I talked yesterday about how using images helped me build traffic.
The question of how you can use images to boost your traffic is still a very relevant one.
So, here are my top tips on how to use images to boost traffic.
Having Them
This sounds like a weird heading I know, but it’s true. I’m not sure how or why it works, but just having images in your posts improves traffic. For me, posts with images get around 4x more views than those without. Personally, I think it is because the image captures people’s attention and piques their interest. I could be wrong, but whatever the reason, it works!
For me, apart from making your posts visually appealing, one of the main ways to bring traffic in through images is via social media.
Twitter is, in my opinion, the best social network to promote your blog posts.
However, Twitter is busy, and it’s fast. Your tweets need to grab people’s attention.
How do you ensure people see your tweet within the 100s of other tweets going out every minute?
That’s where your images come in! When you write out your promo tweet, add an image from the post.
The image will stand out far more than just text, ensuring it is seen by more people. Pair this with a catchy post title, and you’ll find more and more people are clicking through to your posts.
For Instagram, every update is a photo or graphic. There are no text only updates on here, so if you don’t use images, you won’t be able to successfully post your updates.
Be aware that all the pictures are a standard size and are all square – this doesn’t mean all your blog post images have to be square. Just be aware that you need some detail in a basic square shape that will work as a stand alone image.
Pinterest fascinates me. It’s like everything you could imagine wanting to see in one place, and I think it is still massively under-rated as a promotional tool for bloggers.
You can pin any shape image, but portrait ones work best, especially for mobile browsers.
The beauty of Pinterest is, unlike the other sites, your window of opportunity to be seen isn’t limited to two minutes as it flies past. Pinterest works almost like a search engine – people look for things they want to pin, and when they find them, they generally click through to have a read. I have found a few great bloggers this way.
General Tips for Amazing Images
1. Use good, clear images that aren’t blurry.
2. Use images that are large enough for the details to be clear, but not so large they become pixelated.
3. Try to use at least one portrait style image so people will pin it (add a Pin It widget to your side bar, the easier it is to share your material, the more people will do it). I often do this by making a portrait collage of the smaller images I’ve used and adding the post title.
4. Utilise the alt text. Remember, this text is displayed with your image on Pinterest. Use your post title rather than IMG1234!5. Have fun! Play around with photo editing software to design and create great images. I use Pic Monkey, it’s free and easy to use.
Have you got any top tips for using images to increase your traffic? Share them in the comments 🙂
Great tips! I have noticed that too that I am more tempted to click posts in twitter with photos on it rather than those without. Think I will be adding pics to mine next time to gain interest. Thanks for sharing! #SundayStars
Me too, the pictures do tend to stand out more against all the text, definitely worth a try, it can't hurt 🙂
Great tips!!! Thank you x
You're welcome 🙂
Hi, great tips. I have just found PicMonkey and am learning.
Amanda #Sundaystars.
Thank you 🙂 Pic Monkey is fab isn't it!
I'm going to be that person with a stupid question! I am, I'm going for it! How DO you make an image appear on a tweet? #sundaystars
It's not a stupid question, if you don't ask you'll never find out! When you open the box to write your tweet in, in the bottom left hand corner it says "add photo". Click there and then you just select the image you want from your computer. Be aware it uses 23 of your 140 characters, regardless of the size of the image 🙂
Well, that's how crap I am at twitter – I have never looked at what is in bottom of box! Thank you! There is a good chance I will spend tomorrow annoying everyone by adding, probably entirely random & irrelevant, images to my tweets! (& I'm also back from #AnythingGoes!)
No worries, I'll keep an eye out for all your random images lol 🙂 Thanks for linking up 🙂
Great tips and thanks for sharing 🙂 I have definitely noticed an increase in my blog traffic since my photography improved and I thought about it far more. Jess x #SundayStars
Thank you 🙂 Improving my photography is something I really need to work on. I need to invest in a decent camera instead of relying on my phone I think 🙂
Really great tips! I tweeted this to you but my wife keeps telling me that I'll get better traffic if I used better pictures. She's a photographer and cringes every time she sees my terrible photos. #AnythingGoes
Thank you 🙂 I didn't know she was a photographer, don't show her my pics haha! I blame my phone but it's probably me as well. Thanks for linking to #AnythingGoes
Good ideas here! I love images and am very visual as you may have noticed, however I really do struggle with Pinterest and am new to instagram. I'm ahve only just got the hang of twitter lol after all this time so I'm planning to do a little work on instagram over the next month and when I do posts on meal ideas or recipes, (which i've discovered is something i'm loving very much) I will try and create a pinterest image, although I do think I'm rubbish at pinterest lol! I have plenty of time to improve!
