Attracting visitors to your website is a balancing act. On one hand, you must have good information, since that is the core of your service. The text is also the most important part of your site’s content that traditional search engines read, and thus, keywords, headings, originality and links are so important.
On the other hand, few people are going to sit around and read pages and pages of nothing but text – you have to make the page visually appealing. That is where the importance of images arrive, especially in your link baiting efforts.
For example, I wrote a post last week about alternatives to blocking domain registration information, and one of the tips was to use your dog’s name in contact info.
I added a cute photo of a puppy from Flickr and received lots of comments and links to the post, the image made the post stick out a bit, made it more personal, and it probably led to more interest than just the content of the story.
There are some differences in the types of images that are available online, like some images are free and others are rights protected. Understanding the differences, as well as ten of the most popular places to find free images online, allows you to make your website more attractive.
Making your page visually pleasing, as well as informative, will help to generate more notice of your site and incoming links, in turn generating traffic and increasing your page’s popularity with search engines.
- Public Domain images are free to use however you want. For instance, pictures taken when working for the U.S. government or any pictures that you can download from a government website are automatically public domain.
- Right Protected images are bought for a certain length of time for a certain project. These images are usually negotiated beforehand with the photographer, and for a fee, you will have exclusive rights to the image during the arranged time period. While good for big businesses, these are not very effective for website designs.
- Royalty free images are also purchased, but after the one time fee, you can use the image however you would like. However, other websites can also purchase the same image.
There are a variety of places that you can choose to download or hotlink to pictures. Online image banks are often the easiest, though you can also choose some search engines to help you find the perfect image that you are seeking.
- Flickr.com allows you to share, store, search, and sort your photos. There are always plenty of images available for you to use. Flickr is free, though you will have to register if you want to upload and edit your own images. The photographers establish the terms, so read the permissions carefully. If you use someone else’s Flickr image, it’s always in good taste to link back to its source.
- Bigfoto.com offers pictures from around the world, including America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Pacific. Each main category has subcategories, for instance “aviation,” which allows you to choose from pictures in a certain theme.
- Fotogenika.net has photos for free download for personal, educational, and nonprofit use. However, you cannot use them commercially, sell them, or claim authorship. The site is well organized, and it includes categories such as architecture, animals, people, and textures.
- FreeDigitalPhotos.net has over 2000 free images that you can use in commercial and noncommercial work. You are not allowed to sell, redistribute, or claim these images as your own. You can browse by category or search for exactly what you need.
- FreePhotosBank.com allows users to have non-exclusive, non-transferable license to images. You can search for photos, see which photos are the most popular, and which ones have the highest ratings or the most downloads.
- FreeMediaGoo.com has a large collection of images, audio, textures, and other visual mediums that you can use for free with some restrictions. You do not even have to credit the images. The site also features some amazing digital images if you are looking for something different.
- MorgueFile.com offers stock photographs in high resolution digital. With over 55,000 images, divided into several categories, they are sure to have something you can use. The thumbnails are small, but your search results display quickly, and the photos are of top quality.
- PhotoRogue.com offers a different concept. If you cannot find what you need, you can send a request. The service is free and uses volunteer photographers. If you like, you can also sign up for an RSS feed that will let you know when new images become available.
- SXC.hu offers high quality images taken around the world by amateur photographers. If you have an interest in photography, you can even submit your own pictures. There are various searching options and over 100,000 images. The photographers establish the terms, so read the fine print, but most pictures can be reused immediately.
- Picsearch.com is another option for those who are not sure exactly what they are seeking. Picseach is a search engine that crawls the web and indexes images. However, make sure that you see the site’s licensing terms or contact the copyright holder before you download pictures. You can edit your search by animation, color, or size to find exactly what you need.
With all of the available visual resources, you can easily utilize free, stimulating photos to keep your readers entertained.
The more eye candy you can include along with your thought provoking posts or linkbait, the more likely you will garner higher levels of interest, votes and links.
Did you mean http://www.sxc.hu/ ?
StockXChange.com is a domain squatter.
So long as you keep that dog in your posts, I’ll keep Sphinning them:.)
Nice resources. Thanks.
Great list. Do you happen to know of any WordPress plugin that makes using the photos easier? I am imagining something that could search based on your tags from within WordPress and then you pick the photo to use from thumbnails. Just an idea. Any minute saved is money in the bank
Great List Loren!
I have had great success with http://www.dreamstime.com as a paid photo site. You end up spending about $1 per graphic, but you can get vector graphics along with photos.
I have been finding Creative Commons images on Flickr that complement my articles. (If I don’t already have a good one.)
Then, after I post the article I send an email to the owner telling them that I selected their photo and why. I always tell them that I gave them credit with a link to their photo page. I also tell them that if they don’t want the picture on my article that I’ll take it down.
