STRUCTURED DATA · SEO GLOSSARY
ImageObject Schema
JSON-LD structured data using the schema.org `ImageObject` type to describe images — their content, dimensions, authorship, and licence — improving eligibility for Google Image Search rich results and AI Overview image citations.
Definition
`ImageObject` is a schema.org type used to describe an image in structured data. It can be used as a standalone JSON-LD block or as the value of `image` properties within other schema types (Article, Product, Person, Recipe). Key properties: `url` (the image URL), `width` and `height` (dimensions in pixels), `description` (what the image shows — improves accessibility and search context), `caption` (display caption), `author` (`Person` or `Organization` who created the image), `creditText` (attribution text), `copyrightNotice`, and `license` (URL to the licence). When used within `Article` JSON-LD, `ImageObject` as the `image` value provides richer context than a bare image URL string. Google requires at least one `ImageObject` with specific dimensions for Google News article eligibility (minimum 1200px wide) and for AMP article structured data.
Why it matters for SEO
ImageObject schema improves indexing and rich result eligibility in two ways: (1) it provides explicit machine-readable context about what an image contains, supplementing alt text which is visible in HTML; (2) it enables Google to display images with proper attribution in Image Search results and AI Overviews, including `creditText` and `license` fields that inform AI systems about usage rights. For media publishers, photojournalists, and stock photo sites, ImageObject with licence data is the mechanism by which Google knows whether an image is freely usable or requires attribution — affecting whether it appears in filtered Image Search results. For standard content sites, the most impactful implementation is including `ImageObject` (with `url`, `width`, `height`, `description`) as the `image` value within `Article` and `Product` JSON-LD blocks.
How DeepSEOAnalysis checks this
The audit checks for `ImageObject` usage within `Article` and `Product` JSON-LD blocks — verifying that the `image` property uses a full `ImageObject` (with `url`, `width`, `height`) rather than a bare URL string. It validates that `width` and `height` match the actual image dimensions where detectable, and checks that `alt` text in HTML `<img>` tags is present and descriptive (complementary to, not a substitute for, `ImageObject` schema). Pages with Article JSON-LD but missing or incomplete image schema are flagged as a structured data optimisation opportunity.
Useful tools and resources
GLOSSARY
Related terms
structured data
Schema Markup
A shared vocabulary of types and properties from Schema.org used to annotate web content in machine-readable format — enabling search engines to understand what content means, not just what it says, and to generate rich results.
Read definition →onpage
Alt Text (Image Alt Attribute)
A text description of an image, written in the HTML `alt` attribute — required for accessibility and used by search engines to understand image content.
Read definition →onpage
Image SEO
Optimising images for search — including descriptive alt text, semantic file names, correct dimensions, and next-gen formats — to improve rankings and Core Web Vitals.
Read definition →structured data
Review Schema (AggregateRating)
JSON-LD structured data using the Review and AggregateRating schema types to communicate star ratings and review counts to search engines — enabling star rich results in SERPs.
Read definition →structured data
FAQPage Schema
JSON-LD structured data that marks Q&A pairs on a page so search engines and AI systems can display and cite them directly.
Read definition →See how your site scores on ImageObject Schema.
The free DeepSEOAnalysis audit checks imageobject schema and 100+ other signals. Full report, no signup.
Run a free audit →