Use Photos In Your Blog Posts
ADVERTISEMENTSRemember how publishers used to place images next to AdSense ads to increase its CTR? It worked as the images used to help capture the visitor’s attention.
You can apply the same technique to get visitors to read your posts too. Placing photos related to your posts not only makes your posts more attractive to your readers but will also clearly explain to them on what the post is about and also makes your blog stand out from the other blogs.
I know I don’t read each and every post of the blogs I read, but when there’s an image it makes me want to read the post.
Now that you know how photos can help your blog, you may be wondering where you can get free photos for your blog.
I usually go to stock.xchng for all the photos I need. They may not have as many photos as other sites, but at least they are provided free. When you browse for photos on stock.xchng, you will find premium results too at the bottom that cost about $1 per image.
If you want more quality photos and don’t mind paying, head over to iStockphoto.
Check out the below links to find out several other sites from where you can get free photos for your blog:
- free photos for your blog
- where to find free images for your blog
- 10 awesome places to get free images for your blog
- 30+ websites for stock photos and royalty free images
- free stock photos
You may also want to make money online with photos.
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Posted on September 28th, 2007 | Category: Blogging | 39 Comments »
Simonne
September 29, 2007 at 12:16 am
I like to use photos to illustrate my posts. I use the same source as you do: there are many good free photos there. The AdSense thing was working great (too bad I enjoyed it only a couple of months, then it became forbidden)
Madhur Kapoor
September 29, 2007 at 1:17 am
Good point John . Even i make it a point to have a image in each of my post . And thanks for the link .
Sofna
September 29, 2007 at 2:12 am
Interesting post. Pictures give your eyes a little break from all the text. Its nice to glance at a photo related to your subject. It helps to paint a better picture.
Bloddard
September 29, 2007 at 5:23 am
This is a great concept. It is just like with magazines; Most of the time I read articles depending on the pictures they come with.
Shankar Ganesh
September 29, 2007 at 8:05 am
Yeah, images always attract readers, I too use the stock image site you mentioned to get my images, it’s a great resource.
Nuts & Milk
September 29, 2007 at 11:08 am
A picture says a thousand words! All of my posts contain a picture related to the article. I usually use Google Image Search for pictures. Someone recommended Live Search a couple of days back & its definitely worth a try!
Ashwin
September 29, 2007 at 11:33 am
Sometimes I make my own photos with Photoshop, although I’m a newbie in PS, as time passes I might able to do some do images with it.
indyank
September 29, 2007 at 8:30 pm
yes an article with photos do have greater impact than without a photo…
Robert
September 29, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Was your post suppose to make you readers hungry for oranges? If it did, it worked
Girish
September 30, 2007 at 11:48 am
Nice concept John. I would also recommend Fotogenika to the readers for a great collection of images.
http://www.fotogenika.net/modifica/igallery.asp
Ashwini
September 30, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I look for pictures coz there are tons of blogs I gotta read and picture speaks 90% what the post is about
Ronald
October 1, 2007 at 12:09 am
John – I didn’t see the Google ads in your blog, are you close/remove the ads?
Get A Six Pack
October 1, 2007 at 3:23 am
I agree, pictures in Blogs attract a lot more attention, like Nuts & Milk says.. A pic is a thousand words
Nirmal
October 1, 2007 at 8:28 am
Photos are really important ones because they capture reader attraction quickly. For photos generally I use google image search, will try out the links.
DWiner
October 1, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Is finding suitable photos such a problem? I always trust Google Image search for the best results.
David Bradley
October 1, 2007 at 1:25 pm
You’re right there John, but it’s not always easy to find the right photo. For those of us who don’t have access to paid-for photo stock, I wrote a piece about how to source photos that you are essentially free to use, often without even a credit being required.
db
David Bradley
October 1, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Can you filter Google Images so that you’re not inadvertently using an image that is someone else’s copyright without their permission?
db
JohnTP
October 1, 2007 at 3:31 pm
I don’t think it’s a good idea to use Google image search, as some of the images you find may be copyrighted.
Robert- haha, my favorite fruit is Orange
Ronald- I removed AdSense and Kontera ads on new posts, they are placed on posts older than 7 days for now.
blendworx.com
October 1, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Thats really great advice. I used to leave images out of posts, but after giving it a look from the perspective of what attracts me many times, images are definitely an attention grabber.
David Bradley
October 1, 2007 at 10:00 pm
I have a conditional tag running (Landing Sites plugin) that shows specific stuff only to visitors arriving from search engines, so none of my RSS subscribers see those things, no one from Digg or related sites sees them, and no one who comes to the site direct.
db
Deep Ganatra
October 1, 2007 at 11:23 pm
One more tip, if you want to post an affiliate link or something, then use images. It will boost the earning too. 90% of the time, people do not read the text properly and if images are there, they will click it directly (because images will say it all) and you get quick bucks
vassonline
October 2, 2007 at 10:31 am
Deep Ganatra
Yes thats a great tip.I did some times
BlogsTheme.com
October 3, 2007 at 12:51 am
I’ve always used photos next to my blogs post! They are definitely making your blog look a lot better, it’s just nicer to see the photos, that are related to what you are talking about.
logtar
October 3, 2007 at 8:46 am
I`ve had mixed success with photos… the wrong photo can also detract.
fc
October 3, 2007 at 6:47 pm
very true john…
i have been making conscious efforts to put images in my blog.. the difficult part like logtar says above is that the wrong photo can wreck the post…
used to go i stockphoto quite often before,now making my own images.. helps me in trying to standardise stuff on unneglectable..
Ryan
October 4, 2007 at 10:53 am
I love stock.xchng. I use it all the time even though I have my own camera and have studied photography in school. Lol.
I mostly just go there to get pictures when I get an idea for a render to use in a post. Or if I want a photo of something I can’t go take myself.
Tibi Puiu
October 7, 2007 at 5:55 pm
A blog with out photos is like food without salt.
David Bradley
October 8, 2007 at 12:52 am
Tibi, just remember too much salt can cause raised blood pressure
db
Roy Tennant
October 10, 2007 at 5:30 am
I have over 2,000 photos (mostly travel, landscapes, aerial views, etc.) available at http://freelargephotos.com/ free for personal use. If you use them on a blog or web site all I ask is a photo credit linked to my web site.
Lorna
October 11, 2007 at 7:15 am
I believe photos are great especially if it enhances the message in your post. However, if your visitors do not find your entry interesting, adding photos won’t make it any better.
I go to dgl.microsoft.com to get my free photos. The images there are good enough for me, and they’re free.
Photoshop tutorials
November 21, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Great post.
Thanks
VuthaSurf
November 22, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Image will be able to reveal thousands of meanings.
Paul
March 2, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I have more than 700 free photography at website..
http://www.freepictureclick.com
Business For Photographers
March 12, 2008 at 3:00 am
OK… This is something that I did get right. Since my blog is for photographers, it was a no brainer for me to include images.
I’ll have to apply the same concept to my next, non photo related blog.
Thanks again!
– Dave