Google image search and data-image attribute

Question

I'm noticing that images we have associated with a particular keyword-- for which we rank at the top for a regular search-- are not showing in the results for a Google image search. I'm wondering if this has to do with the fact that I'm loading images into a jquery slider via the data-image attribute to allow for lazy-loading-- and consequently there aren't width, height or alt attributes associated with the images as with a typical <img> tag.

Thus, I have two related questions: (1) does Google have issues-- or perhaps have a "bias" against-- indexing images loaded this way? (2) if so, is there a way I can optimize the image loading without having to resort to using <img> tags? Or perhaps I could include regular <img> links within <noscript> tags specifically for Google to reference?

Thanks for any insight here.

Answer 1

1. Yes. Google's crawlers will value a straight img tag rather than one that is inside of JS or jQuery. Crawlers couldn't understand JS just a few years ago.
2. Can you incorporate meta elements with your images without messing up your JS/jQ? There is an imageObject schema.org markup.
3. Manually crawl your site. Are the images getting picked up? If they are, submit an image sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools.