Deselect generic filenames
Descriptive filenames help search crawlers identify image contents before indexing. Filenames like "IMG_9124.jpg" offer no SEO value. Change filenames to descriptive, hyphenated structures (e.g. "wordpress-local-image-optimization.jpg") prior to upload.
If you must rename an existing attachment, do not run bulk automatic naming. Use a tool that previews name changes, updates database references in posts, creates 301 redirects for the file URL, and records a rollback map.
Prevent cumulative layout shift (CLS)
Missing width and height attributes force browsers to recalculate page layouts during image downloads, triggering layout shifts (CLS). Layout shifts degrade user experience and penalize Core Web Vitals performance scores.
Always verify that your theme outputs width and height attributes on all image markup. Cyphex checks for missing dimensions and layout-shift risks, highlighting missing tags in your health audit reports.
Ensure sitemap and license discoverability
Google Indexes images via XML sitemaps. Ensure your sitemap index includes all image attachments, specifically those loaded dynamically via JavaScript. Adding structured Schema.org license and creator metadata also displays "Licensable" badges on Google Images, supporting copyright protection.