How to Use Images on Your Blog

In order to bring your blog posts to life, it’s important to add images. Images add interest, color, and even more understanding to the reader of the information you’re trying to convey.

But there is a lot to know about using images to ensure that you get the most from them on your blog.

Understand Copyright Laws

You can’t just find any image you want by searching on Google and using it. It’s important to understand about how copyrights work. Read the fine print no matter where you find the image, so that you get permission and give credit appropriately.

Where to Find Images

You can buy royalty free images from stock photo sites like iStockPhoto.com, and stockfresh.com, or you can find free images from morguefile.com. These are only a few examples. Royalty free does not mean an image is free; it just means you can pay one time, and if you use it according to the licensing agreement you don’t have to pay per view.

Formatting Images Properly

You want to ensure that your images aren’t too big to suck up bandwidth and make your pages load too slowly.

Ensure That Your Images Relate

Adding images to your blog posts will, if you choose right, make the blog posts come to life for your audience. If the image advances the story of your blog post, it’s going to mean a lot. They say an image is worth 1000 words, and it’s true if you choose well.

Add “ALT” Tags to Your Images

Many bloggers think that tags are old-fashioned and unnecessary, but if you want Google to index your images right, you’ll need to add the alt tags as well as a good description, using keywords that fit your website and blog post.

Keep Pictures on Your Own Server

It’s tempting to house images on another server because of space, but it’s best if you house the images for your blog on the same server. If you use WordPress, just upload them in the media section to ensure fast loading of images.

Use Screen Shots or Make Your Own Images

Sometimes, the best images are the ones you create yourself using screen shots. This is especially true if you are creating a how-to post that needs images to help lead the blog post reader to follow the directions carefully. You can make your own images easily by taking pictures with your phone and using software like Canva.com to edit the picture for posting on your blog.

Be Consistent

It can be hard to be consistent about how your blog posts are laid out if you don’t create a guideline for yourself (and others if you have guest bloggers). But, you don’t want to confuse your readers by making your website look messy without any order. Try to place images logically on each blog post.