Yes, images attract backlinks. Like you create unique and well-written text content to acquire organic links naturally, well-designed images can do the same for you.
Image link building is the method of earning links from different referring domains by creating high-quality visuals and sharing them online. Over time, unique images with informative data visualization gain organic incoming backlinks.
Some popular image types that pull in inbound links are infographics, logos, product photos, visual statistics, maps, badges, how-to illustrations, and others.
You should ensure your images are embeddable and link back to the original source. It directs traffic back to your site when images are shared or used elsewhere.
Promotion and outreach are key components of a successful image link building strategy. You should share your infographics, memes, and other visuals by sending emails and messages to industry-specific bloggers, journalists, and websites that might benefit from your graphics. Offer them easy-to-embed pictures that naturally encourage backlinking.
Additionally, you should regularly monitor image attributions to claim links from sites that use your graphics. Mailing those sites and asking for link credit helps you acquire relevant image backlinks.
Also, don’t forget to use descriptive alt text and precise image filenames. This helps improve image discoverability in search engine results. Platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and Reddit are ideal for image sharing.
Let’s understand what image link building is and how you can use this strategy to acquire organic inbound links to your website.
Image links are hyperlinks that use an image as the clickable element instead of text. When users click on the image, they are directed to a specified URL.
Creating high-quality graphics and illustrations that portray a specific concept in detail is challenging and time-consuming. Hence, most of us find an image via Google search and use it on our webpage. While doing so, we often credit the main source by giving a hyperlink.
When you create lots of high-resolution images on different topics related to your industry, your chances of appearing in Google image search results for relevant queries increase. As your website begins to rank for different image searches, people find and link back to your images.
Hence, images help you earn organic and editorial backlinks. Natural incoming links raise your domain reputation and link equity. With improved domain authority, your organic rankings and traffic are improved, leading to more sales and conversions.
To create an image link, ensure the image is relevant to the content it points to and use clear, descriptive alt text that includes relevant keywords. The image should be more than 1024 pixels to be considered as high-resolution.
Upload your image file to your web server or a third-party hosting service like Imgur.
Visit imgur.com and select “New Post,” located at the top left of the page.
Paste the URL of the original image hosted on your domain.
After uploading, assign a title to your image and ensure privacy by clicking the “Hidden” option to the right of the uploaded image.
Click on “Grab Link” to obtain the URL and share it as needed.
Here are the major image types that naturally attract inbound links:
Infographics: Information graphics are visual representations of data. It uses charts, graphs, imagery, symbols, and minimal text. Infographics can be list-based or in the form of graphs. They can also be in the form of a flowchart or can explain a step-by-step process. People love to share infographics because they present complex information in a visually pleasing manner. It enhances information retention and has a storytelling potential. You should use infographics when you need to present important facts and statistics on a topic in an aesthetically pleasing manner. There are several infographic makers like Canva, Adobe, Piktochart, and others that you can use to create custom infographics. You can choose a template of your choice, including your research findings in the form of a chart, graph, or other format. Most tools provide options for complete customization. Once you have your infographic ready, you can share it with others. For example, the below infographic from the Ahrefs blog has attracted over 105 inbound links.
Memes: Memes are humorous visual content that quickly captures popular culture phenomena, using photo captions or short videos. They are highly engaging because they are easily relatable and shareable, appealing to a broad audience with their wit and simplicity. Memes are particularly effective in viral marketing campaigns where lighthearted content is appropriate. They can make abstract or mundane concepts more accessible and enjoyable. You can use platforms like Imgflip or Meme Generator to create memes. These tools offer a variety of classic meme formats and allow for easy customization of text and images. Once created, you can share memes across social media to engage audiences and prompt widespread sharing. For example the "Distracted Boyfriend" meme gained widespread attention through humorous captions and is widely used in articles, blogs, and social media. The picture on Shutterstock has attracted over 230 backlinks from 142 referring domains.
Product Images: High-quality product pictures that display products clearly are a great way to earn white-hat links. Ecommerce stores, websites, and blogs use attractive product pictures and link back to the original source. Effective product images are critical for ecommerce, where visual impressions directly influence purchasing decisions. It is also beneficial in generating backlinks from review sites and affiliate marketers who use these images to enhance their content's appeal. Product images are great for ecommerce stores looking to capture additional links via images. You can create perfect product photos by setting up a neutral backdrop to highlight the product effectively, ensuring it's well-lit, either with natural light or softbox lighting to minimize shadows. Position your product centrally and use a tripod to keep your camera stable, enhancing photo sharpness. Adjust your camera settings for high resolution and take multiple shots from various angles to showcase the product's features comprehensively. For example, this image of a collection of cosmetics has attracted over 500 backlinks from 91 referring domains.
