Tag Archives for " images "

7 Tips for Image Optimization

Are you looking to gain an edge in SEO? If your image optimization isn’t up to snuff, you could be missing out on traffic, user engagement, and sales.

Google looks at more than 200 factors when deciding which website to rank for a specific search query. While having a well-optimized image won’t help sub-par content rank number one, it can help you stand out from other sites that don’t optimize their images.

The good news? Image optimization isn’t particularly complicated. Just a few changes to your current image process could help your site gain more traffic and leads, resulting in more sales.

 

Why Is Image Optimization Important?

Well-optimized images get better visibility in Google, which brings in more traffic. That’s the number one reason sites need to optimize their images, but there are many other benefits as well:

• Improve the user experience: Well-optimized images that display correctly improve UX by making your site easier to navigate. Large images, for example, can take up the entire screen or cover other elements on the page.
• Faster site speed: When it comes to SEO, speed matters. Images that are large or formatted incorrectly can slow down your site, killing your ranking and annoying site visitors.
• Makes your site more accessible: Some optimization steps, like adding alt tags, can make your site easier to navigate for those using screen readers. Web accessibility is not only good for site visitors; it’s good for SEO, too.

While image optimization might feel like another step in a never-ending quest to improve SEO, it can have a significant impact on ranking and UX.

How do you make sure images aren’t holding your site back?

 

7 Image Optimization Tips for Your Website

Technical SEO can get pretty complicated, especially if you aren’t familiar with the latest Google algorithm updates and what they mean. The good news is image optimization isn’t as complicated as other aspects of SEO—and it doesn’t seem to change quite as often.

Ready to make sure your images help your SEO? Here’s what you need to know.

 

1. Choose the Right Image File Type

Using the wrong image file type can cause your images to be displayed incorrectly, look blurry, even impact whether users can see your images. But there’s a ton of different formats for images—vectors, JPEGs, raster, PNG, GIFs.

Which image type is best for SEO? Generally, you’ll want to use either JPEGs or PNGs.

JPEG, aka Joint Photographics Expert Group, is a popular image file type. They can be displayed by just about any type of device and can show millions of colors, so they preserve the coloring of your images well.

JPEGs do use lossy compression, resulting in some lost data during compression, so they’re not ideal for professional photography. However, they work fine for featured images in blog posts, and similar images.

Another popular type of image is PNG, which can also be displayed on any type of device. These use lossless compression, which means they don’t lose data during the compression process. They also support elements like transparent backgrounds. However, the file sizes tend to be much larger.

These are the most popular images for web publications. Here’s when I recommend using them:

Use JPEGs for blog post images, screenshots, etc. The smaller size will protect site speed, and most images will be clear enough. If the quality isn’t good enough and your site speed is good, feel free to switch to PNG format.

Use PNGs for icons, logos, and images where someone might zoom in. PNGs are larger but slightly higher-quality images. When image quality matters, use a PNG file.

I strongly recommend against using other image formats on your site, especially GIFs. I love a good GIF, but they really do slow your site down.

 

2. Compress Your Images

Image compression takes large image files and makes them smaller so they’re easier to load on the internet or store on your device. Image compression strikes the perfect balance between size and image quality when done well.

The two types of image compression are lossy and lossless compression. Lossy compression, which JPEGs use, essentially throws out some of the data while lossless preserves all the data. (PNGs use lossless, as I mentioned above.)

Therefore, the type of compression you use depends on the image type you select.

Here’s an example of compressed images:

The image to the far left is 824KB, which is quite large. The middle image looks virtually identical (there’s a little graininess in the background if you look carefully) but is far smaller at 76KB. The third one is even smaller, but image quality is definitely impacted.

Aim to strike the right balance between size and quality.

When deciding how much to compress your images, think about your user. In most cases, they are unlikely to care whether an image on a blog post is a tiny bit less crisp. However, if you are sending a client a new logo, that’s a different story.

The point is, use the compression type based on the file format you use and select the file format based on how the image will be used.

Now, how do you compress images? There are several tools.

I like resizing.app, it’s a free Chrome extension that lets you convert file formats, crop, and resize images in just one click. Other photo compression tools include Photoshop and PicResize.

 

3. Add Description Alt Text

Alt text (aka, alternative text) is a written description of an image that describes what it is and what purpose it serves. Screen readers use this data to describe images to their users, and Google uses it to determine whether an image is relevant to a search query.

If you use WordPress, adding alt text is very simple. Just highlight the block with an image and add the alt text to the provided box, like this:

In Google Docs, right-click on images, then click Alt text, and a box will appear that allows you to add the alt text.

What do you write as your alt text? While it’s up to you, here’s the formula I use:

“Main keyword – description of image”

For the image above from WordPress, I used “image optimization guide alt text in the WordPress example.” This format makes sure screen readers know what the image is and tells Google the image is relevant for image optimization search queries.

Pro tip—if you want to see how your competitors use alt tags, navigate to their site, right-click and select “Inspect.” You’ll see the alt tags in the code of their site.

 

4. Write High-Quality Image Names and Descriptions

Image title provides users (and search engines) with a little more context about your images. While they don’t impact ranking directly (according to Google’s John Mu), they do provide a bit more context, and they show up in your site code.

I recommend using a short phrase that describes the image, along with the key term the post targets—similar to your alt text.

This can also make your images easier to find in Google image search since Google generates a title and snippet for images. If you include a title, they’ll take that into consideration.

 

5. Ensure Images Are Mobile-Friendly

If you’ve used the correct file type and compressed your images, they should be pretty mobile-friendly. However, sometimes things don’t always display the way we expect.

More than half of all internet traffic comes from a mobile device, so you want to ensure images don’t mess up the mobile experience.

For that reason, I recommend viewing your site from several different mobile devices to ensure images look their best. Remember, tablets, iPhones, and Android devices may all display your images a little differently.

I also recommend using Google’s mobile-friendly test to make sure your images aren’t slowing down site speed on mobile.

 

6. Use Schema Markup

Schema markup, also called structured data, is a type of code that helps search engines better understand your data.

Imagine you want to collect recipes to make a book of family recipes. Rather than having everyone send in their favorite recipe—which might use different measurements, different title formats, etc.—you send out a form and ask your family to input their recipe.

Now, all the recipes are in the same format and you can easily view the ingredients, measurements, and cooking steps.

Essentially, that’s what schema makeup does. It formats your data so Google can understand if it’s a list, a recipe, an image, and so forth. Here’s what it looks like:

Schema.org lists three types of image schemas, including:

layoutImage (pending implementation)logophoto

This is a more technical change, so don’t stress if this feels like too much. Schema.org lists the coding you can use to add structured data to images here.

If you need more help, feel free to reach out to my team; we can help you get this set up.

 

7. Optimize Image File Names

According to Google, it uses the URL path and the file name to understand your images better. This means you should organize your image URLs logically and include key terms in the file name.

This can help you stay organized and help Google understand your images: a double win.

File names don’t have to be complicated. I usually use the alt text as the file name, which makes it easier to upload posts to WordPress.

I recommend using the keyword in the file name and describing the image.

 

Frequently Asked Questions About Image Optimization

 

Conclusion: Image Optimization

Google gives us a lot of information about how to optimize our sites and our images. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the small details.

The tips above will help you make the most of your images; however, I recommend focusing on making sure your images bring value to users. Don’t cram images in just to meet a quota, and don’t add images that don’t make sense for your content.

Have you optimized images on your website? How did it impact your traffic?

Source: neilpatel.com

The Complete Guide to Designing Visually Stunning Content (Even If You’re Not a Graphic Artist)

Let’s face it: a picture really is worth a thousand words, but an image you made yourself?

Priceless.

Compelling images create a connection between you and your audience and help you build on that relationship.

They encourage discussion and shares.

In short, images convert.

According to Venngage, 64 percent of marketers say images are “very important” or “essential” to their marketing strategy.

Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links we may earn a commission.

Yet, 40 percent of marketers use stock photos in their content.

While there’s nothing wrong with the occasional stock photo, businesses that want to stand out need to make the effort to create unique, stunning visual content.

The good news? You don’t have to drop thousands on a graphic design pro.

With the right tools and knowledge, you can create stunning visual content on your own.

