SEO is all about making the website rank higher on SERPs. Google relies on many factors to assign ranks to web pages. A backlink is one of the key ranking factors. Although initially, the link building strategy was all about quantity, it is now more about quality, trust, and popularity. Image-based link building is a vital aspect of link building strategy in SEOs. We will discuss the ways to use image link building and their impact on overall traffic generation.
Importance of Link Building Strategy
The very first thing to keep in mind is that link building doesn’t happen overnight. It is a slow and gradual process that takes time. Hence it is essential to stick to natural methods instead of finding ways to create backlinks quickly. It will help if you have a game plan and a possible time to accomplish your goals. Some of the ways to build links are regular blog posts, social media use, and checking what competitors are doing. One thing that can help you achieve your goals effectively is the usage of images for link building. It’s a fact that people connect with pictures much more than the text. Images convey a contextual message to the users quickly. The icing on the cake is that images and infographics are shared much more and hence help you build a brand faster.
At a time when Google is focusing on providing smarter search results to users based on their location, the use of images in SEO has become crucial. Local businesses and services like restaurants, retail outlets, and healthcare providers benefit the most from the Local SEO packages. Usage of images for optimization and link building can help a new service or business appear faster in the local listing.
Let’s look at ways to use images for backlinks and enhance traffic for your websites.
Images should be Engaging
Images are vital for high-quality content creation, and act as a great resource to generate maximum engagement:
- Encourage users to take action, and Images should contain a CTA (Call to Action) like, share the content, fill up a form, subscribe, buy now, etc.
- Understand customer’s needs and provide them with the solution that fulfills their problems.
- Images should be simple, pleasing to eyes, and with precise information. Make sure to include facts, useful tips, how-to instructions, and relevant quotes.
- Make sure your posts are regular and keep an eye on the trends. If a particular type of content is getting more engagement? What is the Audience’s behavior? Answers of these questions will help you plan future strategies.
Image Resources and Tools Are Quite Helpful
Always remember the use of appropriate images with relevant information is the key to engagement. There are plenty of resources like AdobeStock, IstockPhoto, Shutterstock, Pexels, Unsplash, and Pixabay that contains high-quality images for almost every possible category. Most of them provide options for free pictures and also buy premium photos. Depending on the marketing budget, you may choose what works best for you.
AdobeSpark, Canva, Fotor, and Pixlr are widely used tools available for editing pictures and make compelling graphics. Canva is currently most popular; it has a variety of preloaded templates that makes your job super easy.
Create and Share Infographics
There is no doubt that infographics grab more attention than plain text. As per studies, engagement level can increase by more than 30% by using infographics in your articles and posts. The finest thing about infographics is that you’ll continually generate organic traffic to your blog and earn quality links. Why? Because users love to share quick facts and information with their peer groups, it helps passive link building. Looking at the competition out there, the use of Gifographics has been on the rise. Animated gifs create Gifographics instead of a static image. You can create basic infographics with Microsoft PowerPoint. There are other tools like Piktochart, Venngage, Visme, and Easel.ly to create super engaging infographics.
Let the Audience Search and Discover your Images
Making your image discoverable is one of the most critical aspects of image-based link strategy in SEO. It doesn’t matter how good your picture is if it doesn’t reach the Audience. If people can’t find it when they are looking for it, it has no value. Your images should be readable by search engine bots and crawlers. There are various ways to ensure that your images are indexed and appear in search engine results. Methods may differ based on the platforms you are using. Usage of alternate texts, image descriptions, and appropriate hashtags are ways to increase the visibility of your images: higher visibility means more chances of engagement.
Conclusion
In digital marketing, a strategically used image could be worth a million links. Link building plays a crucial role in your digital marketing success and, eventually, your brand’s growth strategy. That’s why link building through images is an essential factor for generating online traffic for your online venture.
