/seo-image-audit

name: seo-image-audit
description: Audit a page's images for SEO and performance — alt-text quality (missing, linked-empty, filename, stuffed, reused), modern formats (WebP/AVIF), responsive srcset/sizes, LCP loading (lazy hero, fetchpriority), CLS-safe dimensions, real byte and pixel budgets read from the image files, and og:image — scored, with ready-to-run conversion commands. Uses DataForSEO for live image-SERP rankings when connected; otherwise audits from page fetch and parsing alone. Trigger when the user says "image seo", "image audit", "alt text", "image optimization", "convert to webp", "convert to avif", or "image performance".

seo-image-audit

**Family:** seo **Status:** Stable

Purpose

The audit half of image SEO (split from generation because the two have different legal, asset, and API risk). Inventories a page's images and scores each on the dimensions that affect search and performance. The free path (fetch + parse) is the whole product; DataForSEO only adds live image-SERP context.

Triggers

• "image seo" / "image audit" / "image optimization"
• "alt text" / "image metadata"
• "convert to webp" / "convert to avif"
• "image rankings" / "google images"

Inputs

• Page URL or local HTML/build path (or an image directory)
• Optional: target keyword(s) for alt-text relevance

Steps

1. **Run the image audit** — on a live page (fetched through the shared SSRF guard) or a local build, where `--assets` lets it read real file bytes and pixel dimensions from the image headers:

   python3 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/seo/image_audit.py" --url <URL> --human
   python3 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/seo/image_audit.py" --file page.html --url <URL> --assets dist/ --human

Findings by type, each listing the affected images (codes, budgets and scoring: `references/seo-image-audit/image-rubric.md`):

• **Alt** — missing, empty on a linked image (the link loses its name), file name

as alt, "image of…", over-long, keyword-stuffed, reused across images.

• **Format** — legacy JPEG/PNG/GIF with no WebP/AVIF alternative.
• **Responsive** — no `srcset`/`<picture>`; `srcset` without `sizes`.
• **Loading** — lazy-loaded hero (LCP), several or no `fetchpriority=high`,

below-the-fold images not lazy.

• **CLS** — no width+height or `aspect-ratio`.
• **Size** (`--assets`) — over 500 KB, over the 200 KB hero / 250 KB budget,

intrinsic pixels > 2.5× the declared width, declared ratio ≠ file ratio. Without `--assets` these are listed under `needs_data`, never guessed.

• **Filename / social** — camera or hash file names; missing or relative `og:image`.

2. **Judge alt text in context** — the script catches the mechanical failures; read the remaining alts against what each image shows on *this* page. 3. **Optional enrichment** — if the DataForSEO extension is configured, add image SERP rankings; otherwise state, in one line, what it would add. 4. **Deliver** the findings with fixes, the biggest byte/pixel wins first, and the emitted `conversions` (ready-to-run `cwebp` / `avifenc` / ImageMagick commands per legacy image) — the script prints them; running them needs those tools installed.

Outputs

• Findings by type with affected images, fixes, and a 0-100 score
• A summary of the biggest performance wins (format + size)
• A short "what paid data would add" note on the free path

Dependencies

• `scripts/seo/image_audit.py` (required) — the image audit (stdlib header parsing)
• `references/seo-image-audit/image-rubric.md` (required) — codes, budgets, scoring
• Optional: DataForSEO extension (image SERP); `seo-page` (page-level context)

Notes

Pairs with `seo-image-gen` (the generation half). Actual file conversion (WebP/AVIF) and metadata injection require Sharp/ImageMagick if you want the skill to perform the conversion rather than recommend it.