Maps: Stunning custom maps with proper documentation are loved by journalists, bloggers, and regional reporters. They are useful in cases when you are presenting information about a particular district, state, or country. People link to visually stunning maps with informative content. For example, the map of Australia from World Atlas below has 394 backlinks from 149 referring domains, and 87% of them are dofollow. You can design custom maps using Canva’s free online Map maker. Just pick a design, customize your map template, and download it to use on your website.
Image link building is a collection of tactics involving creating eye-catching photographs that naturally encourage other websites to create hyperlinks back to your site, thus earning organic links
By leveraging visually appealing and high-quality images, you can enhance your content's attractiveness and shareability, prompting other content creators and publishers to link to your visuals as valuable resources or illustrative examples.
Here are the top ways to earn image hyperlinks:
Image-sharing sites allow anyone to upload and share images. You can upload visuals such as photographs, infographics, and other graphic content.
Sites with high domain authority, like Instagram or specialized photo-sharing services, offer high-quality backlinks that enhance your site's SEO.
Ensure each image is tagged with appropriate keywords and accompanied by a detailed description and a link back to your site.
You should maintain consistency in the visual presentation, use watermarks subtly to protect your work, and participate in the community through comments and feedback.
It is also recommended to use a mix of dofollow and nofollow image submission sites to maintain a healthy backlink profile.
For example, Flipboard is an online magazine that accepts image links. You can create your own custom magazines and share your images with others. The networking power of the platform is huge, and people can re-flip your images and use them in their magazines, thereby helping you acquire more backlinks.
To submit an image, go to your profile and select the magazine you wish to submit your image to. If your profile is new, you will have to create a new magazine first on your preferred topic. Now, choose Add to Magazine (or pencil icon). Submit your image link and write a caption for your flip.
Image submission lets you reach a wide network of audiences, which increases your chances of acquiring backlinks.
You should be careful and use only appropriate file formats like JPEG, PNG, and WebP. Also, optimize your images before submitting them, such as, adding alt tags and giving proper file names.
Many websites use your images but don’t link to the original source. You can identify all such websites using stolen images and email them to link back to your website.
Google Images is a great way to find sites that have used your images.
Go to Google Images.
Click the camera on the right side of the search bar.
Either upload your image or paste your image link.
Google will show all the websites using that image. You can filter all domains using your images excluding your website.
As an alternative, you can also use image theft protection tools like Pixsy. It scans the internet to detect unauthorized uses of images, offering users the ability to take legal action or issue takedown notices. This service is particularly valuable for those looking to protect their work without directly engaging in the often complex legal proceedings associated with copyright enforcement.
Pixsy not only identifies where images are being used but also facilitates the recovery of fees and damages through a streamlined, no-win-no-fee model, making it an accessible solution for artists worldwide.
Once you have your list ready, you can email all the website admins and request that they link to your domain.
Reddit Image Ads provide a paid advertising opportunity to promote images on one of the world's most active social platforms.
You can share your images coupled with a compelling piece of text. Users can interact with these ads through upvotes, comments, and clicks, which enhances community engagement.
The cost of Reddit Image Ads can vary based on the target audience, campaign duration, and competitive bidding within specific subreddits or categories.
Generally, campaigns can start at a relatively low cost, making them accessible for various budget sizes, but expenses can increase with targeting precision and campaign scale.
Finding and fixing improper image attributions is one of the easiest ways to acquire image backlinks. They have a high success rate, and you can automate the entire process of finding domains that link to the images on your site.
You can find improper image attributions using a backlink monitoring tool like the Ahrefs Site Explorer.
Paste your website URL and filter the links with JPG or PNG in the URLs.
Export all the links and double-check if the site still uses your site image. This way, you will have a final list of sites to outreach.
Use an email finder like Hunter to find the email address associated with the domain and send an email to the admin requesting a link change.
To track all your future image attributions, you can set up Alerts in Ahrefs using the settings below:
The setting works for WordPress sites. If your site is on another platform, you need to replace the URL with the exact URL where images are stored on your website.
