What is it?
This test will check if the images used in a webpage have large metadata (more than 16% of the image size). Image Metadata refers to additional information (thumbnails, comments, date-times, copyright, camera model and settings, geo location, etc) which is stored along with the image. Most of this information is useless to site visitors and isn't required by browsers to render images.
How do I fix it ?
In order to pass this test, you have to remove the unnecessary image metadata (additional information which is stored along with the image). There are literally hundreds of metadata tags, but most of them (like camera model and settings, exposure, creation date, etc) are useless to site visitors and isn't required by browsers to render images. However, a few metadata tags can still be useful and may help Search Engine bots to better understand your images:
- GPS tags - These define where the image was taken providing location information that might help with local SEO. If you have a location-based business, tag your image with the GPS coordinates of your premises.
- Author/Owner Name - Add your brand name (or your own name) here because it may influence the image being shown when someone searches your brand in Google Images.
- Image Description - Just like an ALT description, the image description metadata tag can provide information pertaining to what the content of the image is about.