Popular Wealth

REACH OUT to visitors by using captivating images (properly)

In my 10 years+ of webmaster experience I can tell you with certainty that using pictures and choosing the right image can make or break your visitors browsing experience. In part one of this series I covered the basics on how to attract more traffic to your blog or website by using simple Image SEO. Now I’d like to touch on the finer points of finding the right pictures and images to begin with.

Images can help visitors decide to join your community

Visitors are more inclined to stay if they find your site pleasing to the senses.

Finding a Royalty Free Stock Photography Source

Unfortunately you can’t just google an image and use one you see, most images are copyright. What you SHOULD do, and it’s a never ending process, is bookmark sites that you come accross that offer stock images. Many image hosting websites like Flickr and Photobucket contain images that are available under a license that ALLOWS you to use them, usually with proper attribution.
A personal favorite of mine is dreamstime.com because images can be purchased for as little as 38 cents and many are free. They’ve served me well many times.

Popular stock photos on Dreamstime

Choosing the right image to convey your message.

You’ll know you have the right image, or image set, when the message you want to send with your article can be deciphered by looking at the images alone. The images you chose reach out to your visitors to tell your story and your text fills in the blanks. For this article I want to send the message that using the right images will help visitors decide to meet you half way instead of visiting their next stumble upon page. Images provide a great deal of value that simple text can’t.

Some tips on choosing website images and placement

• Use high quality images whenever possible.
• An image placed at the top of an article sets the tone.
• Consider site composition and color, not just the image itself.
• Optimize your photos using image software like photoshop.
• Consider proper image SEO techniques – (link in first paragraph).
• Ask fellow webmasters where they get their great images.
• LISTEN to visitor feedback, ASK for it if you want it.

I’d love your input, where do YOU find great stock photography?
Trust me when I say that you can’t ever have enough “sources” of amazing stock photos, nor can you take enough yourself, so please take a moment to share your favorite source with everyone below. Hopefully you find a few sources of your own in the comments too.