Intro.
Placing images on your website is so much more visually appealing to any visitor. Images catch the eye and also break up content. Visitors tend to skim your content, as there’s not enough time in the day to read slabs of text. Images can be found simply on Google, but I get asked this question a lot. Can I use Google images on my website? I’ll touch on this question soon.
Strategically adding images into your articles will help with visitor engagement and hopefully, keep them on your website a little longer than they would have, without images.
Obtaining images is one thing, using legitimate images that does not require attribution is another. That’s what I’m going to touch on here, along with where you can find great images for your blog website.
Can I Use Google Images On My Website
Images that you find on Google are from a large array websites. They have been crawled via the Google crawlers to find the most relevant images that you’ve searched for.
But, does this mean you are allowed to use them on your website? Well firstly, if they’re on someone’s website and you decide to use them on yours, would you consider that stealing?
You may think that these images are just stock photography, that’s not true. Many of these images are photos that have been taken by the website owner. Others have been bought via stock photography sites, and modified for personal use.
So, are there any images on Google that you can use?
Which Images Can You Use From Google
It all starts with an image search. Search for an image as you normally would, then I’ll go through the steps that may allow you to use the image.
- Say we want to search ‘beach houses’. Type it in the search field and click on ‘Images’. Then select settings from the right, and click on ‘Advanced Search’.
2. You’ll be presented with a menu of ‘Usage Rights’. The general rule here is to choose ‘Free to use or share, even commercially’.
Choosing ‘free to use or share’ will still allow you to share the image but each image attached to a licence will stipulate the type of sharing that is acceptable. This licence agreement may not be for using on your website, so choosing ‘even commercially’, will be a safer option.
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What Are Your Alternatives To Google Images
Although Google images is one option to get visuals for your website, my suggestion would be to use a ‘free to use‘ image website.
It used to be that stock photography websites were the only option, but the last few years has seen a rise in free photography websites. You’ll find so many amazingly good quality photo’s here. Obtaining free website background images is easily achieved, along with standard layout images.
Some of these sites require you to display attribution for the owner of the image, others don’t require this but do suggest a Tweet or other social media share.
Unsplash
My favourite website to get free images, is called Unsplash. This website was created in 2013 so that photographers could share their work with the world. By getting the word out there by offering free photography, many of these artists can get known in the industry and often pick up work this way.
There are well over 400,000 photographic images on Unsplash, in which you can use commercially on your blog with no attribution required (although it is appreciated). The images are amazing quality and are all categorised. There’s a network of over 65,000 photographers that upload their work to Unsplash, providing images for us to use for free.
Pixabay
Another brilliant website that allows free images to be download, and used without attribution is Pixabay. I find the photo results are more targeted with Pixabay, and they are all extremely great quality.
This is my go-to website after Unsplash.
If your a budding photographer, it might even be worth signing up to these free image websites. You could learn how to make money online from photography a build your won website to promote it.
Can These Images Sites Be Integrated Into My Website
In a way, Yes!
If you decide to create a website through a program like Wealthy Affiliate, they have what’s known as ‘Site Content’, a platform where you can write all your post articles.
This is to make the whole integration easier between writing content, and publishing posts. The great thing is, WA have these free image websites integrated into their ‘Site Content’ platform.
As you can see, over 1 million images are available for you to use, that are 100% free. The image websites that Wealthy Affiliate collate these from, are as follows:
You’ll never be stuck for an image again.
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Wrapping Up
So, although it is possible to obtain images via Google images, a safer bet would be to find better images from dedicated free image websites. Now that you know they exist, there is no excuse for not placing brilliant images on your blog.
Images break up you content and are a great way to catch the eye of your readers. Don’t overestimate the power of awesome photography, and amazingly, there are loads of great quality photos to choose from.
I wouldn’t use stock photography unless there was a particular image that suited a post or project I was doing. 99% of the time, I use free images that I don’t need to acknowledge on my website. Although I do often share their link on social media.
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The opinions in this article are solely mine, are are not intended to offend or discriminate. All information in this review has been researched on the public domain of the internet.
