Use images to improve the likelihood that your articles will be read and shared. They make your article more inviting. Readers are likely to open, read and share articles containing photos or graphics. Articles with images improve total views of website articles, FB posts and press releases. We share our best practices, places to “legally” obtain images (and cheaply!) and how to best optimize your images.
This post corresponds to our latest podcast episode of “Russ and Randy” – a podcast on Healthcare and Medical Internet Marketing. We hope you like “Using Optimized Images on Your Website.” You can find us on iTunes …and now, ReachMD.com!
Using pics or graphics are a great way to get your articles read and shared. We discuss where to obtain inexpensive royalty free images, how to optimize them, how many to use.
Never Download
Never download an image from the Internet without permission. I personally have been fined and it was an expensive lesson to learn.
There are now many sites which offer either free or very inexpensive stock photos for downloading:
- Pixabay.com
- Unsplash.com
- Depositphotos.com
- Pixels.com
- 123rf.com
- Fotolia.com
Choose an image which relates to the theme of your article. Though you might be writing about a clinical subject, the images don’t necessary have to be clinical.
For instance, an article about a recently FDA approved drug might include an image with two “thumbs up”!
Royalty free photos are too cheap not to use correctly.
Optimizing Images
The search engines expect your images to be optimized. There are several ways to optimize your images:
- download speed
- alt text
- title
- caption
Make sure the file size is not too large. Large file sizes increase your download time. Download time affects user experience and is now a big SEO no-no. The smaller the file to generate the desired image size and resolution, the better.
WP Smush is a WordPress plugin which automatically reduces file size.
The title of the file should use the keyword and add “alt text” to each image you use. Alt text should also include the keyword(s) of the article.
Captions are helpful and increase readability, but are not necessarily an SEO component. Captions are a subtle way to capture your readers attention.
Use one picture/graphic per 300 words or so.
If you have questions about using and optimizing your images, send us an email or leave a comment!
See you next week!
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All the best!
Russ…and Randy
Healthcare and Medical Internet Marketing
Healthcare’s Rx for Web and Social
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