if it’s similar to another one already indexed, it’s less likely to get indexed;
Steve, how does Google define a “similar image”?
Similar in actual graphics (shape, colors, etc.) or having similar keywords?we don’t really know, since they never say exactly how any of their indexing works — you just have to work it out from results
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