---
name: image-seo-audit-and-optimization
description: Audit alt text, format, size, and lazy-loading, and write out the exact commands to fix what's found.
---

# Image SEO Audit & Optimization

## Use this when

image optimization, alt text, image SEO, image audit, optimize images, image metadata.

## Process

Audit every image on the page for: alt text present and genuinely descriptive (10-125 characters, describes the content, not the filename, no keyword stuffing — "Professional plumber repairing kitchen sink faucet" not "plumber plumbing plumber services"); file size against tiered targets (thumbnails under 50KB, content images under 100KB, hero/banner images under 200KB, each with a warning and critical threshold above that); format (WebP or AVIF preferred, with a `<picture>` element JPEG/PNG fallback chain); `width`/`height` attributes or a CSS `aspect-ratio` set on every image to prevent layout shift; `loading="lazy"` on below-fold images only — never on the hero/LCP image, since that directly hurts LCP; `fetchpriority="high"` on the LCP image specifically; `decoding="async"` on non-LCP images.

When the parser reports a `lazy_method` classification (native/perfmatters/ewww/js-generic/none), report it alongside the `loading` attribute so a JS-driven lazy-loader isn't mistaken for a missing native attribute — the absence of `loading="lazy"` isn't a regression when a JS lazy-loader is handling it instead.

Write out, don't execute, the actual optimization commands for the user to run locally: WebP conversion (`cwebp -q 82 -metadata all input.jpg -o output.webp`, or the ImageMagick/FFmpeg fallback), responsive variant generation at 400w/800w/1200w, and IPTC/XMP metadata injection via `exiftool` for Creator/Copyright/Description fields (note: WebP doesn't support IPTC natively, use XMP fields for WebP instead).

For AI-generated product images specifically, flag the Google Merchant Center requirement for an IPTC `DigitalSourceType` label (`trainedAlgorithmicMedia` for fully AI-generated, `compositeSynthetic` for a mix of captured and AI elements, `compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia` for AI inpainting over a real photo) — feeds missing this label on AI-generated product imagery can be disapproved. This is a Merchant Center feed-layer requirement, not a page-layer ranking factor.

Be accurate about what actually matters for Google Images: alt text and filename are the two highest-impact ranking factors; page context and surrounding content are high-impact; file size/speed matters indirectly through Core Web Vitals; IPTC Creator/Copyright metadata affects display only, not ranking; EXIF camera data is irrelevant to SEO entirely; IPTC Keywords are ignored by Google.

Report a prioritized fix list sorted by estimated file-size savings first, the exact commands to run, and a count summary (total images, missing alt text, oversized, wrong format, no dimensions, not lazy-loaded).