Image optimisation is one of the most overlooked levers in SEO — and it’s getting more important, not less.
As search evolves from traditional SEO into AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation), the signals that AI systems use to understand and surface your content have broadened. Images are part of that signal set. Their filenames, alt text, captions, descriptions, format, and load speed all feed into how well a page performs — in Google, in AI overviews, and in generative search responses.
Yet most websites are still uploading unoptimised images: wrong names, no metadata, wrong sizes, and outdated formats.
On format alone, the case is compelling. WebP — developed by Google — delivers equivalent visual quality to JPG at 25–35% smaller file sizes, and is up to 80% smaller than PNG. Faster load times. Better Core Web Vitals. Better rankings. WordPress has supported WebP natively since version 5.8.
On sizing, a properly equipped website needs images prepared across at least 7 dimensions — from 150×150px thumbnails through to 1920×1080px hero banners — so that browsers can serve the right size to every device via srcset. Uploading one large JPG and letting WordPress handle it is not the same thing.
I recently used Claude to handle both in a single workflow:
Ai workflow for image optimisation
→ Uploaded one JPG
→ Claude researched current best-practice sizes, resized the image into all 7 standard versions, converted each to WebP, and named every file with SEO-friendly conventions
→ Separately, Claude generated the full WordPress metadata set for each image: filename, focus keyword, alt text, caption, and long-form description
Total time: minutes, not hours.
The technical barrier to proper image optimisation has effectively disappeared. What remains is knowing it matters — and building it into your workflow.
Prompt
Dear Claude – Can you please
- research the most common sizes of images required on a website
2. resize this image to produce a number of versions
3. save as webp
SEO #AEO #GEO #ImageOptimisation #WebP #AIProductivity #Claude #DigitalMarketing #ContentStr
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