Perfecting Website Images For SEO
How to find, use and optimise your website images
Using Images on your Website
In the vast digital tapestry that constitutes our online existence, images make a big difference to brand identity. They speak volumes in the fleeting moments before words are digested, conveying emotion, context, and meaning through their mere presence. Using images on websites isn’t just for decoration—it enhances user experience, guides attention, and creates emotional connections beyond what words can do.
On our screens, images instantly reflect a brand's values, attention to detail, and audience awareness. However, they come with four key responsibilities: representing diversity, respecting copyright, ensuring high resolution, and optimising size and speed. These factors are interconnected, shaping effective web imagery.
The Legal Stuff: Copyright and Licensing
When you’re finding imagery for your website, ensure that it is either copyright free, or that you give the appropriate attribution. Please don’t just grab any image from a Google search as you might find yourself in hot-water with a cease and desist letter.
And, if you always know you have sourced your images properly, then you won’t fall foul of the spam claims that are rising at the moment where spam companies claim you are in breach of copyright and demand money from you. I’ve also seen evidence of people using this tactic to get free backlinks to their company which are valuable for SEO.
Understanding Different Types of Licenses
Navigating image licensing can be complex for website creators. Copyright law automatically gives creators exclusive rights to their images, which can only be shared or transferred through specific licenses. These licenses define how images can be used, any restrictions, and potential costs.
Commercial licenses typically permit use in profit-seeking contexts, while editorial licenses restrict usage to news or educational purposes.
Exclusive licenses grant sole usage rights to a single entity, whereas non-exclusive licenses allow multiple users to employ the same image.
Duration limits may constrain usage to specified time periods, after which renewal becomes necessary.
Geographic restrictions might limit usage to certain regions or countries. The complexity of these parameters necessitates careful scrutiny of licensing terms before incorporating any image into a website.
Creative Commons: Freedom with Attribution
The Creative Commons licensing framework represents a revolutionary approach to copyright that facilitates sharing while preserving creator rights. Founded on the principle of "some rights reserved" rather than "all rights reserved," Creative Commons offers a spectrum of license options that grant varying degrees of freedom to users.
The Attribution license (CC BY) represents the most permissive option, requiring only creator credit for both commercial and non-commercial usage. More restrictive variants include Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA), which mandates that derivative works adopt the same license; Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND), which prohibits modifications; and Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC), which restricts commercial applications. These options can be combined—for instance, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)—to create customised permission frameworks tailored to creator preferences.
Royalty-Free vs. Rights-Managed Images
The distinction between royalty-free and rights-managed images constitutes a critical consideration in image acquisition. Contrary to popular misconception, royalty-free does not signify "free" but rather indicates that the user pays a one-time fee for unlimited usage within the license terms. This model offers predictability and simplicity for website creators seeking consistent imagery across multiple projects or platforms.
Rights-managed images, conversely, operate on a more complex pricing model based on specific usage parameters. Factors influencing cost include image size, placement prominence, duration of use, geographic distribution, and industry context. This model typically results in higher costs but offers exclusivity options unavailable in royalty-free arrangements. The choice between these models depends on budget constraints, exclusivity requirements, and anticipated usage patterns across the website's lifespan.
Sources for Free Images
Whilst these images may be ‘free’ they may have specific licensing agreements - like ‘can’t be used commercially’, ‘needs attribution’, ‘can’t be used in a product you’re selling’ so it’s worth checking the license before you download.
Canva.com (some you do need a premium account to download, but not all)
Legal Risks of Improper Image Usage
Copyright infringement in the UK carries significant risks beyond financial penalties. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, infringers may face fines, damages, and even criminal charges in severe cases. Legal disputes can drain time and resources while potentially harming a brand’s reputation.
A growing concern is the rise of copyright trolls—entities that acquire image rights solely to pursue legal claims, often targeting small businesses with limited legal resources. To mitigate these risks, website owners should maintain thorough records of image sources, licenses, and usage while regularly auditing their content for compliance.
The Importance of Diversity in Website Imagery
Representation Matters
Beyond ethical considerations, diversity in website imagery constitutes a compelling business imperative. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that inclusive visual representation correlates strongly with increased user engagement across demographic boundaries. When visitors encounter images reflecting the rich tapestry of human existence—varied ethnicities, abilities, body types, ages, and gender expressions—they experience a sense of acknowledgment that transforms passive browsers into active participants.
Market research from Adobe reveals that 61% of consumers consider diversity in advertising important, with younger generations expressing even stronger preferences for inclusive imagery. The financial implications of this preference are substantial; brands demonstrating authentic commitment to diversity in their visual communication often report higher conversion rates and stronger brand loyalty. This phenomenon transcends mere trend—it represents a fundamental shift in consumer expectations that savvy businesses ignore at their peril.
For more diverse stock photography, I have included some links in this blog here: https://www.thesmartbear.co.uk/diverse-imagery-on-your-website-matters/
Authentic Diversity vs. Tokenism
The gap between true representation and performative inclusion is stark in web imagery. Tokenism often follows predictable patterns—like a lone person of color in a homogeneous group or a wheelchair user shown only in inspirational settings. These surface-level efforts not only feel inauthentic but can also alienate audiences.
Rather than relegating diversity to specialised pages or sections, integrate inclusive imagery throughout the entire user journey and within your branding, normalising representation across all touchpoints.
Cultural Sensitivity in Image Selection
Choosing culturally appropriate imagery requires more than just representation; it involves understanding the deeper meanings behind images. Different cultures interpret symbols, gestures, and contexts in unique ways, so a gesture seen as positive in one culture might be offensive in another, or an image perceived as empowering by one group could be viewed as exploitative by another.
To navigate this, it's important to stay educated, involve diverse perspectives in decision-making, and be open to feedback. Cultural sensitivity also means avoiding stereotypes that exoticise or marginalise non-dominant cultures. The goal is to use imagery that portrays diverse cultures with dignity and authenticity, moving beyond a Western-centric view and embracing multiple cultural perspectives in visual storytelling.
How images affect SEO
Images play a crucial role in SEO by enhancing user experience and improving a website’s search visibility.
However, improperly optimised images can slow down page speed, a key ranking factor for search engines like Google.
With the rise of Google Lens, it’s important to ensure your images are optimised for SEO using keywords appropriately, but also making sure you have high quality and clear images. However, large, high-resolution images do increase load times, which can negatively impact rankings and drive users away.
Google Lens can be found on your browser bar and can take a screenshot of whatever you’re looking at, then will search the web for it. It’s really useful for finding sources of the image, or more information about the image. I’ve even used it to find the location that was featured in a video on social media!