When you first start working online and create a blog site or website it is necessary to use images for the articles that you write. However, if you are on a budget and don’t have a lot of money to invest in images where can you find images that you can legally use? Lucky for you there are plenty of ways to find royalty free images online that you can use for your website and blog post.
Just keep in mind when you add an image to your website or blog, you must own the image that is being used, purchase the rights to use this image, ask permission of the person who owns this image, or find royalty free images. Today there are plenty of ways to find a free image that you can use on your site. One thing you don’t want to be caught doing is infringing on any copyright laws. If you use the wrong image on your site there could be a lot of consequences to face and fines to pay. So it is best to understand how you can find images that you can legally post on your site.
Why Are Images Important?
Being new to blogging, you’ll need to understand that each blog post that is written on your site needs at least one image. The image that you choose is used to capture the attention of the reader. Therefore, choosing the right image is as important as the text you’ve written. Images can help you too:
- Add a feature image to your content or create a thumbnail
- Images are used to introduce your content or ideas
- Using images will increase social media sharing
- You can use images to break up your content
- Images are used to support your points
- Blogs are more memorable when you use the right image
- Images are used to capture the emotions of your readers
- Images add color to your blog
- Images are used to improve your SEO by adding tags and keywords
How To Use Google To Find Your Images:
Google is one of the best resources online to find free images to use for your website or blog. However, when you search in Google it isn’t possible to pick the first image that you see. Google has an advanced search or image filter to help you select the right images for your site that won’t infringe on any copyright laws. It is easy to find royalty free image on Google with just a few clicks.
Step 1: Enter your Search Terms
In your browser search for a term you are looking for. This could be tree image, food images, SEO images and so on and so forth. In the search results, Google will display the images it has found.
Step 2: Open the images
Click on the link to open all the images that Google has found. This will display royalty free images and images that are copyrighted. You can’t just select the first image you find and use this on your site. Many of the images that Google displays are copyrighted.
Step 3: Advanced Tools
In order to start to filter the images, you’ll need to click on the Tools. This will display a listing of advanced tools that you can use to narrow down your image search.
Step 4: Usage Right
It is necessary to filter your images by the usage right. In the drop-down menu, you can select how to filter your images. Google filters images by:
- Labeled for reuse with modifications
- Labeled for reuse
- Labeled for non-commercial reuse with modifications
- Labeled for non-commercial reuse
I normally will filter my image by – Labeled for reuse or Labeled for non-commercial reuse. Select how you want to filter your images. Google will apply the filter and only display the images that you can use.
Step 5: Select Your Image
Click on the image that you want to use on your site. Google will open the image in another window for you to review. Here you can see the image and view the site the image is on. Just keep in mind you’ll need to make sure this is a free image site and that you have the right to use this image.
Step 6: Download Image
Just click on the large image on the screen and Google will redirect you to the site to download your image. Here you can see the usage right of the image and if there are any restrictions for using this image. If you can use the image it is easy now to download the image.
Conclusion:
Just keep in mind when you are selecting images for your website it is necessary that you only use images that are royalty free. If you want to use a different image it will be necessary to contact the person who owns the right to this image and work out a deal with him. You can always purchase your images online or even buy a disk filled with images that you can use on your blog or website. Just don’t infringe on the copyrights of others and you’ll be fine.