Did you know that tweets with inline images have a much higher engagement rate? Buffer tested this out and found that tweets with inline images had a 18%high click rate, 89%higher favourite rate, and 150%higher retweet rate. (Source: How Twitter’s Expanded Images Increase Clicks, Retweets and Favorites [New Data])
Facebook posts also receive a higher engagement rate when an image is included – a 39%higher interaction rate, says American Express’s The Simple Science of Facebook Engagement.
We often hear the saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” I’m not a big talker, so I really like this idea. Images can communicate so much more, so much quicker than a wall of text can. Plus, it can quickly grab a reader’s attention and help draw them into your full text.
The use of images on a website is not only common practice, it also just makes sense if you want to better connect with your readers.
That said though, you definitely want to choose the images that you use carefully. They should be high quality, relate to the content that you are writing about, and fully support your brand image.
But where can you find images for your website?
Paid Stock Photography
Stock photography sites can provide the best commercial images that can be purchased for use on websites, advertisements, marketing materials, in videos, etc. These photos are often submitted by professional photographers, so you can expect to see high quality images. Depending on the website, the price may range from $1 per photograph to a few thousand for a photograph. Some of my favourite paid stock photography sites include:
Free Stock Photography
Free stock photography sites can be a great place to find images for your website if you have a tight budget, but it’s often not going to be as high a quality as paid stock photography. Often you will need to do some photo correcting before the image can be used. Some of the free stock photography sites I really like include:
Your Own Photography
This can be a great option if you want to add your own personality to your photographs. This will also be much less expensive than the paid stock photography sites and you won’t run into an issue where other people are using the same photographs as you, but it can take much longer to get the image that you want.
Hiring a Local Photographer
I really like this option because not only can you ensure that other people aren’t using the exact same imagery as you, but when you can’t find stock photography to illustrate exact concepts that you have in mind, the photographer can help execute these concepts for you. Rates can vary from one photographer to the next, so definitely take a look at a few photographers’ portfolios before deciding which one you want to work with.
A Few Quick Do’s and Don’ts
- Do always check image licenses before using.
- Do give credit if the photographer has requested it.
- Don’t use images that you find on Google image search, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other websites and social media networks.
- Be aware that if you are using stock photography, your competition may be using the exact same photographs.
Do you have any additional resources on where you can find images for your website to share with our readers?
