Creating a Blog Image Optimizer (So I Don't Pay)

My blog was tanking in search rankings. Google's Core Web Vitals were screaming about my load times. A single unoptimized screenshot: 3-5MB. With dozens per post, pages took 8+ seconds to load. Kiss your SEO goodbye.

Page speed is a DIRECT ranking factor. Every second of load time costs you 7% in conversions. Blog images rarely need to be larger than 1200px wide, and WebP format reduces file sizes by 70-90%. I was literally sabotaging my own rankings.

The 20-Minute Fix That Saved My Rankings

I wrote a Python script using Pillow that batch converts images to WebP. Drop images in a folder, run the script, done. Original 2.3MB average down to 180KB.

Full disclosure: I used Claude Code to help write this script. Took 20 minutes instead of fumbling around for hours. The AI handled the boilerplate while I focused on the logic.

# Core conversion logic
with Image.open(file_path) as img:
    rgb_img = img.convert('RGBA')
    
    # Resize if larger than 1200px
    if resize:
        final_img = rgb_img.resize((1200, height), Image.Resampling.LANCZOS)
    
    final_img.save(output_path, 'WEBP', quality=85)

The script handles batch processing, maintains aspect ratios, and outputs to a 'webp' subfolder. Quality setting of 85 is the sweet spot – visually identical but 90% smaller. 😊

Using the Script

Three simple commands cover every use case:

python optimize.py /path/to/images              # Keep original sizes
python optimize.py /path/to/images -r 1200      # Max 1200px wide
python optimize.py /path/to/images -q 90        # Higher quality

I run this before every blog post upload. Takes 10 seconds, saves dollars.

Results That Actually Matter

Page load times: 8 seconds → 2 seconds. Core Web Vitals: red → green. Search rankings jumped 3 positions in two weeks. Oh, and I save $540/year on hosting, but that's just a nice bonus.

The real win? Google loves fast sites. Better rankings = more traffic = more revenue. THAT'S why image optimization matters.

Making It Even Better

Add a file watcher for true automation. I use watchdog to monitor my screenshots folder:

# Auto-process new images
from watchdog.observers import Observer
from watchdog.events import FileSystemEventHandler

class ImageHandler(FileSystemEventHandler):
    def on_created(self, event):
        if event.src_path.endswith(('.png', '.jpg')):
            convert_to_webp(event.src_path)

For content-heavy sites, add S3 upload integration. Process locally, upload optimized versions, skip the expensive cloud processing.

Edge Cases I Hit

Screenshots with text need higher quality (95) to stay crisp. Photos can go lower (80) without visible loss. Build a config file:

quality_map = {
    'screenshot': 95,
    'photo': 80,
    'diagram': 90
}

Skip GIFs and SVGs – they don't benefit from WebP conversion. The script already handles this with proper extension checking.

The Real ROI: Rankings & Revenue

20 minutes to write the script. 6-second improvement in load time. 3 positions higher in search results. That's worth WAY more than the $540 hosting savings. 🚀

Faster sites rank better. Better rankings drive more traffic. More traffic means more revenue. The hosting savings are just gravy.

Your Move

Stop sabotaging your SEO with bloated images. Install Python and Pillow:

pip install Pillow

Copy the script. Run it on your images folder. Watch your hosting bill drop.

Or keep losing rankings to faster competitors. Your choice. But every day you wait is traffic lost to sites that actually care about speed. 😎

The Pattern Here

This isn't about one Python script. It's about spotting expensive inefficiencies and ELIMINATING them with code. Image optimization today, AI automation tomorrow.

Every repetitive task costing you money is a script waiting to be written. Start with your biggest expense. Mine was images. What's yours?