In this guide, you’ll learn which tools are the best for creating the most in-demand graphics (like social media cover photos, infographics, and trendy header images) and basic graphic design principles to help your visual content stand out.

 

Graphic Design Tools to Create and Optimize Visual Content

You know you need to be able to create stylish, professional-looking results – but how do you do it?

Fortunately, there’s no shortage of tools offering easy-to-use graphic design platforms.

The best part is that there’s no graphic design experience needed to create stunning, share-worthy images.

You can simply drag and drop the elements you want to get surprisingly good results.

Even when you’re done, you can optimize the finished graphics to load fast and look great on any device; no designer necessary!

Here are a few of my personal favorites, along with the types of images you can create with them.

 

Tools to Design Your Own Graphics

Creating graphics doesn’t require a degree in visual arts.

Drag and drop editing tools make it easy to create infographics, blog photos, social media posts, and more.

Canva

This is a full-fledged graphic design program distilled into a simple, drag-and-drop platform.

It works right from your browser, so there’s no huge software download or complicated licensing scheme to wade through.

Canva lets you create a whole host of graphics and sizing and dimensions are already taken care of.

Create everything from flyers to business cards or social media images and infographics.

Use your own photos or browse Canva’s 1 million+ stock photo library where you can license images for as little as $1 each.

Simply choose a template as a starting point (or create your own if you’re feeling brave).

Then, customize your colors, icons, photos, and fonts to design your own perfectly built graphic masterpiece.

Beyond photos, Canva also has a fully stocked library of graphical elements and shapes that form the perfect backdrop for any image.

Simply search, drag and drop your way to an image you’ll be proud to say that you created.

A wide range of images and styles are available – ranging from social network graphics to collage-style images and everything in between.

The best part is most of Canva is free to use, apart from the photo licensing fees and added features.

So you can create as many graphics as you want without restrictions.

You can even log in using your Google or Facebook account – saving you from yet another password to remember.

 

PicMonkey

If Canva isn’t your jam, I suggest PicMonkey.

It’s a pretty similar platform, but slightly more in-depth.

If you want to erase backgrounds, add fonts, and even edit photos, it’s a great choice.

Top features include templates for different social media photos, photo editing, tons of graphic elements, and plenty of templates.

Like Canva, it is a drag-and-drop photo and graphic editor and pretty intuitive to use.

Pricing starts at $7.99 a month for their basic plan, which includes 1GB of cloud storage, video editing, tons of fonts, and premium effects, templates, and touch-up tools.

 

Tools to Optimize Your Graphics

Slow load times can clog up your site and eat up your bandwidth.

What’s more, every second your visitors spend waiting on your page to load is a lost conversion or a lost sale.

Fortunately, several resources can help you tame large images without the help of a graphic pro. You can even resize or rescale them in bulk.

 

Optimizilla

Drag and drop up to 20 images and quickly optimize them on the fly.

You can click/tap through the images and then use the slider bar to adjust the quality and compare the two files:

Optimizilla works with both JPG (photos) and PNG (logos and transparent images) formats since both of these file types tend to be larger in size.

All of the images you upload are automatically deleted after an hour and you can download the optimized versions selectively or all at one time.

Optimizilla is perfect if you have a limited number of images that need a size change and also tweak the quality of those images visually.

 

EWWW Image Optimizer

This WordPress plugin lets you optimize images fast.

The end result shows you how much space was saved, as well as the percentage of reduction.

It works with other popular WordPress image plugins too, like NextGen photo gallery.

If you don’t like how a reduced file size image looks, you can either re-optimize it with different settings or restore the original.

The plugin leverages several unique optimization utilities in one complete package.

Because each individual image format has different ways of conserving file size, each one has its own unique utility to compress images without sacrificing quality.

Even as a graphic designer-in-training, you can still be inspired by unique websites and graphic designs.

Trying to save them directly from your browser can be a download nightmare, though.

You end up saving a lot of extra scripts, content, and other junk that clutters up your hard drive.

What if you could just have a screenshot of the page instead?

 

Page2Images

This site takes a screenshot of any page for you or converts multiple URLs into images.

It’s great for saving images for inspiration and for creating more engaging how-to content.

Page2Images also lets you see what your site looks like on mobile devices via its mobile emulator:

If you’ve ever wondered how to get that trendy “my site on a smartphone” look – this is how it’s done.

It’s also a quick and easy way to tell whether or not your page is optimized for mobile devices.

If you’d like something beyond the typical computer screen and mobile device as your choices, check out:

 

PlaceIt

PlaceIt lets you drag and drop your site to a variety of smartphones, monitors, tablets, and other devices.

Don’t have a screenshot? No problem.

You can choose an image and enter your URL to have PlaceIt grab an image of your site.

Want to show a group of people interacting with your app? Done.

Want to show off your new smartwatch program? Easy.

From billboards to bus stations, Placeit lets you put your site anywhere.

If you need a more human touch, PlaceIt also includes headshots of people of all ages and in a variety of situations. You can even narrow down your search to a specific gender, location, job, and much more.

 

Data Visualization Tools

Good data makes a larger impact when it’s visually relatable. When people see the numbers in a tangible, interactive way, your mission and goals go from being abstract terms to meaningful information.

These tools make it easier to use data visualization to create appealing charts, tables, and graphics.

 

Chartblocks

A tool that helps you create colorful, full-featured charts.

Data can be imported from spreadsheets, databases, or even live feeds and every aspect can be customized.

The charts are designed using HTML5 and Javascript, so they’re optimized for mobile devices and can be embedded directly into third-party sites, like websites and social networks like Twitter and Facebook.

What’s more, the finished graphic can be saved in a vector format, meaning it can be resized to any height and width without a loss of quality or resolution.

A free plan is available that lets you create up to 50 charts as transparent PNG files.

The free plan includes up to 50,000 monthly views and your charts are viewable publicly.

Paid plans give you more monthly views and the ability to make charts private.

On the lowest-priced plan and the free plan, charts are branded with the Chartblocks logo.

 

Timeline

Timeline is an easy way to create an interactive timeline of events on just about anything.

The timeline can pull media from sites including Twitter, Flickr, Google Maps, and Wikipedia as well as video sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, and Vimeo.

It can also pull sound files from Soundcloud, letting you create a rich media experience that’s interactive and informative.

Using a Google Spreadsheet, you’d simply enter the data into the pre-made template, including major and minor events, dates, and associated media.

The Timeline then builds the finished product for you.

When it’s ready, you’ll get a finished URL that you can embed in your website, showing off a timeline with an associated media slideshow in a similar format to the example above.

 

Social Media Graphic Design Tools

Whether you want to create awesome images for Instagram or interesting social media profile photos for Facebook, there’s a social media tool for that.

Here are a few of my personal favorites:

 

Social Image Resizer

This web-based tool features a quick and easy way to take your existing images and resize them for use in just about any social media context.

You can turn images into icons (even favicons), as well as Facebook and Twitter images.

What if you need more social network-ready images beyond Twitter or Facebook?

 

Desygner

This tool helps you create images for a variety of social networks. In addition to Twitter and Facebook (both cover and profile photos), you can make images for use on Snapchat, YouTube, Tumblr, and Pinterest.

They offer a free plan with thousands of free images.

With these tools, you’ll never run out of unique professional looks for your social network pages.

Of course, now the question becomes – where do you find graphics?

There are plenty of stock photo sites online, but for those just getting started with graphics, there are also plenty of free (even for commercial use) images and photos you can use.

 

Where to Find Images for Visual Content

One of the biggest challenges to overcome when designing your own graphics is finding pre-made images that you can use as a starting point.

Fortunately, these sites will make finding images and icons for your projects (even commercial ones) as easy as searching and downloading.

 

Flat Icon

Flat Icon contains over five million icons and stickers to choose from.

These include all of the common computer-style icons (cursors, pointers, and the like) but also include icons of a variety of other things like people, objects, animals, and more.

Many of the icons are free to use with proper attribution to the author.

 

The Noun Project

An icon-illustrated repository of graphics depicting just about anything.

Anyone can volunteer and artists from around the world have created miniature works of art on anything you can imagine from summer camp to tattoos.

Just because you have all the tools at hand doesn’t necessarily mean you can create great graphics (although it certainly helps!).

That’s because none of them teach you how to actually design.

