6 Benefits of Using Pictures on Your Blog

Most marketers know that you need good imagery and design when developing ebooks, case studies, presentations, web page content or other marketing materials, yet they too easily dismiss the importance of using pictures on your blog. Doing this limits the benefit you can — and should — enjoy from a well-crafted blog.

For some time now, the word “content” has been used almost synonymously with “copy.” However, content is more than just copy. It is anything that communicates — and that includes photos in blogs.

Understanding this, it only stands to reason that copy and images should be considered an essential and intertwined pairing for blogs today. Let’s take a look at six benefits of creating articles that include both words and blog post images.

Why Should You Be Using Pictures On Your Blog?

There are many reasons you should be using blog pictures to help spice up your content writing for your website. Below, we’ll highlight just a few of the main reasons why photos for blogs are a great idea:

1 – Copy + Blog Image = A Wider Net

Some people are more visually oriented than others and are therefore more naturally drawn to pictures over words. By including blog pictures, you give yourself the opportunity to capture the attention of visual thinkers and draw them into your content and message. A blog that is too copy-laden or completely without imagery will therefore not attract this segment of your audience, limiting your reach and the effectiveness of your efforts.

Think of copy and blog images each like separate entrances to a building. Then consider the fact that you have a small window of time — mere seconds — in which to grab people’s attention with your blog. If you offer them only one entrance, only so many people will make it in within the very short window of their attention span. If however, you open a second door, you expand your reach by allowing more people to get in.

Cast a wider net for your blog by ensuring you create it with copy using images in your blog that work together.

2 – Leverage the Multisensory Approach

Maria Montessori championed the implementation of teaching techniques that leverage multiple senses. While her work focused heavily on children with mental or learning disabilities, schools based on the Montessori Method remain popular today for children with and without disabilities. This approach acknowledges the fact that every brain assimilates information in a different way and that “different” is not better or worse.

You cannot assume that every person who reads your blog absorbs information in the same way. Even the best marketing persona likely includes a variety of learning styles. With that in mind, crafting your blog such that it appropriately captures the attention of people via multiple senses.

Many times, blogs will feature a companion picture of an infographic that restates the main parts of the blog in a visual format. These blog pictures are usually more easily shared and can circulate around social media without anyone ever having to click over to your blog in order to get exposure to your brand. Infographics are proof that using pictures on your blog has benefits.

3 – Provide Visual Rests

Even a person who soaks up the written word can appreciate a break from a sea of copy and visuals offer this. However, that does not mean just any old blog images can be inserted in any old place; what and where images communicate must make sense.

The right blog pictures may allow people to take a break from reading, but they should never make people take a break from your content or your message. They must continue the journey and keep the “reader” moving along.

Using photos in blogs that break up rather than connect your message can do more harm than good. However, using images in blogs that drive the point home or explain the written message in a more visual way can be extremely helpful.

4 – Maximize Communication

Let’s face it; some points are simply more easily displayed or communicated visually than in written text. Instead of working too hard to explain something in a long, drawn-out written manner, take advantage of the simplicity and the power that blog images have to offer. Don’t be so married to one mode of communication that you ignore others and forget the goal.

Every communication medium has different strengths. For example, consider television and radio. Even after multiple decades, TV has certainly not done away with scripts and words, but it has definitely leveraged its inherently visual nature to enhance its ability to communicate.

The concept of moving a reader along is important and can help guide your selection of images. Choose blog pictures that may make it not just easier but also faster for someone to “get it.”

5 – Boost Your Blog’s SEO

The fact that using images in your blog can increase SEO rankings for a blog post is in and of itself nothing new. However, some recently rolled-out changes from Google signal that the weight images can play in search rankings is only likely to grow.

via GIPHY

One of these changes is the Google Lens, which allows people to snap photos with their mobile devices and be directed to additional content pertaining to the image content. Another is the separation of Google Image data from general data in Google Analytics.

While neither of these features is specific to blog content, they both highlight the importance of visual content to Google at a high level. Do not be fooled into thinking this importance will be restricted to certain areas of the search company’s output.

6 – Add Keywords in Blog Image Alt-Text

You can also utilize the Alt-Text descriptions of your blog pictures to add keywords into images as well as throughout your written content. This is an easy way to make a blog post image work for you in multiple ways. Here’s an example:

When it comes to increasing your exposure on search engines and making the most of your blogging efforts, utilizing image alt-text is a must. Make it a habit to include keywords in your alt-text every time you use images in blog posts.

Blog Images: Selector Discretion Advised

Clearly, there are numerous benefits to adding pictures to your blog content. However, you must be judicious in your selection of images if you want to enjoy these benefits. For each of the five points discussed above, the appropriate matching of visuals to the word is essential.

Blog pictures should never be considered or used gratuitously. If you cannot find or create an image that directly relates to, supports or adds to your message, you are better off not using one at all. Blog images can get attention, but you want to ensure that attention is properly directed.

For example, if you are writing a blog post about the importance of regular maintenance and checkups for a home furnace and you show images of kids playing in the backyard, you have just created a big disconnect between your different content elements. This is jarring to a reader and is more likely to make them leave your page than if you offered only text information.

Every blog image you use in your article is like a promise: If you don’t follow it up with something in the same vein, you will lose the trust not only of your readers but also the trust of Google.

Start Using Pictures In Your Blog Posts!

To make sure your content has the maximum impact, be careful about what blog pics you select to accompany your writing. If you want professionals to select great blog stock photos while they are writing your content, turn to BKA Content for your blog-writing needs.