A recent discussion in the r/BigSEO forum on Reddit revealed some confusion about Google’s treatment of WebP images when it comes to indexing.
John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate, weighed in on the matter and explained why WebP images appear in the “Crawled, currently not indexed” report in Google Search Console.
Mueller addresses Reddit users’ concerns
A user on Reddit he raised a question about the presence of many “Crawled, currently not indexed” entries related to WebP images in their Google Search Console reports.
In response, Mueller clarified that WebP images are not indexed as HTML pages because they are image files, not web pages.
Another user asked if only WebP images appear in the “tracked – currently not indexed” report, or if other image formats (eg JPEG, PNG, GIF) can also be displayed.
They also asked Mueller why images are included in the report if they can’t be indexed as HTML, and if CSS and JS files can also appear in the report.
Mueller offered further clarification, explaining that this usually happens if something looks like a link to a web page going to the URL, or the “extension” seems unclear (eg .php or none).
He stressed that he doesn’t think the phenomenon is limited to WebP images.
Takeaways from Mueller’s interaction
Mueller’s Reddit answers provide valuable insight for website owners and SEO professionals:
WebP images and other image formats are not indexed as HTML pages. Image files may appear in the “Crawled – not currently indexed” report if a link looks like a web page URL or the extension is unclear.
What is WebP?
WebP is an image format developed by Google in 2010. It gained attention for its performance benefits in web development and SEO.
The format provides superior lossy and lossless compression for images on the web, leading to faster load times.
There are several benefits to using WebP images on your website:
Smaller file sizes: WebP images are usually smaller than other formats such as JPEG and PNG.
Flexible image rendering: WebP supports lossy and lossless compression, transparency (like PNG), and animation (like GIF), making it versatile for various imaging needs.
Website performance improvement: Faster load times can positively impact SEO, as Google’s search algorithms favor fast-loading sites.
Considerations and challenges
However, there are some challenges to be aware of when using WebP:
Browser compatibility: Not all browsers support WebP. Alternatives are essential for browsers that do not support this format.
Image quality: WebP lossy compression can sometimes cause visible degradation of image quality.
Conversion and storage: Converting and storing original and WebP versions can complicate image management on your website.
Leveraging WebP images for SEO
To get the most out of WebP images for SEO, keep the following in mind:
Faster website speeds can potentially boost SEO rankings. Use the
While WebP isn’t a perfect solution to improving load times, it can help optimize your site when used correctly.
Featured image generated by the author via Midjourney
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