While the subject of how to design graphics from scratch is far more involved than this guide can cover, there are nevertheless a few basic principles to keep in mind.

 

Graphic Design Basics: Principles and Elements

There are six basic principles to graphic design. These apply whether you’re designing a logo for your website or a print brochure.

Graphics of all sizes and styles use one or more of these principles, so knowing them and how to apply them to your design will help you create the kinds of results you can’t wait to show off.

 

The Line

Lines are the building blocks of graphics.

They separate and create borders.

Thin, straight lines give the impression of a more corporate and professional look, while hand-drawn lines can show a more artistic, or even childlike flair.

These days, many websites trend toward segmenting content in large “blocked” areas, dividing each one with a line to keep the user scrolling.

Not only does this give you a visual separation, but it lets you transition from one thought to another without losing your visitor in a sea of content.

 

The Shape

Shapes can impart meaning.

Think about the octagonal STOP signs; you don’t need to see the word STOP to know what the sign is.

Or, the cross symbol that denotes first aid tells you that is a place to get medical help.

Shapes impact our world, our feelings, and how we interact with the world around us.

Sharp, angular shapes are seen as being more rigid and forceful, whereas gentle sloping or curved shapes have more of a feminine appeal to them.

Keep these points in mind when considering your target audience for your new design.

 

Texture

Textures create a wide range of design possibilities and still remain popular on web pages to this day.

From natural patterns like wood and leaves to background designs like paper or chalkboards, texture communicates a great deal about the page itself, even before you read a word.

If you’re looking to create a certain impression in the minds of your users, consider the available textures that lend themselves to that type of design.

 

Color

Color is one of the most important, but also one of the most overlooked, aspects of graphic design.

It’s important not just in logo and website design, but also in print.

Color and its various shades (see more on that under Color Values below) have very different meanings to visitors around the world.

Depending on language and colloquialisms, colors can impart feelings as well.

For example, many people associate “going green” with doing things that are good for the environment.

But when someone is “green” with envy, it can convey a sense of jealousy.

That’s why it’s important to properly balance color with other aspects of your page or design so that you create a positive association in the minds of your visitors.

Even if you’ve gone to great lengths to choose an appropriate color scheme, there’s still the shade, hue, and degree of lightness or darkness of the color that can change its perception.

 

Color Values

A color’s value is the intensity of its lightness or darkness.

For example, orange may be perceived as a color of warmth, friendliness, and confidence, but once lightened into more of a peach tone, can give off more of a feminine, comforting vibe.

Darkening a color can make it seem more foreboding or unapproachable.

Many corporate sites follow the “dark blue and grey” color scheme which, while it seems “safe,” can also be off-putting to consumers and make them feel as if the company is cold and uncaring.

It’s a lot to keep in mind, but having some basic knowledge of how colors affect your user and how you want your design to be visually perceived and understood can make a significant difference in how well it resonates with your chosen demographic.

 

Space

Space is the last of the graphic design principles, but it is certainly not the least.

You may have heard the term “white space” before – meaning the area of a page with no graphic elements or color.

Having enough white space on a page gives each individual element a sense of “breathing room.”

Having too much white space can make a page seem like the elements are floating all over the place with no real cohesion.

Like all of the other graphic design principles covered here, you need to carefully balance your use of space to avoid making your graphic look too cluttered or too empty.

 

How to Improve Your Graphic Design Skills

Once you have a firm understanding of the basics, you’ll want to branch out and try new things.

Even if your artistic ability ends at drawing a stickman (and a shaky one at that!), improving your graphic design skills is more about being observant and perceptive rather than having an amazing artistic ability.

 

Study Famous Graphic Designers

Having the tools and knowing the basic principles of graphic design will take you far, but one of the most crucial ingredients of a great graphic design is creativity.

Contrary to popular belief, creativity is not born, it is learned and made through practice.

What better way to practice and learn than by seeing what others have done?

For example, you may not have heard of a graphic designer named Paul Rand, but you’ve most certainly seen his work:

Largely self-taught, Rand’s best advice to aspiring graphic designers was that “you don’t have to be original. You just have to be good.”

Even if you weren’t familiar with the brand’s logo, Paul was determined that eventually, you would be.

One of his most famous corporate poster designs reflects that insistence:

 

Create a Swipe File

The best way to start is to look around.

Check out sites like Dribbble and Behance for design portfolios you like and then follow those designers so that you’ll get updates when they add new selections to their portfolios.

Create your own little “swipe file” of ideas, concepts, and images that you like.

Remember, even the most complicated designs can be broken down into their core pieces — shapes and lines.

When you learn the process behind the design, you can work on how to recreate it on your own.

If you like what you see, stretch your skills a little more and learn about filters and layers — core components of top-tier graphic design tools like Photoshop and Illustrator.

Obviously, I’m not advocating that you infringe on someone else’s copyright.

Everything in this guide is meant to walk you through the learning process to create your own graphics with no experience starting out.

Don’t be afraid to emulate those whose style you enjoy.

Over time you’ll come to refine it and create your own style.

 

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Feedback

It can be hard to ask for feedback on your work – especially when you’re just starting out.

You’re anxious.

Unsure of yourself.

Afraid of criticism.

We’ve all been there and experienced that.

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback.

However, instead of saying “What do you think about this?” ask “How can I make this better?”

People won’t want to openly criticize your work, so asking what they think is bound to get you some praise – but praise isn’t what we’re going for – we’re going for improvement.

Some feedback is well-meaning, but when put into your design, it would make the end result look terrible.

That’s okay, too. As the designer, you’re free to dismiss any or all feedback.

However, take the time to reflect on criticism before dismissing it.

Is something lacking from the piece?

Does it communicate the brand and message well?

Is it something that others would want to share on their own social media pages?

Remember, everyone was a beginner once.

Some may have more artistic or creative talent than others, but it’s not something that can’t be developed over time.

Taking the time to learn the skills behind great graphic designs will help you appreciate and admire the work that goes into them even more.

 

Visually Stunning Content: Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

 

 

Guide to Visually Stunning Content for Non-Designers Conclusion

As you can see, getting started designing your own graphics doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

A basic sense of how colors, lines, space, and other principles play together on a canvas is only the beginning.

Today’s most in-demand graphic designers spend years perfecting their skills and building upon these core concepts.

For the rest of us, however, the web has made it easier than ever to craft beautiful, interactive designs that don’t take an artistic touch.

If you want to build upon what you’ve learned in this guide, there are plenty of fantastic resources, portfolios, and graphic design tips out there waiting for you.

Have you tried out any of these tools? Which one is your favorite?

Source: feedproxy.google.com

Stock Photos are Dead: Create These Blog Images Instead

The use of images in your blog posts is a no-brainer.

Images are an easy way to break up chunks of text, add context, or give your readers a more accessible medium through which to digest your content.

With the growth of written content online, it’s harder to have your content be unique from others. Writers need to adapt to the changing landscape.

How can you continue to engage your audience when so many bloggers have written on the same topics—and will continue to do so?

The answer is the original imagery.

Blog Image Trends: Why Stock Photos Are Dead

With more content available on the web every day, it’s more important than ever to stand out.

While finding ways to put a unique spin on your blog post topics is critical, there are only so many angles on one subject. You need other types of content, such as photographs and illustrations, to make your mark.

Unfortunately, stock photos just don’t cut it anymore when you have the resources and time to make an impact.

Illustration by Laetro

This reason is in part because blog images don’t only live on your blog. They make the rounds on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest whenever your posts are shared. Chances are, your users have seen similar stock photos many times already, and they’re bored with them.

With so many articles to read, videos to watch, and social media news to ingest, the average reader won’t spend hours looking for the best article on your topic. They’ll choose the most visually appealing option nearly every time.

This is backed by visual content statistics, such as those collected by Venngage. When surveying marketers on content that helped them reach their marketing goals, original images performed best 40% of the time compared to stock photos at 13%.

So before you use stock photography in your next blog post, ask yourself:

Will my readers interact with the same stale image they’ve seen numerous times when researching this topic? Or will they choose to interact with an original image that more perfectly captures the content?

Top Reasons You Should Use Interactive and Original Images on Your Blog

Your goal as a digital marketer is to increase conversions.

So how do you do this even better than you already are, given the changing online landscape?

