This is a question that is asked by lots of new bloggers “How do I obtain free picture downloads?”.
Let’s be honest here, a blog without images is simply boring! Images do so much for your blog, including helping out your SEO, providing visibility for your readers, and help to break up the otherwise dull-looking writing!
In terms of SEO, an image gives the search engine spiders another opportunity to find your information and will help them to index your post. The use of images is simply a win-win situation.
Take a look at blogs that use images and those that don’t. Which do you prefer? People are more likely to remain on a blog that is visually appealing than one that is not. There are however restrictions to using images and it is important to be careful to ensure that you are using them legally. So….do you know how to obtain free picture downloads?
Be aware of Copyright issues
Whilst it is tempting to surf around Google images, find an image and use it on your blog…..please don’t! These are NOT free picture downloads!
The image you have found could well be under copyright law and you really don’t want to open that can of worms.
If the owner of an image decides to take action, you will be giving yourself a lot of heartaches, which could easily have been avoided.
Don’t despair because there are ways that you can use images on your blog without having to be the photographer yourself.
How do I know if a picture is free to download?
There are several things to check before you use an image.
1) There are many images that are available for free and are advertised as such. You can use these images as much as you like without concern.
2) Some images are free to use provided that you credit the image owner. This will simply be providing an “image courtesy of” statement by the image.
3) You could always purchase images which means you don’t have to show a credit. You have purchased the right to display the image on your page and can do so without concern.
Different images and sizes have different prices, so you would need to check around to see what you are comfortable with paying.
4) If you are keen on photography you might like to take your own images. You can obviously use these to your heart’s content and you may even like to place a watermark of your own on them to prevent others from stealing them.
If however, you do find your images floating around the internet, at least it’s some free advertisement for you!
If you are not a photographer and you are keen to only obtain free picture downloads, then I would recommend you subscribe to a stock image site that offers images for free.
There are SO many photo sites where you can obtain images to use on your blog. For the purpose of today’s post, we are going to look at just 3 sites where you can obtain free picture downloads guilt-free.
Stock Xchng
Stock. Xchng is a great source of both free and paid images. Check each image carefully as this will identify whether the owner is charging for the picture or not. You also need to check whether the owner requires any credit to be made when you download the free picture. It is a good idea to become familiar with the site and take some time to learn the rules before proceeding to obtain the free picture downloads.
Morguefile
If you are looking for images where you don’t need to provide credit, then Morguefile could be the site for you. The images are available for free and many of the images don’t require you to place a credit.
However, it is always important to check out the fine print of the photo you wish to use just to make sure you are following the appropriate guidelines.
Free Digital Photos
Free Digital Photos has a selection of free and paid images. The free images are of a smaller size, and if you want to use the image on a larger scale, then various payment options are available.
To obtain the free picture downloads you will be asked to submit your email address and credit the image owner.
You will see that I have done this numerous times on this blog and I simply credit under each of the images such as “Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net“.
How do I use my free picture downloads for SEO purposes?
Now that you have spent the time searching for your free picture downloads, you need to gain the benefit of SEO from the image.
Do you know how to do this? Use the relevant keyword for that post on the image description. When you upload an image you have the opportunity to add a title and an Alt tag.
The search engine spiders can not read the image, but they can read the tags, so use them wisely! Failing to add an image tag will miss out on an SEO opportunity and that means reducing your chance of free traffic.
Now you know how to obtain free image downloads, you can go ahead and start making your blog visually appealing.
Do you have a preferred photo source that you like to use? Please share your findings with us!