14 Feb 2024
- 14 Oct 2015
- 4 Min read
Finding open licence images to complement your copy
In a world as visual as ours, finding the right words for your content marketing project is just half the story. Articles and blogs with images receive approximately 94 per cent more views than those without. We live in an era of social media and digital sharing, so the visual aspect of your content has never been more important.
In the copywriting profession, sourcing great, usable images can seem like an uphill struggle. Google images is, in many ways, a punishment of luxury. There might be the perfect image waiting for you on Google, but the likelihood is that you won’t have the legal permission to use it. Just because Google has indexed the image as part of their database, it doesn’t mean that it can be reused and redistributed freely. In fact, because it can be found so easily on Google Images, this actually suggests otherwise.
Licence to thrill
To produce attractive copy without violating any licence agreements, you must have a good working knowledge of internet databases hosting images with relaxed or open licences. Using these images will ensure no complications from copyright or licence holders, which could be problematic if working as an in-house or subcontracted copywriter.
In addition to this, you must ensure that you label your image clearly to reflect the licence, as well as credit the image’s author. Failing to adhere to the appropriate attribution requirements could also result in copyright violations, even though the image carries a relaxed or open licence. While the process is not particularly complicated or laborious, it is still a necessity.
Picture perfect
Stock Images are often cheesy, and if your chosen visuals do not fit the tone of your work, it can be detrimental to your overall marketing efforts. It is therefore important to use an image that encapsulates the message of the article. When your copy is indexed by Google, this image will be indexed alongside it, so it is beneficial to use a relevant image from both a ranking and a conversion perspective.
What’s more, when you’ve spent hours perfecting your copy, nothing seems sadder than selling yourself short with a substandard image. It’s definitely worth taking some extra time to find a great image that supports your content.
The best image sources
Luckily, there are ways of finding open licence images via search engines. The Creative Commons search facility offers convenient access to search services provided by other independent organisations, namely Flickr, Google Images (for relaxed licence images), and Open Clip Art Library. Sometimes it can be difficult to find good images by this means alone, so it is worth bookmarking some of the more fruitful independent image sources. The aptly named Free Images database is a good source, while Pexels offers an abundance of high resolution, artistic images.
Please be aware: On open licence image sources you will often find that there are sponsored results across the top, or down the side of the page. These sponsored images are usually stunning — exactly the type of image you’re looking for — but unfortunately are not free of charge. It’s a cruel, yet effective marketing ploy. Do not spend time pining over the forbidden fruit, though, when there is a world of open licence images waiting to be found. Perseverance will make finding the perfect free image all the more satisfying.
Fair use
If your copy mentions specific products or items, you may use an image featuring that product so long as you provide a link to the website that you found it on. This is known as fair use, and means that you can use the image without any risk of penalty. For comparison purposes this is particularly useful, as it would be confusing to talk about a product and then not provide any image or website for the reader to reference that product themselves.
Content marketing can be challenging to master, but with a carefully sourced image, combined with great copy, you’re already setting yourself apart from competitors. After all, the first impression of your work is normally determined by the image at the top of the page, and while this mightn’t be your usual area of expertise, finding an attractive photo to complement your copy should be a top priority.
If you would like more content marketing advice from the experts at Glass Digital, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today.