There are plenty of ways to drive traffic to your website. But what’s more important is driving the right traffic—the users who will engage with your content.

Images can help. According to BlogTyrant, images can up conversions by over 300%.

Illustration by Laetro

But keep in mind the kinds of images you use can have an impact on your conversions, too.

For years, stock imagery was the norm. But, it’s time to move away from those pictures.

Why? According to a study done by Marketing Experiments, readers are 35% more likely to convert when presented with a non-stock photo.

Original images offer authenticity stock ones can’t provide. They offer your readers a peek behind the curtain, allowing them to see a deeper side of your content.

Unique blog image content can offer other benefits, including increased customer trust and brand recognition.

According to Brain Rules, a slogan alone only sticks in the minds of 10% of people. When related imagery is added, though, retention rises to 65%. That’s an increase you can’t ignore if increasing brand recognition is on your radar.

Original image content has an often-overlooked SEO benefit, too, and that’s the improvement of Google’s E-A-T score. The E-A-T score lets Google assess content quality based on these three standards:

• Expertise
• Authoritativeness
• Trustworthiness

Illustration by Laetro

How can original imagery improve your E-A-T rating?

Whether you shoot and edit photography on your own or you work with a digital illustrator, your unique imagery will have a personal spin. If done right, this will become a vital part of your personal brand strategy.

You show expertise by including images that clearly demonstrate you understand your content.

You show authoritativeness by having consistent, unique branding people recognize immediately.

You show trustworthiness by providing information through images that are accurate and increase user’s knowledge.

A strong personal brand will bump all three elements of an E-A-T rating.

Placing Images on Your Blog

Images, just like text, can also be perceived as “fluff.” Because of this, you need to know when to use pictures on your blog to optimize the user experience and benefit your SEO.

You should use images to do three very specific things.

Break Up Large Chunks of Text

According to a study by Microsoft, the average attention span of heavy screen users is a mere eight seconds.

That means you have eight seconds to captivate your audience—and large blocks of text may make them click away pretty quickly.

However, you don’t have to write two sentence posts to make them take fewer than eight seconds to read. Instead, employ clever tactics to keep your readers engaged.

Illustration by Laetro

One tactic is to introduce other media, such as photos or digital illustrations. This creates a less intimidating reading experience while also making the post more visually appealing.

Explain a Concept

Some concepts are too abstract or complex to explain effectively in writing, especially if your audience isn’t strictly experts in your topic.

Custom diagrams and visuals can help readers understand the material.

Enliven the Content

As much as you like to think your content is witty and engaging, some topics just won’t interest readers for very long. You can use original visuals to add some life to otherwise “dull” content in these cases.

When Should You Use Custom Illustrations or Photos?

The cost of custom graphics may be prohibitive for some bloggers, but it is possible to find some middle ground.

Use custom illustrations and photography sparingly. Ask yourself where they make the most sense and insert them accordingly.

If you’re creating a landing page for a new product or service, for example, this would be the place to splurge. After all, you want this content to stand out from your competitors—what better way than with a custom graphic?

You can also utilize custom illustrations to drive a point home or explain data.

Whether a comic strip panel, a diagram, or a flow chart, you can use custom illustrations to share ideas with your readers in a way words simply can’t.

When Should You Create Interactive Graphics?

You can take your blog’s imagery one step further with interactive graphics.

Interactive graphics are custom graphics that support reader interactions like mouse pointer movement, clicks, or keyboard input.

This form of original imagery is commonly used in infographics, though other display types include side-by-side comparisons, flow charts, and graphs.

The most obvious use for interactive graphics is to catch the reader’s eye.

Perhaps more importantly, they can also be used to break complex information down into bite-sized chunks. For example, take a look at this nifty interactive graphic that shows users how Google search works without becoming overwhelmed.

Examples of Successful Blog Images

There are plenty of ways to use images on your blog.

Here’s one creative example from Oberlo:

Instead of one lengthy infographic, the content creators chose individual infographic “slides” to answer each question on their post about social media statistics.

This use of graphics achieves two things:

It makes the information easy to digest.It makes it simple for readers to share information on social media.

As mentioned above, one of the benefits of original blog imagery is the personal branding aspect. When you use a particular style consistently, it becomes synonymous with your brand.

Copyblogger provides an excellent example of this:

Their featured images consistently use quotes overlaid on eye-catching images. They work as a watermark of sorts, as anyone who sees their imagery elsewhere will be able to identify them as belonging to Copyblogger immediately.

And what about interactive content? Your options are only limited by your imagination.

Take a look at this comprehensive timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe:

As you scroll through the timeline, new images and text content can be seen. This example tells a complex story in a linear, non-intimidating format.

What to Use Instead of Stock Photos

You know you should be using unique imagery on your blog. But what should you use instead of stock photos?

There are plenty of options for every budget and skill level.

Take Your Own Photos

You don’t need a professional setup to take photographs for your blog. Even a smartphone camera can be used to take your own photos.

Depending on the amount of time you have and your budget, you can edit these photos on your phone or by using software like Photoshop.

Edit Stock Photos

Not all stock photos are bad, but you must be purposeful in the ones you choose.

It’s best to choose stock images that haven’t been used too often. How can you know? Using Google’s reverse image search, you can search for images to see how many results they get. The less, the better.

Even more than that, though, you can make tweaks to existing stock photos to give them a new look.

Some quick edits include:

• Flipping the image horizontally
• Adding a text overlay
• Adding an image effect or filter
• Cropping the image (from rectangle to a square, for example)

The easiest edits can be done using free or low-cost online tools or your computer’s in-built image editing software.

Use Online Tools and Software

Tools exist which enable you to edit or create images in any format and style. You can use these tools to edit stock photos, as mentioned above, or build imagery using digital assets.

Many tools like Lucidpress even have pre-built templates to inspire your designs.

Use Custom Images

Images are so much more than photographs, and you don’t need to rely on photography alone to add visuals to your blog.

Custom images can also include digital assets, illustrations, and iconography.

How to Get Original or Interactive Blog Images

It’s never been easier or more affordable to get original and interactive blog images.

When it comes to hiring a professional, you have options. You can easily find freelancers on sites like Fiverr or Upwork or use a service like Design Pickle.

If you know of a digital artist with a style you like, you may be able to commission them. They are often more expensive than the freelancers you’ll find on the websites mentioned above, but they’re great if you need a specific style.

For bloggers strapped for time, there are services you can hire to do the heavy lifting. The service may be a creative agency or a blog content specialist. Either way, you provide details, and they’ll commission work on your behalf.

Do you have more time than money? You can also create blog images using tools like Canva, Pixlr, or PicMonkey. For a more professional finish, you can invest in a creative suite like Adobe Creative Cloud.

How Much Do Original Blog Images Cost?

As with most services, there are options for almost every budget.

If you hire a freelancer for a one-off gig, then the price varies based on the number of images, the complexity of the work, and how you plan to use the final product.

In some cases, you may be able to get a discount when you buy in bulk.

Commissioning a professional is likely to be the most expensive option. Unless you have money to burn, this should be reserved for high-impact projects, like illustrations for sales landing pages or campaign launches.

Tools to Create Blog Images

Whether you’re on a limited budget or just want to let the creative juices flow, you can opt to create your images.

There are free and low-cost options, such as Canva and PicMonkey. These tools have limitations, including watermarks, if you don’t opt for premium memberships. You also need to be sure all assets used in your design are copyright-free.

For 100% original work, you may find creative suites like Adobe to be the best bang for your buck. With access to tools like Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, you can create and edit various blog illustrations, diagrams, and original photography.

There are plenty of tutorials available online for creating graphics using Adobe Creative Cloud—so if you’re unable to pay a designer for their services, you don’t have to just guess about how to do this.

If you’re in a time crunch, there are even services that offer quick turnaround times on unique illustrative designs. With tools such as Laetro, you can have a one-of-a-kind illustration in only 24 hours.

Conclusion

There’s no need to scroll through page after page of stock photos to find the right images for your blog post. You can create original blog images, whether by yourself or with the help of a professional.

Original blog imagery, including photography and graphics, can take your blog posts to the next level. It also helps build your overall brand and take your marketing to the next level.

With plenty of options at your fingertips, from free tools like Canva to paid software like Adobe to freelance artists, there’s no reason not to use original images on your blog.

