Picture books, magazines, and newspapers all have one thing in common: the artful combination of incorporating the right images with their written content. Especially in today’s massively abundant digital age, ensuring your blog content is engaging and memorable is more important than ever. 

Why You Need Imagery in Your Blog

Humans are intrinsically visual beings, so one of the key components of a successful blog is the use of imagery. Statistics show articles with imagery actually get a whopping 94% more views when compared to those who don’t.

Imagery in blogs is anything that will visually grab the reader’s attention. This can be shown through:

• Photos
• Videos
• Screenshots
• Graphs
• Charts
• Infographics
• Banners
• Quotes

Using these in your articles will not only elevate your content quality but will help you achieve the most from your blog. As someone with extensive experience in marketing and content writing, I have seen first-hand the positive effects of incorporating the proper imagery into your work.

Not convinced? This blog post will give you five essential reasons demonstrating why you should add imagery to your next blog article.

5 Reasons to Add Imagery to Your Next Blog Post

Where attention spans are fleeting, the power of imagery cannot be overstated. Your blog is a canvas waiting to come alive, and the brushstrokes of images can transform it from a monochrome narrative into a captivating visual journey. 

In this article, we will look at five compelling reasons why incorporating imagery into your next blog post is a must. From grabbing the reader’s eye to boosting your online presence, these insights will guide you toward a more engaging and effective blogging experience.

1. Catch the Reader’s Eye

A blog article without images leaves room for nothing; it will simply be words on a blank canvas. If anything, it will bore the reader before they even get started on the content you worked so hard to write. Images can act as a signal, immediately showing readers a visual preview of your blog topic.

Much like in life, first impressions are crucial to the success of a blog article. As individuals rely on colors, shapes, and sizes to catch their attention, the use of images will act as one of the main gateways to convince a reader to read through the entirety of your article.

2. Enhance Comprehension

Resources provided by Harvard University state the importance of image use for elevating a reader’s comprehension. Providing a visual representation can simplify complex ideas and help your readers process and understand the material more thoroughly.

Images within themselves are a very successful form of communication, and combining them with your written text can actually reinforce the content discussed in the blog. This has encouraged longer material retention, as people are 65% more likely to retain and remember information combined with images.

For example, this image from the services page of my website creates a visual component to my list of services. It makes the content easily digestible, and, hopefully, helps visitors to remember what they saw.

3. Create an Emotional Connection

Emotions are the keyholders to building a significant connection with your audience. Using images evokes feelings in your readers, whether provoked by staggering data shown through graphs or an impactful photo that strikes a memory.

Research has demonstrated that imagery affects the emotional center of our brain through sensory stimulation. Images in blogs can be used to tell stories, set the mood, and overall enhance the visual narrative of the content. This kind of emotional brain activation encourages engagement and fosters interactivity.

4. Boost Your SEO

From a ranking perspective, having imagery can improve your blog search engine optimization (SEO) as the digital search landscape now relies on both text and images. Using SEO to boost your online visibility is a key component to attracting traffic to your page.

SEO can be boosted through images because of the following:

• Alt-tags: Alternative text and keywords not seen by readers that the search engines use to identify, index, and categorize the images in your blog.
• Descriptions: A description written directly beneath the imagery that improves user experience and engagement metrics.

Alt-tags and descriptions boost blogs through search engines such as Google Search Image and social media platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. They help expand a blog’s network, widen audience reach, and drive traffic.

5. Build Credibility

This is a world where EEAT is the must-have in content marketing (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). Using imagery in your blogs demonstrates a sense of credibility, especially with the use of high-quality images. Your readers expect professionalism and attention to detail; they want to see that you put effort into ensuring your blog is coordinated and looks visually appealing. 

This further shows your experience and reliability, as readers are more likely to trust the information from a blog that is well thought out.

But Don’t Just Add Any Image

I’d be remiss if I didn’t offer a word of caution here. It’s not just about using any image but the right image. Authenticity matters. Instead of generic stock photos that serve merely as decorative elements, consider the impact of real people in your visuals. 

As a case in point, consider this photo below. That’s actually me, at my laptop, writing a blog. My suspicion is that this particular photo is more engaging, especially when you know it’s me, than some stock photos I purchased from Getty Images or Shutterstock. 

Authenticity fosters a genuine connection with your audience, making your content relatable and trustworthy. So, as we explore the five reasons to add imagery to your blog, remember that it’s not about any image but the ones that breathe life and authenticity into your narrative.

Picture This: Your Blog’s Visual Revolution

If you want your blog to experience a visual revolution, add imagery. Not only will it catch your readers’ eye, but it will also simultaneously help enhance their comprehension and emotional connection to the content, as well as boost your blog’s SEO and credibility.

Are you looking for a freelance content blogger with experience in marketing? Please contact me to get started!

For more information on my work and experience, visit my website Copywriting For You.