Blog Images

You need a blog — whether you name it “blog” or not — to add fresh, original content to your website on a regular basis. This improves your SEO and provides value for your human visitors. You need blog images to provide additional information for your human visitors and also to improve their experience, because people like pictures.

So what kind of blog images do you need, and where can you find them?

Changes in Google image search

It used to be that people could search for images with Google image search, click “View” and see the picture they were interested in, and never see the website where it lived. Now, in an effort to encourage people to click through, Google has a “Visit” button rather than a “View” button.

This can mean that people visit your website because of the image on the page, not because they want to use your services or learn from your website.

But it can also mean that using informational images instead of decorative ones can be more useful. Smiling stock photos or snaps of puppies are less likely to bring converting visitors from image searches.

Changes in Facebook link images

Facebook is now using large horizontal images for shared web pages. If you use vertical images for your posts, you’ll get a slice of your picture. Choose images for your blog that are wider than they are tall (horizontal) to look good when people post your links.

You and your social media managers can control this when posting at Facebook, but you want to look good when visitors to your website decide to post a link to your website, too. Go ahead and make this change or ask your web team to do so.

Image sources

How do you find great images to illustrate your blog posts?

• Stock photos, whether from a free service like Pixabay or from a company like Adobe, are the fastest and easiest source of images. Diversity can be an issue, and so can authenticity, but you won’t be delayed while you set up a photo shoot.
• Take great pictures, or hire a photographer to do so. If you have the skills, either as a photographer or with graphics tools, making your own images is a great idea. Your own poor-quality images won’t give you good results, though, so be honest with yourself.
• Create informational images with screen shots, diagrams, graphics tools like Canva, and charts. These tools require less skill than Photoshop. Alternatively, hire a graphic artist to make you a great infographic. We get great results with these.

Talk with your web team when you plan your blog, and make sure that you are using the resources you have and making the best use of your investment.

Plan?

A strategic decision about the kinds of images you want to use for your blog can be an important part of your branding. Do you want soulful black and white images with grainy edges? Will you choose bright colors and flat layouts? You don’t have to be completely consistent, but it’s best to make a decision rather than relying on the whim of the moment.