Which of the tools mentioned above are you most likely to use to create images for your blog? Or do you prefer ones we haven’t mentioned? Let us know!

The post Stock Photos are Dead: Create These Blog Images Instead appeared first on Neil Patel.

Source: neilpatel.com

5 Ways to Boost Your Visual Marketing Results

 

Without high-quality visual content, there is no brand presence on some of the most powerful platforms, including Instagram and Pinterest. While you can promote links and text on those networks, non-visual content is likely to go unnoticed.

Marketers have long been talking about the power of visual content, both for attracting attention and for engaging your audience.

Yet, with the emergence of visual-only social media networks — like Instagram and Pinterest — visual marketing stopped being a nice-to-have and became a must-have.

Without high-quality visual content, there is no brand presence on some of the most powerful platforms, including Instagram and Pinterest. While you can promote links and text on those networks, non-visual content is likely to go unnoticed.

While the video is important, simply publishing videos is not going to be enough. Every other brand is doing that, and the consumer’s eye is pretty used to bright, flashy images by this point.

What you need is to stand out — which is getting more and more challenging in our era of the visual web.

 

Effective Visual Marketing Strategy:

So what can you do to embrace a more effective visual marketing strategy?

It’s all about ingenuity and experimentation, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

 

1. Turn your social media images into artwork

Make your social media images impossible to miss: it is as simple as that.

Well, it does sound simple, and it will obviously boost your content performance – but how exactly can we do that?

Luckily, there are tools for that, so it’s also quite doable.

Quickart by Lightricks is my most recent discovery and it was an instant hook. The app allows you to apply artistic patterns, filters, and effects to create memorable visual content that is impossible to miss:

Image source: theverge.com

My favorite thing about this specific app is that it is insanely easy to use. You don’t spend hours figuring out any super-advanced photo-editing instruments, like layers or mask tools, but the result is always unique and creative. Also, it is free.

 

2. Brand your images well

People are highly visual. Our brain relies on images and visualizations, which makes visual marketing so effective.

Our brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text and retains 80 percent of what we see versus just 20 percent of what we read.

Source: Scientific Reasons Visuals Increase Engagement

When we think, we tend to picture things. Our brain easily brings up colors and shapes, rather than text or numbers. We visualize associations and connections among different concepts and entities.

Through the creation of visual connotations, images make any information more memorable, and this is where the real power of visual marketing lies…

Visual content makes your brand more memorable and recognizable, which, in the long run, brings better click-through and higher conversions.

Branding your visuals is an important step – but one not to be taken lightly.

You do want people to recognize your brand just through your assets – and yet you cannot make your images all about you, as your audience will quickly lose interest.

That said:

• Use the recognizable color palette
• Place your brand in an interesting and creative context
• Make sure that each individual asset contributes to one unified narrative you want your brand to be associated with.

If you are looking for some examples of effective – yet not overwhelming or boring – branding, check out the Instagram account of Boxed Water.

They turn each picture into a story that tells the same narrative: “Life is good and nature is awesome so long as you save this planet”.

Visual Content Example from Boxed Water

However, avoid:

• Creating self-centered images
• Using too much of your logo (watermarks? Not a good idea for Instagram content, for example)

3. Repurpose your images everywhere

With your branding being consistent from asset to asset, bring your strategy to the next level: Attach all your channels with each individual asset.

This is a great way to create that “My brand is everywhere” illusion which ensures your audience remembers you well: Your customer sees your image on Facebook, clicks your link, sees the same (or similar) image on your site, and finally sees it again when searching Google (and that’s where they can no longer resist).

To build this #beeverywhere strategy, carefully use consistent images and visual elements everywhere.

For example, Leadpages features matching visual elements (visual identities) on their Instagram feed and their site:

Leadpages features matching visual elements (visual identities) on their Instagram feed and their site.

And UPRIGHT uses the same visual elements in both their Instagram ad and the linked landing page:

 

This way, by using non-intrusive visual branding, both the brands instill confidence in their users landing on their site and create some sort of brand cross-channel recognizability.

To take this idea even further, searching Google for something relevant, we should be seeing the matching image or element which would instantly catch our attention and prevent me from going elsewhere:

 

How can this cross-channel recognizability be achieved?

By using a consistent repurposing strategy, including:

• Reusing social media images on your site
• Using the same image (in different dimensions) across multiple channels
• Applying fundamental image SEO practices when publishing those visuals on your site and social media channels (this includes using optimized alt text, a variety of hashtags, and description (or immediate context).

There are lots of tools helping bloggers do this right.

This is where I always use Text Optimizer because the tool allows you to broaden the list of keywords your image is going to show up for.

The tool uses semantic analysis to identify related concepts and entities for you to use in the image description/caption, tags/hashtags, etc. when publishing each image anywhere.

For example, here are semantically-related concepts for [skyscraper]:

The tool also pushes you to diversify your tactics and avoid keyword stuffing by suggesting you use related and synonymous words in your copy.

Bonus: Embrace visual advertising

You do need all the above steps to do this one right: You need to create effective visuals, brand them in a non-intrusive way, market them across multiple channels, and then start investing in visual advertising.

Luckly, you have quite a few options, including:

• Instagram ads
• Pinterest ads
• Facebook ads
• TikTok ads

There are also emerging, more innovative options like Unsplash advertising that focuses on shifting brand perception and building brand associations rather than clicks and views.

 

Conclusion

Visual marketing can boost the performance of many – if not all – other promotional tactics you are currently implementing, including content marketing, traffic generation, SEO (or rather on-SERP marketing), etc.

The best part about visual marketing – in my opinion – is that you are never actually done. You always have to be innovating, trying new tools, discovering new tactics in order to stay ahead – or at least abreast of your niche.

The post 5 Ways to Boost Your Visual Marketing Results appeared first on Content Marketing Consulting and Social Media Strategy.

Source: convinceandconvert.com

The Best Tips About Blogging To Boost Your Success

Everyone has something they want to share, and writing a blog is a great way to go about it. Everyone has a natural desire to share a message with everyone, but it can be difficult to figure out how to do that. The tips that follow will enable you to blog effectively.

Don’t forget SEO work when it comes to writing a blog.

You need your blog to appear near the top of search engine listings for your topics so that Internet users can easily come across your posts.

Your keyword(s) should be in the title of the article and mentioned a few times in the article itself.

 

Do Comments

A great way to get some free advertising is simply to be active in your blog posting sector with comments.

You should consider creating a separate folder in Google Reader and using it to keep up with the selection of blogs that you choose to follow.

Make comments anytime you’d like to say something.

Post content on your blog often.

New content is essential for finding new viewers and keeping the ones you have.

If you do not offer new content often, readers will have no motivation to keep visiting.

It’s a good idea to make at least one post each day.

Make sure your posts are clear and concise.

Your blog needs to be filled with information, but also be concise and readable.

Blog readers do not require detailed and flowery prose.

They want the key content, not the extra fixings.

Include Images

Include images in your blog posts.

Do you believe in the idea that a photo can tell a story more effectively than words?

There’s no better place to prove how much more pictures are worth to readers than within a blog–they are a vital part of your communication.

Images can also quickly convey aspects about your blogs, such as the subject matter or tone of your writing, without using a lot of words to describe those features of your blog.

So, make certain that you include images as much as possible.

Think of Guest Blogging

Let guests write posts for your blog from time to time.

This helps you develop relationships with other blog owners and can come in helpful.

Do not underestimate the usefulness of a solid relationship.

If you need help promoting your blog, the person who you are allowed to guest blog may be willing to do something to help you.

Are you ready to share what’s on your mind?

We all have something to say.

However, when you have to make choices about how to convey your thoughts it can become confusing.

This article contained several suggestions to help you use your blog most effectively.

5 Keyword Research Tips That Will Blow Your Mind

The trick with ranking is not to force it. When everybody’s trying to rank for the same keywords, there’s not much room for long-term development. This is where you can improve and find keywords semantically related to your niche, but not necessarily used by your competitors.

It’s in Google’s best interest to suggest semantic results, as closely related to the search query as possible.

This should be in your best interest, too.

But what happens when your industry’s a crowded market share where every digital marketing campaign is survival of the fittest at its best?