Angela from daysinbed.com
I'm pretty new to Pinterest myself but I love it already! Foodie pics do really well on there (as do beauty or fashion related pics) so you've picked a great start point 🙂
Great tips! I haven't paid attention to my few post that don't have any pictures on whether they are a better stats or not. I'll have to check that out! #AnythingGoes
Kristen
It's worth looking into, although if it's just the odd one you miht not see that much difference. Thank you 🙂
Great tips, I agree a photo image pulls me into a blog post, but only if it's relevant or if it has text to explain the post. I hate seeing an image that doesn't relate to the post at all. Thanks for the tips and suggestions, I need to utilize images on my social media much more than I do!
Yes, I agree it has to have something to do with the post, not just be an image that people think will look good. If it's not relevant to the post, I think its just distracting! I've only recently started using images in my tweets and it has certainly made a difference, so worth trying 🙂
I've often wondered whether having images helps. I think I need to look into using Pinterest and Instagram to promote my blog. I have to make an effort to be a bit more tech savvy!
#AnythingGoes
It really does help. There's no rule to say you have to use Pinterest or Instagram, but if you are using good images, it seems a bit of a waste to not use the other sites that could help 🙂
Great advice and a well written, informative post. #AnythingGoes
Thank you, I'm glad you liked it 🙂
Great tips – thanks! Instagram isn't used enough by bloggers – I'm a case in point, but I'm working on making that right! #anythinggoes
I've only started using it a couple of weeks ago, but it seems to be working! When you have the photo there, it only takes a couple of seconds to pop it on Instagram too. Also, its a good place to share a few personal pics if you want to so your followers get to know a bit more about you as well 🙂
I completely agree that images make a big difference, my posts have been much better since I started using them. I also use pull-quotes a lot to help people scan through my posts as well… #anythinggoes
I haven't tried the pull quotes, although I imagine it would do well to draw the readers interest to certain points you are going to make 🙂
Awesome tips! I always post on twitter but never use images so I am going to adopt this tip. 🙂 #AnythingGoes
Thank you, I'm glad you found it helpful 🙂
Wow I never put pics of twitter thanks for sharing #anythinggoes
Thanks for commenting and for linking up 🙂
Wonderful tips Debbie, I agree that having images that stand out helps draw people to your blog – especially on social media! It's much more time consuming to twee though lol #AnythingGoes x
Thank you 🙂 Yeah, I think its nearly doubled the time it takes me to schedule tweets! x
These are fantastic tips! Including images in your blog posts definitely takes time, but it's completely worth it! I love Pinterest, and I've been known to click on a food related pin just because the photo is so appealing! I may not even want to try the recipe, but I'm intrigued to find out how they made it! #AnythingGoes x
These are fantastic tips! Including images in your blog posts definitely takes time, but it's completely worth it! I love Pinterest, and I've been known to click on a food related pin just because the photo is so appealing! I may not even want to try the recipe, but I'm intrigued to find out how they made it! #AnythingGoes x
Thank you 🙂 I do that too – there's something about a virtual dessert isn't there lol 🙂 x
Great post. I got so busy reading it and then going to Pic Monkey that I had to navigate back to comment on how pertinent it is to me at the moment! Cheers 🙂 #anythinggoes
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you like Pic Monkey 🙂
Great tips- I've definitely had more traffic from Twitter since I've been adding images. I think resizing images is important too. There are a couple of blogs I avoid because I know there will be too many large photos which will take too long to load with my not very fast broadband! #anythinggoes
Yes, re-sizing is very important for loading speed – I would hate to think people avoided my blog for this reason 🙂
Good tips here. I have been trying to boost my traffic this year my second year of blogging but it's still a slow growing process. lol Twitter always helps. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
Thank you 🙂 I don't think there's any one way to guarantee boosting traffic, but all the little things help. Twitter is a lifeline for bloggers! Thanks for hosting 🙂