Every inbound marketer knows that blogs are essential pieces of content. But without an effective image, your blog may not receive the traffic it deserves. An insightful article by Outbrain outlines important rules for choosing effective and engaging blog images. Here are the three that will help you the most.

1. Choose relevant images

Viewers want to see images that relate to the content of your writing. Think of an image that would effectively communicate the message of your article, as well as some of the keywords that you would search to find that photo. Those keywords should be the same or similar to the keywords you are using in your article. Check out 5 Secrets to Selecting Highly-Effective SEO Keywords for more info on keyword research.

If you were writing an article titled “Three Tips on How to Train Dogs,” which of these two photos would you select? 

Though the image on the left shows a dog, the one on the right is more relevant to the title and message of the blog post. It primes readers more thoroughly on what to expect from the blog.

2. Select enticing high quality images

Images are often the first thing that catches the eye of a potential reader. They must grab people’s attention and entice them to view your blog. Be sure that the photographs you choose have a high resolution and are the right dimensions for what you will be using them for. If you are posting to social media, check out this guide to picture sizes across platforms.

If you were writing a post titled “How to Remodel Your Kitchen on a Budget,” which of these two photos would you select?

The image on the right appears clearer than the one on the left. It has a creative composition and an interesting color scheme. I would be far more likely to read a blog with an artistic photograph attached, rather than one that was merely a snapshot.

3. Honor copyright laws and usage rights

Where you pull your images from is important. Resist the temptation of copy-pasting a slick photo from Google Images, because you really don’t have the right to use it. Use free image databases like Pixabay or Unsplash to avoid any issues. If it’s in your budget, I suggest a monthly membership to Shutterstock for a wider selection of high quality images.

These three steps will greatly assist you in finding the best images to include in your blog. Keep in mind that including engaging images will increase your blog views and overall conversions.