 

5 Keyword Research Tips

There are lots of recommendations, tips, and alternatives to paid tools.

We thought of 5 fresh and unique tips to find the right keywords for SEO.

Anxious to get started?

Before we get started on finding lots of keyword opportunities, there’s just one more thing.

Take a second to understand how much search engines have evolved.

When you type ‘Halloween costume Batman’ on Google, it won’t distinctly show you results of Halloween costumes in general and Batman-related content.

Now, it looks beyond your words and shows you whatever is most relevant for you, in this case understanding that it’s a Batman costume you’re looking for.

This is why approximately 70% of the search results have derived from the words typed when searching, according to studies made by Google itself – because the search engine is beginning to understand your intention more than the words you’re expressing it with.

It’s true that results can vary depending on your previous searches, your location, and other variables, but browsing in Incognito mode can change this if you’re looking for more ‘objective’ results.

1. Get Keyword Suggestions Using Free Stock Image Sites

At this point, it’s clear therefore that the key is to look in new places for relevant keywords.

Depending on your niche, it may be a great start to look for pictures.

Now, Googlebot can understand by itself very accurately the content of a picture using Automatic Object Detection in Images.

On top of that, we are encouraged to add ALT descriptions to every image we have on our websites in terms of SEO purposes.

Reversing this principle, we’ll notice that looking for keywords on picture descriptions is an easy, effective way to generate new ideas.

For that matter, photo sites are a great source of inspiration, particularly if your niche has enough graphic applications to find useful photo-related keywords.

For instance, if you’re looking for dog food, you’ll be shown both branded and non-commercial descriptions of dog food, as they are characterized in the photo captions.

There are various sites where you’ll find access to online pictures that are not protected by copyrights, and you should find the most suitable ones for your industry.

You’ll see that the sites are of impressive versatility, which means that the search patterns differ, along with the suggested keywords and the images you’ll find. Here are some great sources of inspiration:

1.1 Pixabay

Pixabay has a lot of great value since it has over 1.6 million photos, and you can split your search by category. This way, it’s easier to find out how searches differ from one category to another.

The nice part of this “keyword research tool” is the multiple choices for language support, which allows you to search for keyword ideas in your own language.

You don’t have to translate them by yourself.

 

Pixabay is more of a community than a conglomerate of pictures, and it can work as a niched, micro social-media site with followers, messages, and all the perks.

I find it important to have a constant source of copyright-free images for current usage, and Pixabay seems to solve two problems at once: free photos and brand new keywords from their descriptions.

Also, being a community-based website, it is free to use and your contribution should consist of uploading photos on your behalf.

This social payment isn’t, however, compulsory, and you can use the site regardless of your personal portfolio.

I would suggest uploading images whenever it’s possible, but it is a matter of personal choice.

We typed “dog” into the search box and one of the search keywords – “silhouette” – it isn’t your generic keyword when it comes to dog-related content, neither is it one of the most popularly encountered.

Despite this, it’s a suitable word to be integrated into your articles, and the search engine will associate it with your topic without any problems.

1.2 Shutterstock

Shutterstock is a paid service.

The pictures here do have copyright, but this is an additional sign of quality.

People who pay for this service to be given relevant photos are tech-oriented people, who work in online industries and value precision.

Therefore, the keywords you’ll find generated from previous searches and from photo descriptions are both specific in nature and refreshing for your niche.

The subscribers will target keywords that are most relevant in order to be shown the proper photos.

It’s the paid subscription and the reputation for reliability that makes this a viable source for taking a fresh look at the most fitting keywords in your niche.

The autocomplete suggestions will be relevant and refreshing, although not always very niched.

But in the context of semantic focus from the search engines, being relevant trumps being specific – if the autofill suggests previous searches on a word, this can be easily integrated semantically on our topic.

1.3 Stockvault

Stockvault is a free micro search engine for photos and it’s great for searches of highly popular industries, and not very specific niches since it’s used by people from different environments.

It has probably one of the most complete category lists which makes it very easy to search and see accurate keyword results.

 

And because they’re so versatile, it’s best to search for a word in a category, and then see the description of the pictures returned as results.

Also, you can see how they differ depending on the category you choose (for instance, men vs. women).

The returned results, as well as the autofill suggestions, will differ depending on the previous searching behavior on that particular category.

For example, if you search for coffee and click on an image, you’ll see the category and lots of tags that can be used as semantic keywords in your content creation process.

Stockvault offers valuable contextual keywords and backgrounds for every search term and every picture you find.

It can be an intelligent Adwords Keyword Planner alternative.

 

This is, therefore, the cornucopia of differential approach for distinct targets.

If you’re looking for keywords for distinct approaches between several target groups, this site does the job pretty well.

 

1.4 Freedigitalphotos

Freedigitalphotos is another reliable source when looking for popular keyword ideas.

Despite being free, there’s nothing cheap about it.

You’ll always have plenty of search results, each of which has a caption text, which you’ll find more than useful since it doesn’t require manually going through all the results.

 

You can set up your search by an advanced set of parameters, thus influencing the results.

One other very interesting feature is the ability to exclude keywords from your returned searches.

If, for instance, you want to search “Coca-Cola“ but not “Pepsi Cola“, you can always use the ‘Exclude Keywords’ filter.

In this particular case, “Pepsi Cola” would categorize as a negative keyword.

2. Generate Keyword Ideas Using Offline Magazines

Start reading magazines.

See which keywords are used by those in your industry in content marketing – as the general style is so different from online to print, you’ll get plenty of ideas that you’ve been ignoring because of SEO assumptions.

When working online, it’s crucial to keep a fresh mind.

And if you want different results in rankings than your competitors, maybe you should look where they don’t, too.

As we’ve documented before, magazines are a divergent resource with unique content, that could generate great keywords for your business.

I’ll only cover the most important reason – magazines are a perfect resource for someone preoccupied with words.

After all, they provide what we hope for the web to become one day in terms of content: articles that attract through subject and writing, without being obsessed with keywords and rankings.

And perhaps this is what we should all turn towards to keep a fresh mind.

There are hyper-targeted niches in the magazine market.

If your industry allows it (and chances are, if you’re reading this post, it does!), take a look in the niche magazines.

The intent for great content on a magazine is exceedingly higher since the investment is thousands of dollars and the editors don’t afford to make mistakes, while a blog is much easier to manage, promote and reinvent every time article chops of the numbers of the audience.

3. More Keywords Suggestions from Amazon

Another alternative to Google Keywords Planner is Amazon.

It is the Google of selling.

Its power consists of being so huge, that it’s impossible not to find what you’re looking for, from beauty products to books and video games.

It’s also where you can find out what people search for, to a very specific extent.

Because of all its categories, there are two kinds of insight: one from the different search suggestions you’ll get for the same word in distinct categories and one from the category and its suggestions that you’re offered when searching for a product.

Because Amazon is such a valuable source, you can consult third parties for advanced results for what are people searching for.

Merchantwords, for instance, is a highly professional paid service that puts the Amazon search database in perspective.

“Apple“ is one of the most popular Amazon searches.

Being able to organize the results after the highest/lowest monthly search volume or by category order allows us to examine the specific parts that we find most relevant for our online business.

Depending on how trending your results are, using this tool can help you find keywords more than just once, by identifying the trending topics the exact ways they’re being searched on the site.

4. Answer the Public

Writing perennial articles isn’t easy, particularly when evergreen content seems to have additional requirements for making a good impression and not looking like junk.

It takes vision to maintain relevance over time. Answer the public can be used as a keyword research tool very easily.

It is a site that suggests questions people would ask on a different topic or keyword that you insert, which you can materialize in new keywords or – why not? – in new content ideas.

 

The homepage of this site is a very impatient man, in a sweater, who seems eager to hear you answering a question that is of elevated interest for a larger public.

There’s also a number of popular countries from which you can select, and the results differ from each local trending search.

The results are formulated as popular questions, comparisons,  popular phrases containing the keyword, and they’re followed by alphabetical suggestions of the desired topics.

You can download the whole keyword data into a .csv.

5. The Wikipedia Database

Wikipedia is a source of keyword research in multiple languages, especially since it covers a lot of topics.

Because the articles here are information-centric and not keyword-centric, you may find a reinvigorating perspective on the textual approach.

