It’s no secret that I am a big proponent of blogging for authors, business owners, and anyone who wants to establish authority online. When you contribute great content to your blog on a regular basis (ideally two or more times each week), your site becomes more relevant with Google. Google likes fresh content on a site, so the more content you make available, the more likely it will be that your posts show up in Google search. Combine that with sharing your posts via the social media networks, and you have a great recipe for increasing website traffic and building an audience.
But a lot of bloggers miss one very important component: photos. When you add a photo to a blog post, it increases the visual appeal for the post on your website AND when shared via social media. Here’s an example of a blog post preview on Facebook WITH a photo:
And here’s an example of a blog post on Facebook WITHOUT a photo:
Which looks more appealing?
Another benefit of adding a photo to your blog post is that you can tag it with important keywords for that post, further increasing keyword concentration and giving you a boost with Google. My favorite way to do this is to make sure keywords are in the blog post title, and then copy the blog post title into the photo Title and Alternate Text. Here’s what that looks like with WordPress:
Where to Find Images
Unfortunately, you can’t just go to Google and search for images to use on your blog. This actually violates copyright laws. Instead, you need to locate royalty-free images that you have permission to use. While you can search online for some free photo sites, you will likely find that the selection is limited, especially for business. I use and recommend a subscription-based service: Clipart.com. Here you will find a large selection of professional photos that you can use with your posts. I personally create multiple photo folders on my computer and download lots of images based on theme so I always have them handy and don’t have to search online for a new photo each time I write a new blog post.
And by the way, adding photos to your blog doesn’t need to be a time-consuming process. Some bloggers get bogged down in trying too hard to choose an image. It doesn’t have to match exactly to the content of your article. In fact, if you can’t think of something that is a fit, a picture of a business professional or a nice scenic photo can still add appeal and get the job done.
Yes, photos will make a difference for your readers, your social media efforts, and with Google. If you’re just getting started, go back through your blog and add photos to as many previous posts as you can manage. Then, get in the habit of adding photos to all new blog posts. Bet you’ll notice a difference!
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