Content marketing is high on most businesses agendas.
And as part of that task, you’re going to need high quality relevant images to display.
Pictures speak a thousand words, so the image really does need to create some impact to get your readers to engage and (hopefully) click through.
That and the subject line of course – but that’s a topic for a whole other time!
So whether you’re …
- adding a new blog article to website (or doing it for one of your clients)
- adding a new page to your website (or for one of your clients)
- updating your social media channels (of those of your clients)
You’re going to need images. Good ones.
But it’s not a fun job is it?
It can be tiresome and frustrating trawling through website after website searching for that perfect representation – something eye-catching and engaging.
So it’s time to be proactive and create yourself a little image bank. Saving you potentially hours of precious time, and easing frustration levels … a little!
And to make it even easier for you, we’ve done the hard work for you.
Take a few minutes today to get your favourites setup, et voilà, the next time you need an image, you’ll be able to source it within minutes.
Here’s our guide to the top ten free image websites:
Pixabay was setup to ease the frustration and tedium of searching for free images online – exactly what we’re after!
It’s a repository of public domain images all collated nicely into one place for you to peruse.
There are no attribution issues and all images are of a high quality good enough for pretty much all web purposes.
Quickly create an account and you’re set.
This site is owned and managed by photographer Ryan McGuire. The quality is superb and there are absolutely no restrictions, not even a credit required.
But due to the nature of his work, you may not find what you need each time.
Simply scroll down the page for more to load and download the one that catches your eye.
All images are free to use with no restrictions or photographer credit required.
New images are added daily and you can search by category, so it makes it relatively easy to find what you’re after (assuming they have it!).
But as this site has a wide range of images in many categories, the chances are they do.
Certainly not a vast site with thousands of images, but the images that are posted are impressive.
Simply sign up to receive ten new pics every ten days straight to your inbox.
Huge choice of images on Pexels as they not only have their own image bank, but they gather images from other free sites to make your life even easier.
Now isn’t that fab!
So if you’re short on time and want a sure-win, this site will likely fulfil.
Free Photos Bank is great for slightly more abstract shots, as well as landscapes, patterns and architecture.
No need to set up an account, simply search for an image and download. Just be careful you don’t click on the paid-for options – as these link to Dreamstime where the images are available for purchase, not free.
7. Freemediagoo
The go-to site for high quality illustrations. An easy site with no licensing restrictions, commission requirements or registration necessary.
Click on the picture you want, then hit the download button.
8. Blogphoto
Blogphoto have incredible pictures, but you need to be a little more careful here. Some of the images do have restrictions placed on them.
Along with their superb images, they have a slightly lesser known benefit – their resource on using media for marketing purposes.
Grab a cuppa and check out one of their shows to see for yourself.
9. Freeimages
Freeimages is a community of photographers who upload their work for others to use.
My only negative is that the image range can be slightly restrictive and at times seem a little amateur. But of course it depends on the type of image you’re after.
The good news is there’s no licensing restrictions and no need to credit the photographer.
10. Getty Images
And last but very definitely not least, is Getty Images.
Last year Getty released over 35 million of their images free of charge. Today that number is over 50 million.
On realising people were using their images anyway and it was a mess to try and keep on top of all copyright issues, they replaced their watermarks with an embed tool. Meaning any free image used, will automatically be attributed back to Getty and / or the photographer.
Not an issue for those of us simply looking for decent, relevant, images to place on our blog, website and social media channels.
Hurrah Getty!
For more useful websites and Virtual Assistant resources, download your free copy of our very own VA Pro Resource Kit.
Don’t miss out – it’s a must-have for every seasoned or aspiring Virtual Assistant.
Thanks for these, always looking for some new ones. I tend to use either: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/ or http://search.creativecommons.org/ 🙂
No problem Jo, glad I’ve added a few more to your mix!