Now, they will go to your article and if they like it, they’ll probably tell a few friends to check it out.
So are images in Flickr that are tagged “public” OK to use as long as a link back is given, even if it’s on a commercial Web site?
Good list. Mashable like… :D
I second morguefile and sxu.hu. I’ve also had success with royalty free images at http://www.istockphoto.com
I search by ones that are Creative Commons licensed. Then I make sure that I take ones that are licensed for reuse.
If anyone ever objects, I will sincerely apologize and take it down immediately.
With over 2 million images, search by term, tag and/or color Open Stock Photography is another strong option!
oh the url for Open Stock Photography is:
http://www.openstockphotography.org/
Excellent post. I need to use more images in my posts for sure. Another good source is government owned imagery. One source for this is http://dls.fws.gov
Just because a photo ends up on one of those sites doesn’t mean you have the right to use it. People have been known to upload others’ pictures, then the people who download them get into trouble. I saw something on the consumerist about that
Thanks for sharing. I will get a visit the next time I will stumbling with exigent customers.
Thanks for the tips on extra image sites, I’ll be adding them to the list shortly :)
did u miss, http://www.stockphotos.com
What about http://yotophoto.com/ ?
Great list,
I know some of these but not all. You can never have enough images, however I do like to use my own now and again.
Regards.
I have been looking for a list just like this. Thanks for putting it together and posting it on your blog.
another: http://www.imageafter.com
good for textures :)
I found http://www.shutterstock.com is a good site. You pay 200 bucks and download about 750 photos or 25 photos per day. Great deal and they have lots of vector art also.
I found http://www.shutterstock.com is a good site. You pay 200 bucks for a month and download about 750 photos or 25 photos per day. Great deal and they have lots of vector art also.
Great list. By the way, you’ve got a cool name too.
Does anyone know of sites for illustrations? I am developing a product that will contain illustrations that mirror hallmark scenes or greeting cards.
I use these websites to find roses, and tulips, camelia flowers ! to send them to ma bien aimé ;)
http://www.istockphoto.com and http://www.fotolia.com have been great for my business.
I’ve always used SXC.HU, it’s really a good site indeed.
Nice list. Good idea for an article.
i always like http://www.snapvillage.com for my searches. they photos are super cheap and easily searchable.
Another one: MyAlbum.com
Cute puppy…
It’s not free but very reasonable http://www.istockphoto.com We’ve gotten a lot of high quality images for newsletters etc. Plus you can buy the size you need.
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I would add wikimedia to this list.
Nepal photos from Everest and Annapurna region.
Photo Image Picture Gallery from China, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Japan, Hongkong, Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, India and other Asian Countries”
I’m a newbie and happy to have found you. Evidently you didn’t read my answer (24-less-10)
Good post, you can find free header images @ http://www.themeheaders.com
Hi, if you don’t mind I’d love to add my new free photos site to your list! It’s http://austral-images.com
Thanks and great site you have here!
nine
good
Thanks for this tip. I will use it in future!
Very creative; it’s these kind of tips us webmasters need. Not just for their direct value, but to stimulate more creative thoughts of our own.
Great article!
you can check this place out too!
photo sharing ablbums:
http://www.shareapic.net/ref.php?owner=pushphotostream
I just wanted to say thanks for this list…i’ve been searching for the right pictures for my site and found some good ones for my blogging community site on morguefile. I’ve used sxc before, but the terms and conditions and rights can be kind of confusing at times. You have a new reader because I am bookmarking this site! Thanks Again, Chelle
the best one for me is flickr, it has a clean and clear design, and a millions or more of good quality images and pictures
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great list.. there’s also one which i stumble in flickr.. hope this helps
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23374747@N05
cheers
new cost free and royalty free graphics for immediate download – thousands available at http://www.freegraphicscentre.com
I use the Photodropper plugin on my site, which is powered by WordPress. They have a nice plugin, and it’s dead simple to add a photo to your post. It only searches Creative Commons-licensed pics on Flickr, and gives attribution where appropriate.
I don’t think Yotophoto is around anymore. Their DNS doesn’t load anything.
Another nice site is picapp.com. I’ve had good success with sxc.hu and iStockphoto.
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Images are really great when it comes to attracting visitors! thanks for te info, really great.
I use these websites to find roses, and tulips, camelia flowers ! to send them to ma bien aimé ;)
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Nice article Loren! Another interesting place for pictures I often go to (specifically before and after pictures) is http://www.showchange.com
Check this New Stock Photo Website
http://www.timestockphoto.com
A Photography Competition is going on there
I dont really agree with all the stuff here but ok good work!
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Check this New Stock Photo Website
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I have had good luck with dreamstime and flickr in finding photos, some of which I have used on my site at http://www.sportboatsdirect.com
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