Here are the most popular image submission platforms where you can submit your pictures with hyperlinks:
Instagram is a popular social media platform centered around photo and video sharing. It is ideal for all kinds of images from personal snapshots to professional photography.
It doesn't allow clickable links in post captions (except for ads and Stories with the "swipe-up" feature), but you can create a nofollow backlink by placing a URL in the bio, Stories, or post, as shown below.
Avoid sharing irrelevant viral content or derogatory pictures. Make sure your content does not harm the religious sentiments of the people. Also, you should not share political humours as they might backfire. Images that are helpful for others in your group are well-received by your audiences.
Pinterest functions as a visual discovery engine perfect for saving and discovering creative ideas using images. It is particularly useful for infographics, tutorials in image form, and decorative content.
Links from Pinterest are nofollow but can drive substantial referral traffic back to your website.
To create an image backlink from a Pinterest post, click ‘Create a Pin,’ upload your image, and add a title, description, and destination link. Then, choose or create a board to save your pin.
Do not overpost on Pinterest or your account will be flagged as spam. Post high-quality images that explain a concept and persuade others to do repins.
Facebook allows the sharing of a wide range of image types including personal photos, memes, and business product shots.
To post an image with a hyperlink, click What's on your mind, [name]? At the top of your feed.
Directly share your image and add a suitable description for it. You can also include hashtags to increase your reach.
Avoid spamming other people by tagging them in your posts. Be relevant and share original images that genuinely help the users.
Photobucket is a site used for personal and professional photo sharing and hosting. It supports all image types and provides nofollow links.
While it is more focused on image hosting, it can be a useful tool for sharing visuals that complement your content elsewhere.
To create a backlink for an image in Photobucket and upload the image to any of your albums.
Make sure, your album is set to public to allow image caching and make them appear in Google search results.
LinkedIn is a professional network where users can post business-related content and professional achievements through images like company photos, professional portraits, and infographics.
Links on LinkedIn are nofollow. You can submit an image to LinkedIn by clicking the Media option located at the top of your feed.
Avoid posting fake endorsements, disturbing images, and offensive content or photos. Your content should reflect your opinions and should be useful for others in your network.
ImageShack offers a platform for uploading and sharing photos. It is designed for users who need high-quality image hosting for their blogs and sites, providing nofollow links that can be used to share content across platforms.
The Featured section on ImageShack offers exposure and potential backlink opportunities as your work gains visibility and recognition.
You should own the content you upload on ImagesShack. Also, avoid posting images/content that violates any United States laws or other copyrights.
Twitter supports the rapid sharing of news and personal updates and accepts all image types, including inline photographs and gifs. While the platform provides nofollow links, it's excellent for viral marketing and instant public engagement.
You can share images by clicking the image or the GIF icon at the top of your search feed.
You can add your shortened URLs with images to gain backlinks and referral traffic back to your domain.
Scoop.it is another popular image-sharing website that can get you referral traffic and nofollow backlinks.
It allows for content curation based on interests and topics, which includes organizing images linked to longer content.
The platform is great for sharing knowledge through visual and text-based content, offering nofollow links that help in building a knowledge-based community.
To create a Scoop, paste a link to the URL where your image is hosted.
People can directly click on the post to visit your website. You should only post relevant content on relevant topics. You can also Scoop other creator’s scoops, and other creators can do the same. Hence, the chances of your images going viral are huge if you share high-quality and useful images with your audiences.
Reddit offers a very engaged community-based platform where images can spark substantial discussion and interaction within specific subreddits.
To submit an image, click on Images and Videos and share your link. You can also add a description of your image.
Reddit offers nofollow backlinks. You should avoid sharing pictures on sensitive topics while your karma is low. Also, make sure to check the Subreddit community rules to make sure your shares are not flagged as spam.
Behance is an Adobe-owned platform that lets you publish high-quality graphic work. You can submit images related to high-quality artwork. The site offers nofollow links. You can even use keyword-rich anchors (see below image). However, avoid creating too many exact match anchors; instead, use branded or generic anchors to stay safe from Google penalties.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Your graphics and illustrations should present unique information that is valuable for your target audiences. They should be appealing and clutter-free.
Here are the steps you should follow to craft stunning images that attract backlinks from a variety of referring domains:
Before creating any visuals, understand who your audience is and what type of content they need. This will guide the style, tone, and subjects of your images.
