Using Images in your Blog

by Myra Ray | Oct 26, 2021 | Services, Web Design

Imagery has a big influence on a reader. When blogging, though, you may assume that your words are the most important factor to consider. However, that is no longer true.

“Isn’t blogging a text-based medium?”

Well, not really!

People retain more information when a relevant image is paired with a piece of information than when the information is exclusively text-based. This is called the “Pictorial Superiority Effect.” In other words, images are an integral ingredient of a great blog. Every great book needs a great cover, and every great blog post needs a great image.

Even if you are a skilled wordsmith, you should consider using quality images on your blog. Here are five reasons why:

1. Images make the blog more visually appealing.

This is obvious: high-quality images are visually pleasing.

When you incorporate images in your blog entries, you create a “narrative” for that part of the blog.

Aesthetically appealing images keep your reader from scrolling, and as previously stated, people are more likely to retain more information when presented with an image.

The right image can communicate a powerful message to a reader—after all, a picture is worth a thousand words. If a part of your blog is hard to grasp, adding a relevant image can help simplify the concept and make it easier to understand.

2. Blogs with images are more likely to be shared on social media.

Social media marketing can help you spread the word about your content and drive traffic to your blog—and thus your website.

And because social networks are getting more visual, sharing blogs on social media with images reach exponentially higher levels of engagement (with more shares), which can help bring more visitors to your site.

• Tweets with images are 35% more likely to be retweeted. (Source)
• 87% of Facebook’s top posts feature images. (Source)

Related Blog: How To Keep Your Brand Consistent Across Social Media

3. Images support your message.

Not only can the right image be appealing to your readers and used on social media, but it can also bring actual value and insight to your piece.

Even better if you can find an image that is unique, interesting, and not [always] tied to your blog topic. The reader will instinctively pause to analyze the image you chose and why you chose it.

Getting readers to pause and reflect is something that every blogger should strive for!

4. Images help break up text into more bite-sized chunks.

Have you ever read a blog post where the writing seemed to stretch on indefinitely with no end in sight? Couldn’t you feel your frustration swelling inside you as you scrolled and scrolled—and still no conclusion?

Long paragraphs and large slabs of text, especially in long-form content, can discourage readers from finishing your blog post.

Using images in your blogs can help break up long chunks of text and make your content more palatable.

5. Images can help improve your SEO.

You may be new to blogging and have no idea that you can add text to your images.

Well, you can add “alt text” to any image you upload within your blog on practically all blogging platforms and websites. This can help you improve the performance of your search engine optimization or “SEO” campaigns.

While readers cannot see the alt text you write, search engines bots crawl all of the text in your blog piece—including the alt text. So, instead of uploading your image as “Screenshot 2021-31-08 at 9.41.12 PM,” optimize the text with your targeted keywords.

Tips on Using Images In Your Blog

1. Make sure that the image is related to the content.

You would be perplexed if you were reading an article on making an audiobook and then came across an image about producing videos, would you not? Always make sure that the images you choose are relevant to the surrounding content. A blog post about top website trends, for example, should include screenshots of websites that follow those trends, whereas a piece about web design best practices should consist of images of people coding.

2. Include an eye-catching featured image.

Your featured image is the first image readers see when they open your blog entry—it is front and center. Furthermore, when a blog is shared on social media, the featured image is often displayed. Therefore, you must choose a featured image that accurately represents the subject of your blog entry.

3. Make sure your images are the correct size.

Image quality is just as important as image relevance. Ensure that you are not stretching your images beyond their original sizes. Also, consider that the larger the image, the longer it will take for your page to load. A slow page load time can hurt your site traffic, so make sure your images are correctly sized.

4. Make the blog more lively by using GIFs.

GIFs are an exciting way to add a video-like visual to your blog. You can be a little more fun and creative with GIFs, allowing you to put a lighter spin on a blog topic. However, be careful when using GIFs. Animated visuals are so effective at catching attention that they can be annoying.

With these advantages of adding images to your blogs and best practices in mind, you will be ready to start looking for great images to increase your content, shareability, boost your SEO and drive traffic to your site.

Professional Design Services in Raleigh, NC

Print and Web Designer offers top-notch brand design services to boost your content marketing efforts. We can help you create incredible images for your blog to attract traffic and drive engagement on your posts. We can also handle other aspects of your brand design needs, including brochure design, print design, magazine design, and web design.

So, stop searching for “Triangle web design services,” “Durham web design services,” or “Cary web design services,” and give us a call at (336) 684-6505 or write to us at info@PrintandWebDesigner.com today.