The images you use on your website are hugely important. I cannot stress that enough, so let me say it again: the images you use on your website are hugely, massively important. They might not exactly be the first thing you think of in terms of local business digital marketing, but they’re still very important. Indeed, posts featuring images have been shown to deliver 6.5 times greater engagement than text-only posts, so if anything, the careful selection of the right images to go with your text copy is essential.
Here are some of the factors you should be considering to ensure you always choose the perfectly suited image for any given piece of content.
Do your chosen images reflect your brand?
Every image you use needs to support your desired brand values and should communicate success in your industry.
Any images you use if your business is an education provider, for instance, need to convey intelligence. Gyms, leisure centres and health food stores should only use images that suggest strength and vitality. Get the picture? (Pardon the pun.)
Aim for candid rather than posed shots
When it comes to images featuring people, statistics suggest that candid shots tend to sell in much greater numbers than posed ones.
This may well be the case because candid people photos are more realistic than posed, enabling the prospective customer to more easily imagine him-/herself as the person in the image.
‘More is more’ doesn’t necessarily apply to photos
There isn’t a single magic number of images to aim for when illustrating your content, except whatever number enhances the reader’s experience. Of course, that depends very much on the quality and usefulness of the images themselves.
If you’re putting together a short blog post, you can probably get by just fine with a single image. Longer blog posts, though, are likely to require more images. It’s important to avoid adding images simply for the sake of it, however.
Instead, consider what images are genuinely needed to illustrate a point or break up the text, the latter a vital consideration for boosting your content’s readability and ‘skimmability’.
Use images that lend themselves to SEO-friendly names
One of the reasons why images are a factor in local business digital marketing – in much the same way as text is – is the fact that Google indexes them. They’ll therefore pop up in Google Images, which is how the right names for your images can help to make your site easier to find for potential customers performing online searches.
If, for instance, you run a restaurant and are using images that show a couple enjoying a romantic dinner, don’t just name it ‘romantic dinner’ or ‘restaurant couple’ – mention the dish as well, as well as possibly the name of the establishment and the city in which it is situated.
Whether or not a picture is worth a thousand words, your website’s images shouldn’t be overlooked among your local business digital marketing efforts. Enquire of the PENNInk Productions team today and we’ll help to ensure you choose the right search engine optimisation package from our highly rated Bronze, Silver and Gold plans.
Edward Solomon has over 30 years’ experience in project management, technical education, computer networking, web design and development and is a Digital Business Consultant for PENNInk Productions Ltd.
