Pictures can take a written article up a notch and bring added emphasis to the story. Yet, most marketers fail to successfully add this medium to their website. Before taking this crucial step in online promotion, let’s look at a couple of critical elements needed for the imagery.

Using images in a website, we the visitor see before we read. Sometimes, that’s the difference between us staying or immediately clicking the “back” button. Photos capture attention much quicker than a word or phrase. To increase the effectiveness of image use, follow these five tips:

Use a Dedicated Point & Shoot Camera
Smartphone cameras are great at capturing spur of the moment happenings. They’re not so great at quality, producing quite a few blurry photos. Capture important moments with a dedicated camera.

Choose Resources Wisely
Though plenty of free download websites exist, subscription sites offer better selection, multiple categories, search features and various image formats for download.

Shoot & Upload Images in HD
Almost all of us have broadband connections and high definition monitors. Take advantage and capture the highest resolution possible. This will make images easier to edit and use for multiple purposes.

Optimize All Your Website Images
Even though high resolution images offer sharpness and clarity, it also results in larger file size and longer loading times. Use photo editors that offer optimization settings.

Keep SEO in Mind When Naming Images
Rather than using a default “image-001.jpg” choose something like “blue-widget-small.jpg” as this will help it rank well for that keyword on search engine images searches.

Lastly, the choice of image editors will greatly affect the end result of your image. Listed below are some of the resources available, either as an app, a website or software application downloads (though most are moving to online versions, if they haven’t already).

Image download sites

freeimages.com

foter.com

thinkstockphotos.com

corbis.com

Image editors (both have apps too)

pixlr.com

befunky.com

*Adobe, the maker of Photoshop doesn’t have an online website editor, but has a suite of apps available.

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