For instance, a younger audience might prefer bold and trendy visuals, while a professional audience may appreciate more data-oriented infographics.
Avoid making assumptions without data. Use analytics and social media feedback to inform your approach.
For example, you can use the Ahrefs Site Explorer to see the kind of content your competitors are creating. Enter your competitor’s domain and click on the Site structure report to see the types of pages that send it the most traffic.
By analyzing your competitors, you will get a good idea of the type of images that will attract the maximum number of links.
Head over to Pinterest and search for images in your niche. For example, if your niche is digital marketing, you can enter the search term in the search bar:
You will find lots of relevant images on the topic. You can get ideas from these.
You can even click on the image and see the number of backlinks they have acquired using any free backlink-checking tools like the Ahrefs Backlink Checker. Pictures with the most links are the ones you should go for.
Utilize graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva, and Piktochart.
These tools offer multiple templates tailored to various content types, including social media graphics, infographics, and more.
Ensure the tool you choose fits your skill level. Overly complex tools might slow down your process if you're not experienced.
Venngage is a great tool for creating high-end infographic images. You can create a free Venngage account using your email, Google, or Facebook.
Once registered, you can access a wide range of customizable infographic templates to find one that fits your project.
Next, use the intuitive drag-and-drop editor to input your data and personalize the design. You can adjust text, fonts, colors, and backgrounds to your preference.
For a more distinctive look, add any of the 40,000+ icons and illustrations available for free.
When you're satisfied with your infographic, download it as a PNG or PDF, or use a private link to share it seamlessly with your team.
Image SEO helps your images to get ranked on search engines for different queries. Higher rankings mean more people will view your images and link to them. Here are the top image SEO techniques:
The very first requirement is to ensure that search engines are able to crawl and index your images properly.
Use standard HTML image elements to help Google crawlers find and process images.
Here is an example:
You should ensure that Googlebot isn't blocked and the page receives an HTTP 200 (success) status code.
Also, create a separate image sitemap to tell Google about other images on your site.
Responsive images are a critical component of modern web design, adapting to various device characteristics to enhance user experience and performance. They adjust not only in size but also in resolution based on the screen's properties, ensuring optimal display and faster page loads.
Employ relative sizing for images to ensure they do not exceed the bounds of their containers, maintaining layout integrity across devices. When assigning widths, opt for relative measurements like percentages, which relate the image's width to its container rather than the overall viewport.
For instance, setting an image's width to 50% means it will take up half the width of its parent element, preventing any overflow. Use the picture element to provide different images tailored to specific device features; an approach often referred to as art direction.
Here is an example of a responsive image displayed accurately on both wide-screen and narrow-screen displays:
High-quality photos are more engaging to users than blurry ones, especially in search result thumbnails, potentially driving more traffic.
You should evaluate the necessity of each image on your webpage to confirm that it serves a vital role, which cannot be replaced by more efficient methods such as CSS effects or vector graphics.
Use vector formats like SVG for graphics that require scalability and sharpness, and choose raster formats such as PNG, JPEG, WebP, or AVIF for detailed images like photographs. These formats offer varying levels of compression and should be selected based on the optimal balance of quality and file size for your needs.
For high-resolution displays, prioritize vector images to maintain visual clarity without incurring excessive file sizes. Implement responsive image techniques to serve appropriate image sizes based on the user's device, optimizing both loading times and bandwidth usage.
Modern image formats like WebP and AVIF are recommended for enhanced compression and quality, ensuring that your images are visually appealing while also being optimized for performance. WebP is 25-34% smaller in size and offers an equivalent quality to JPEG or PNG.
You should use descriptive filenames and alt text for your images to enhance SEO and accessibility.
Choose filenames that reflect the image content, such as my-new-black-kitten.jpg, rather than generic or nonsensical names like IMG00023.JPG.
Automate the naming process if your website contains thousands of images and ensure filenames are localized and adhere to URL encoding standards for international audiences.
For alt text, provide concise, contextually relevant descriptions that aid search engines and improve accessibility.
A well-crafted alt text, such as "Baby Corgi Puppy," for the below image is preferable to vague or keyword-stuffed alternatives, which can detract from user experience and may be penalized by search engines.
For images embedded as SVG files, utilize the element to offer equivalent contextual information, ensuring both SEO benefits and accessibility compliance according to W3 guidelines.
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