I was checking through my stats for yesterday and it suddenly struck home the value of images for attracting visitors to blogs. It's something that we, well I, often overlook. Below are the search engine referrals for yesterday for my celebrity blog.
As usual Google heads the list, as it no doubt does for most blogs, but in third place is Google (again) but for Image Searches. For me 52 referrals from them for yesterday was a very worthwhile contribution.
Of course some blog niches lend themselves more to images (photos) than others but they are always of value.
Firstly because they make posts more interesting. And there's that saying about a picture being worth a thousand words and to a degree this can be true.
If, for example, I had simply written in this post that I had 'xx' amount of search engine referrals it wouldn't have had the same authority as seeing the actual report from which I got the information. Images can also confirm what we write is true.
The second reason is, because of what I have already said, images can produce hits/traffic/referrals or whatever else you may want to call them.
From my own experience I believe that it's best to name the image exactly what it is. Many people just give them a number - I'm sure search engines appraciate this.
It's also important, I feel, to use "alt" and describe what the photo is.
Some say alt was originally introduced in case the image wasn't always visible, because of differing formats. This may be true but it's also an opportunity to use a keyword and maybe a couple of other secondary words - all useful for SEO. Seemingly Yahoo search engine likes this.
So sprinkle a few images, photos, illustrations around your blog and at the very least it will make it more pleasing on the eye. Hopefully it may bring a few additional benefits as well.
Good luck,
Mike.
Blogging Good Blogs. Books on blogging and how to become a successful blogger.
Source: Mike's Money Making Mission
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