Of course, the encyclopedia is unbiased (or it should be), and most of the articles aren’t necessarily written in a very creative way.

But by not abiding by the general rules of online writings, the result will be similar to the one produced by reading niche magazines – only in a different writing style.

 

Conclusion

Whenever the competition is too high, you risk tilting at windmills.

This happens because you, as well as your competitors, are trying hard to rank for the same keywords, suggested by (roughly) the same sources.

I always search incognito whenever there’s something I want to take a fresh look at.

Because, smart as they are, search engines memorize my history and suggest answers related to my previous queries.

The same kind of story happens here – you’ll get to run in circles pretty soon.

Using the same keywords as your competitors when writing in your niche often turns the common words into ground zero in SERPs.

On the other hand, there are plenty of creative ways of keeping a fresh perspective on your work.

Looking for answers (or questions?) where nobody else does makes the difference between a trendsetter and the next in line.

Plus, finding unique keywords research tools can help you give a boost to your SEO strategy.

 

Note: This blog post is an improved version of an older one we had.

We considered this article to be valuable for those interested in outranking their competitors and the information needed a refresh because the online market is evolving very quickly.

The post 5 Keyword Research Tips That Will Blow Your Mind appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

Source: cognitiveseo.com

Everything You Need to Know About Inserting and Editing Images in WordPress

Do you feel confident using images in your blog posts? While there’s no absolute rule that bloggers need to include images, most bloggers will include at least one eye-catching image in each post (normally at or very near the start).

However, it’s easy to make mistakes with images. We’ve already covered how to obtain images legally so you don’t accidentally infringe on someone’s copyright.

But in today’s post, I want to go through the process of uploading and inserting images.

Whether you’ve just started blogging or you’ve been blogging for years, I hope you’ll learn something new from today’s post.

We’re going to start off with the basics, and move on to some more advanced tips and tricks.

Here are the ten things we’re going to cover:

1. How to download an image from the web
2. How to upload an image to your blog
3. How to insert an image into your post
4. How to align your image within your post
5. How to resize your image
6. How to turn your image into a link
7. How to add alt text to your image
8. How to edit your image in WordPress itself
9. How to keep your image file sizes low
10. How to optimize images for retina screens

 

10 Things to Know About Inserting and Editing Images in WordPress

#1: How to Download an Image from the Web

Brand new bloggers might feel a bit stuck at the first hurdle: downloading their chosen image.

Once you’ve found an image you can legally use, you’ll need to download it to your computer.

(While it’s technically possible to insert it in your post using its existing URL on the web, this “hotlinking” is a bad idea. Many sites don’t like it, as it puts extra strain on their servers. And if the image file is removed from its current location, it’ll disappear from your post too.)

To download an image, right-click on it. You should see an option such as “Save image as…”. (It may be worded slightly differently depending on your browser.)

Click on “Save image as…”, and then select the folder on your computer where you want to save it.

On sites that act as a library of images (such as Pixabay and Flickr), you’ll normally be able to choose from different sizes for the image. Here’s how it looks on Pixabay.

The numbers on the left are the dimensions of each image in pixels (width by height). The numbers on the right are the size of each image file in kB/MB. As you can see, larger images equal much larger files.

It’s up to you what size you choose. (We’ll cover this in more detail in sections #9 and #10 on this list.) Note that on Pixabay you need to create a (free) account to download the largest images.

 

#2: How to Upload an Image to Your Blog

After you’ve selected and downloaded an image, you need to upload it to your blog.

On WordPress, log in to your dashboard, open up your chosen post (or start a new one), and click the “Add Media” button.

Then click the “Upload Files” tab. You can either drag and drop your chosen file to upload it to your blog, or click the “Select Files” button to browse through your computer folders for it.

(Note that whichever you choose, the original file will remain on your computer. Only a copy of it is uploaded.)

If you want to, you can upload several images at once.

 

#3: How to Insert an Image

First, position your cursor where you want to put the image within your post. (Click at the start or end of a line of text, or click on a blank line.)

Your uploaded images are available in your media library. Click “Add Media” then the “Media Library” tab (if it’s not already selected for you) and you’ll see them.

To insert an image, click on it and you’ll see this panel on the right-hand side of your screen.

You can set the alignment of the image, add a link, and choose the size you want it to be displayed. We’ll be covering all of these later on in this post. (You can edit your image to change any of these details after inserting it.)

Click “Insert into post” to place the image in your post where your cursor is.

 

#4: How to Align Your Image Within Your Post

If you inserted your image without changing the alignment setting, it may not appear exactly the way you wanted.

Perhaps you intended to have it above your text, centered, or at the start of your post. But instead, it’s right-aligned alongside the text.

(Dummy text generated by fillerama on “Doctor Who” mode.)

To re-align your image, click on it and then click the “align center” button on the mini-menu that pops up.

(You can also click the little pencil button to edit the image, where you can select the alignment, size, and more.)

Your image should now be aligned correctly in your post.

 

#5: How to Resize Your Image

If your image is too big, you can resize it by clicking on it and then clicking on the edit button in the mini-menu.

You’ll see details about the image. Click the dropdown menu next to “Size” and you’ll see a range of options.

If one of the listed sizes works for you, select it. If not, click “Custom Size” and enter a width or height for your image in pixels.

Whichever you choose, the other dimension will be adjusted automatically.

Click the “Update” button at the bottom of the screen, and you’ll be returned to your post with the image updated to your chosen size.

Note that this process doesn’t change the size of your original uploaded image, so the file size will remain the same. (We’ll cover more on this later in this post.)

 

#6: How to Turn Your Image into a Link

At some point, you’ll almost certainly want to create an image that readers can click on to go to a different page.

For instance, you might want to create:

• A “start here” page showing the featured image from several posts, with each image linking to the appropriate post
• A page of book reviews, with the cover image for each book linking to the book on Amazon
• A custom “buy” button for your products, with each one linking to a PayPal or shopping cart page

To add a link to your image, click on the image and then click the little “edit” button that appears to get the Image Details screen.

Click the “Link To” dropdown and select “Custom URL”. You can then enter whatever URL you want the image to link to.

Make sure you click the “Update” button to save your changes to the image.

An even quicker way to add a link to an image is to copy your link, then click on the image and paste the link (press Ctrl+V on a PC or Command+V on a Mac). This will automatically add the link to the image.

 

#7: How to Add Alt Text to Your Image

Alt (alternative) text is normally used for accessibility. It provides a short description of your image that can be read to people using screen-reading software.

(It will also appear on the screen as text if the image fails to load.)

Note that this is different from a caption. If you enter a caption, it’ll be displayed immediately beneath the image in your post.

You can add alt text to your image when you’re editing it. Simply fill in the Alternative Text field with whatever text you want.

#8: How to Edit Your Image in WordPress Itself

It’s normally best to edit images before you upload them using software such as Photoshop (or if you want a free alternative, Gimp or Paint.NET).

But sometimes you might want to make adjustments to your original image within WordPress. You can do this by clicking the “Edit Original” button in the Image Details panel.

You’ll then see this screen.

You can then resize the image. (You can only scale down, not up.)

Note: it’s best to do this before making any other edits.

You can also rotate the image, or flip it from top to bottom or left to right, using the buttons immediately above it.

You can crop the image by clicking on it and dragging it to select your chosen area. Here’s the original image flipped left to right, with an area selected so it can be cropped.

To crop the image, you then need to click the “crop” button on the top left above the image.

Once you’re happy with your changes to your image, click “Save” beneath it, then “Update” on the next screen. You should now see your new image in the post itself.

If anything goes wrong, you can restore your original image using the “Restore Original Image” option.

#9: How to Keep Your Image File Sizes Low

The larger your image files, the longer they’ll take to load on your web page. And this can potentially affect your site’s performance. If your site is really slow to load, readers may simply give up and go elsewhere.

There are several ways you can keep file sizes down, including:

• Using .jpg images where possible. They’re compressed, so they aren’t as high quality as other file types. But for images in regular blog posts, they’ll probably look fine. Note that if you have transparent (or partially transparent) images, though, you can’t save them in .jpg format.
• Resizing your image before uploading it to WordPress. If you’ve taken a photo on your camera and it’s 4000px wide, don’t upload it unedited to your blog. Yes, you can scale it down in your post (see #5), but the image will still take a long time to load. Instead, use image-editing software to resize the photo before you upload it into your media library.
• Using the WordPress plugin Smush to resize and optimize images you’ve already uploaded in the past. This could make your site significantly faster.
• Using the TinyPNG service and/or Compress JPEG and PNG images plugin to reduce the size of your .png images. (If you have partially transparent images, they’re probably .png files. You should also use .png for any files with graphics in them.)

