You know you need to have a strong online marketing strategy to grow your business. You know that consistently generating quality content is absolutely essential for being found on search engines, and for building credibility with your potential customers.
You probably even know that a blog is one of the best ways to ensure your website always has fresh, new, and relevant content.
But there’s a problem. You don’t know the first thing about blogging!
As we’ve said, great blogs can drive more viewers to your site, keep them there longer, and convert them into leads.
But great blogs should be paired with images to help attract eyes to your posts—and that’s the topic for our fourth segment in the Beginner’s Guide to Blogging for Business series.
Previous posts in our series have covered:
- How to come up with article topics that interest your visitors.
- How to format your posts to make viewers want to keep reading.
- How to write headlines that people want to click on.
Why Your Blog Posts Need Images
Images are more powerful than words. Images help catch a viewer’s attention a lot faster than a headline. It’s important to choose an interesting image to spark interest. Just make sure the image is relevant; it should add context to your article as well!
Statistics have shown that articles that include images get 94% more views than articles without images. Content that includes visuals drives engagement because posts with images are more likely to get shared over social media.
You should add images to every piece of content you publish, but it’s not always so easy. Most images are protected by copyright licenses, and these copyright restrictions can, well—restrict you.
How to Find and Source Images Properly
An easy way to avoid copyright infringement is to purchase images from stock photo sites like iStockphoto or BigStock. You can find inexpensive stock image sites on these sites, but it they can be difficult to sift through.
Another option is to use free image sites. When you want to use free images, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the Creative Commons licensing.
Copyright tip: Stick to images that allow free commercial use without attribution. You can use the images for commercial purposes and you don’t have to attribute the original creator.
Where to Find Free Images for Your Blog
The name might sound cold and frightening, but the image library is warm and welcoming. These images are free to use for commercial purposes and you don’t have to provide an image source.
Free Images has over 350,000 free images to choose from. Minimal restrictions apply, but image use for blogging purposes is safe.
Follow these guidelines when you add images to your blog posts and you’ll be able to start your business blog off in the right direction.
Want to learn more about how your business should approach online marketing? Attend our free monthly seminar in Oakville! Spaces are limited; sign up to reserve your spot today.
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