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If you have built a sales website, then one of your main concerns will be to get as many conversions as possible. After all, just having visitors is insufficient. You need to convert them into sales if you wish to profit from your website. And one way to do so is by clever usage of pictures. Below, we look at five ways you can use images to boost your website conversions.

Be Emotional

Rule number one – evoke emotions through the images. Never post a photo that is bland. And certainly never put up an image that triggers any negative emotions.  Instead, always choose to use images that give off a positive vibe. And do make sure that it is somehow related to the content of the website. For example, suppose that your website is selling cat food. At the product page, instead of using the image of a cat that is starring at the camera, use the image of a cat that is smiling in a cute way. This alone will make the website visitors feel comfortable, helping you achieve better conversions.

Validation

When a person is seeking to buy something from your website, the best way to convince them will be to offer a strong validation. For example, suppose that you are selling weight-loss products. Right on the product page, you can have the picture of your existing customers who have benefited from the product, showing their ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos. This can serve as a powerful tool to inspire confidence in the minds of prospective customers.

You Are Not Important

This is something that you should always keep in mind when selecting images for your website – you are not important. Instead, it is the customers who are important. Rather than picking an image that you fancy, always ask yourself how the customer might feel when seeing the image. And if any particular picture catches your eye and you are confident that it can leave a powerful impact in the minds of the visitors, then definitely use it in the website.

Purpose

Another thing to keep in mind is the purpose of your website. You should be as specific as possible. If your website is targeted at selling Pokémon cards for children, then there is no logic in using pictures of 30 or 40-year-old adults. Instead, you should only use pics of children, smiling happily and playing with their cards. Don’t just put any image just for the sake of having a picture on the website.

Human Faces

Finally, consider using pictures of human faces as much as possible. People have a natural tendency to be interested in other people. Hence, seeing the human faces can trigger greater interest in the customers. There is an interesting case study of a website that used to sell artworks. When they swapped the picture of the paintings with that of the person who painted it, they saw a huge increase in conversions.

And in case you are looking for black and white images for your website, consider checking out monoimages.com, which contain a large collection of such images.

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Not everyone is a great photographer. However, when it comes to marketing plans and social media feeds, you can’t do without imagery. Images can make the difference between your post going unseen and turning viral. So, how do you find the right images?

For people with limited time and budgets, stock photography is a great option. With a little effort, you will be able to find plenty of photographs to suit every theme. Here are 4 things to keep in mind when you select images for your next campaign.

Symbolize

Just because you like a photograph of a kitten sunning himself doesn’t mean it’s the best suited to your product. The image you select should have a connection with the text being displayed. Not only that they should also add value to your content. For example, if your text is about communication, using the image of a person sitting by themselves wouldn’t be of much help. What you need is an image of someone listening attentively, two people talking or a pen… To avoid getting stuck with the same old images that everyone else uses brainstorm your keywords before looking for images. Think abstract.

Authenticate

When it comes to authentication, there are two aspects to consider. Firstly, some sites offer royalty free photos while for others you must give credit to the author. Not giving credit when due is ethically wrong and can backfire very badly on your brand. Secondly, your audience must be able to relate to your images. Look for images of ‘real’ people in realistic poses and situations. If you’re writing for an Asian audience, your images should also ideally have Asian people. Using photographs of a fair skinned person in a post to be read by dark skinned people shows a lack of effort and thoughtfulness.

Optimize

Once you have the right image, you must get the size right. Ideally, download the required image in the highest resolution possible and then resize it. When being posted on social media platforms, each platform will have its own size regulations. Follow these size guidelines to avoid having parts of your image cropped out. Also pay attention to how the image appears. There’s nothing worse than having a pixelated image or one that appears stretched.

Customize

You don’t have to be a Photoshop expert to customize photographs. Today, there are a number of free photo editing software available that will let you put a unique spin on stock photographs. Play with filters and colour tones to make the photograph reflect your brand and the content accompanying it. You could also consider overlapping part of the image with text. This helps the reader connect the dots and binds the image and remaining content together. However, do not over complicate the process. It isn’t necessary to use the whole image always. You can always crop sections out.

Lastly, always remember to add relevant tags and meta descriptions to your images. After all, a majority of Google searches are image driven.