 

#10: How to Optimise Images for Retina Screens

The newest Apple products have Retina displays, which have a higher pixel-per-inch density than regular screens.

As SitePoint explains:

Retina has four times more pixels than standard screens. If you have a 400 x 300 image (120,000 pixels), you’d need to use an 800 x 600 alternative (480,000 pixels) to render it well on a high-density display.

This means that if you want a 500px by 330px image for your post, it would be best to upload it as a 1000px by 660px image. That way, it can be displayed crisply on the retina screen.

Your theme might automatically size and display the image correctly for each user (based on their device) if you simply insert it into the post at the larger size.

If it doesn’t, you can use the WP Retina 2x plugin (which is explained in detail by Barn2 Media) to create and show the retina images as appropriate.

I know there’s been a lot to take in with this post. Don’t worry: you don’t have to master everything at once.

If you’re new to blogging, you might simply want to get confident with the basics of downloading and uploading images to your blog, then inserting them into your post at the appropriate point.

But if you’ve been blogging for quite a while, you’ve hopefully picked up a new tip or trick today as well. How will you put it into practice this week?

 

The post Everything You Need to Know About Inserting and Editing Images in WordPress appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

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How to Find Images for Your Blog That Won’t Get You Sued

At some point (probably soon after you launch your blog) you’ll want to start using images.

You probably already have some of your own images you can use: a photo of yourself for your About page, or a photo of your workspace, home, garden, or whatever’s relevant for your blog.

But when it comes to your regular blog posts, your first instinct might be to head to Google and search for whatever you need: “happy people”, “woman writing”, “fresh salad”, etc.

But looking for images through Google can be a huge and very expensive mistake.

Images, just like blog posts, are automatically copyrighted to the person who created them. You wouldn’t want someone to take your blog post and use it on their site, would you?

Well,  photographers and artists feel the same way about their work.

While it’s unlikely you’d get sued for inadvertently using someone else’s art without permission, you could upset someone and look unprofessional.

But bloggers have been threatened with legal action (and pressured into paying huge fines) for using copyrighted images.

In The $7,500 Blogging Mistake That Every Blogger Needs to Avoid!, Chrystie from Living for Naptime details her experience with being asked for $7,500 in ‘damages’ by a scammy photographer for using a single green bell pepper photograph.

Big companies can also pursue bloggers for minor, unintentional infractions. Getty Images has gathered a bit of a reputation for this. And a lot of blog posts out there explain how to respond to Getty Images if they contact you demanding money.

(Settlement Demand Letter from Getty Images and Tips for Responding to a Getty Images Extortion Letter are good places to start if you’ve run up against Getty Images yourself.)

You might think that if you’ve seen an image being used on someone else’s blog then you’re safe. But that’s not necessarily the case. They might be using it illegally without realising.

The good news is there are plenty of ways to safely use other people’s images on your blog that are completely legal.

 

Copyright and Creative Commons (Briefly) Explained

Before we take a look at specific image sources, I want to briefly talk you through a couple of important terms: ‘copyright’ and ‘creative commons’.

Note that I am not a lawyer, and this is a quick rather than exhaustive explanation.

‘Copyright’ indicates that a person holds the right to control where an image, blog post, etc. is published.

They can give you permission to use their photo (e.g. if you email them to ask), but you can’t (legally) use it without their permission.

‘Creative Commons’ is a special type of licensing system for images, blog posts, and other creative works. If an image is licensed under Creative Commons, you may be able to use it safely on your blog.

However, there are several different types of Creative Commons licenses, so make sure you follow the terms of the specific license for your chosen image.

For instance, an image might be licensed under Creative Commons for “non-commercial use”. This means you shouldn’t use it on a blog that runs ads, sells products, or otherwise brings in money.

And you definitely shouldn’t use it as, say, the cover image for an ebook.

Images can also be licensed under Creative Commons to require attribution. This means you must name and link to the photographer or artist from your blog post.

If you prefer not to do this, you’ll need to source images that don’t require attribution.

Note: licensing an image under Creative Commons doesn’t mean the photographer/artist has given up their copyright. For instance, you can’t take their image and claim that you made it yourself.

You can find out all about Creative Commons on the Creative Commons website.

This might all sound very daunting, and I hope I haven’t put you off ever using images on your blog again The good news is there are plenty of ways to find images that you can safely use.

And I’m going to share some of the best ones with you now.

 

Option #1: Use Stock Photographs You Pay For

There are plenty of stock photo sites out there that sell images, normally for a fairly small fee.

If you want high-quality images for your site this is a good option, although it may be unrealistic to pay for an image every time you write a blog post.

Stock photos can be a good option for products/services you offer. Even if you don’t want to use them regularly, you might want to dip into stock libraries occasionally.

Just check the terms and conditions carefully to make sure you’re allowed to use them in this way.

Some large, reputable stock photo sites include:

• iStockPhoto
• Fotolia (now Adobe Stock)
• Shutterstock
• Shutterpoint
• Dreamstime

As well as letting you buy individual images, most stock photo sites let you buy a subscription plan. If you want a lot of stock photos (e.g. you want to use one in every post you write), this may be better value.

Stock images are normally available in a variety of sizes, with the smallest size being the cheapest. If you want a 500px wide image for a blog post, the smallest size will often be all you need.

Option #2: Use Free Images that are Creative Commons Licensed for Commercial Use

While you could use non-commercial licensed Creative Commons images if you’re blogging as a hobby, it’s safest to use only images that have been licensed for commercial use.

This way, if you monetize your blog in the future you won’t have to worry about whether it’s still okay to use all of your images.

Free images vary in quality, and you may find your search doesn’t bring up many options. And some of the better free images may have already appeared on a lot of other blogs in your niche.

So you might need to dig around a bit to find ones you’re happy to use for your posts.

But since you’re not paying anything, you can always switch an image for a new one if you find something better in the future.

We’ve covered lots of great places to find free images for your blog here on ProBlogger before, so I’ll share just three good options here:

Pexels – All images on the site are licensed for commercial use and don’t need attribution.

Flickr – Some images are copyrighted, while others are licensed under various Creative Commons licenses. You can use the Advanced search to find commercial-use images.

Unsplash – As with Pexels, all images are licensed for commercial use and don’t need attribution.

 

Option #3: Creating Your Own Images

Finally, you could create your own images for your blog. That might mean taking photos, sketching cartoons, creating digital art, or whatever you enjoy.

Using your own images can make your blog feel especially real and authentic to readers. In some types of blogging – e.g. if you’re a craft blogger – it’s expected that you’ll use your own images of your projects.

Taking Photos for Your Blog

You don’t need to be super professional, but try to make it the best you can. If you have a DSLR camera, learn how to use it properly. Who knows? You might discover an entirely new hobby to blogging!

ProBlogger’s sister site, Digital Photography School, has plenty of resources to help you. A good place to begin is on the Start Here page.

 

Using Screenshots on Your Blog

Another type of image you can create is a screenshot. These can be very helpful when giving a tutorial about how to do something online.

If you’re using screenshots of web pages that are publicly available, the copyright holder (i.e. the website owner) probably wouldn’t object. But it never hurts to check with them.

If you want to use screenshots in a paid-for product (such as an ebook) or something people have to sign up for (such as a free email course), always check with the copyright holder first.

I know there’s a lot to take in here, especially if you’ve been using Google to find images in the past.

If you’re worried the images you’ve already used might be infringing someone’s copyright, it would be worth going through your posts and searching for each one in Google Images. (Click the camera icon next to the search bar to upload the image.)

Once you’ve found the image, track down the original source (e.g. a stock photography site or the photographer’s own website) and check whether the image is licensed under Creative Commons.

If it isn’t, or you can’t be sure of the original source, take it down immediately and replace it with an image you can legally use.

How do you source great images for your blog? Or do you prefer to create your own? Share your tips with us in the comments.

     

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