Image Link Building — An Expert Guide

Unleashing the power of Image Link Building can revolutionize your SEO strategy. Content marketers like you must know the wonders of image SEO, not just in the world of social media, but in link building SEO in general.

As a fusion of artful content marketing and clever search engine optimization tactics, it offers a unique opportunity to scale the search results.

Harnessing this technique can drive more eyeballs to your ecommerce site, product pages, and boost your overall web presence.

Unfold the full potential of image link building with this comprehensive guide.

Keep reading to unravel how LinkGraph’s backlink generator and analyzer tool can amp up your link building efforts seamlessly.

Key Takeaways

• Backlinks are crucial for building a persuasive link profile and improving SEO.
• Image link building leverages the power of images to increase visitor engagement and backlink opportunities.
• Unique, compelling, and share-worthy images are key to a successful image link building strategy.
• Outreach to relevant content creators and site owners is essential for building relationships and securing link building opportunities.
• Properly tagging image links and using relevant alt text can enhance user experience and improve SEO.

What is Link Building?

Link building underpins search engine optimization. Basically, it’s a practice of creating hyperlinks on the web pages of others, leading back to your own website. Known as backlinks, these points of connection bolster a webpage’s link profile, stirring the interest of search engines.

These backlinks are fundamental. They tell the search engines that the site is trustworthy and desirable.

Above all, they portray website links not just as isolated entities, but as part of a larger, interconnected web.

Backlinks are crucial to building a persuasive link profile. They position a website as part of the internet’s grand tapestry.

From Google to Ahrefs, search engines use these backlinks to learn more about your website. Image link building, a form of link building that uses images rather than text content, can be especially effective for sites with heavy visual content. An ecommerce brand with a bevy of product photos, for instance, could benefit greatly from this link building technique.

What is Image Link Building?

Peel back the curtain, and you’ll discover that image link building is a stellar way to squeeze extra juice from your SEO strategy. In essence, it’s a method of link building that leverages the power of images.

Employed correctly, image link building can escalate visitor engagement and increase backlink opportunities.

Fueling this strategy are visual content forms like infographics, data visualizations, or even your everyday stock photo. The key here is to ensure the image file is tagged correctly with relevant alt text.

This alt text helps search engines understand what’s depicted in the image, enhancing image search results.

Our friend Google Images can be a secret weapon here. The alt text allows Google Images to correctly categorize and display your image, leading to additional traffic.

Reverse image search tools like Pixsy can help identify potential link building opportunities where your image has been used without proper credit.

It’s not exactly a get-rich-quick scheme – you can’t just throw product image after product image on a product page and hope to strike SEO gold. But if you employ image link building judiciously, you might find it an incredibly worthwhile addition to your content marketer’s tool belt.

Why is Image Link Building Useful for SEO?

If there’s one thing the search engine gods and everyday internet users have in common, it’s an appreciation for snazzy visuals. An image can often communicate concepts more effectively than text, and they’re more likely to be shared on social media.

That’s where image link building comes into play, providing a double threat of increased user engagement and a boost to SEO.

Images – whether infographic, product photo, or data visualization – add a fresh element of interest to a webpage. And search engines, always striving to serve up the best user experience, look favorably on sites packed with appealing content.

Increasing the variety of content on a site can pay off huge in SEO dividends. Image link building is another tool capable of fattening that backlink portfolio. When people share your image, they typically don’t just swipe the image.

They take your hyperlink along for the ride, spreading your site links far and wide.

Better still for the SEO savvy, a link back to your website nestled in an image carries the same weight with search engines as a text link. All in all, diversifying your link building strategy with image link building can provide a generous sprinkle of SEO fairy dust.

A 5-Step Guide for Image Link Building

Step one is an absolute doozy: Find or create unique, compelling, share-worthy images. It could be an infographic, a standout product photo, or a particularly striking piece of data visualization. Unique content breeds backlinks, and high-quality images are no exception.

Now that you’ve got your shiny, new image, it’s time to make sure it’s easy to discover. Tagging new images with relevant alt text can help search engines recognize and index the image. Sprinkle some magic dust from your keyword planner on that text to give it an extra SEO boost.

Step three takes you off your own website. Look for opportunities to share your image on other relevant sites. Crafting a fascinating guest post for a popular blog post, complete with your wonderful image, could bring in new readers (and backlinks).

Last up is the crucial step of monitoring. Tools like Google Analytics and Ahrefs, as well as specialized reverse image search platforms like Pixsy, can help you track where your images are ending up – and make sure you’re getting credit where credit is due. Happy image link building!

Step 1: Choose Which Types of Company Images to Use

Kick off the process with some fun: brainstorming what company images to use in your link building strategy. Before you start on a mad dash to whip up brand-new visuals, check your resources. You might already have some fantastic images tucked away that simply need a bit of dusting off.

Product images are superstars in this play, especially for an eCommerce site. Every product page is a possible link building opportunity. Pair a killer product photo with some carefully crafted alt text, and you’re onto a winner.

Of course, not all brands are flush with product images. Here’s where creativity comes into play. Infographics or data visualizations related to your industry expertise can fascinate readers and attract potential backlinks.

Whiteboard explainer videos or fun team photos from company events can be unique branding visuals that folks will love to share.

Finally, think about versatility. The goal is to have your image shared on a variety of sites to generate backlinks. An effective image is not only visually appealing, but it also lends itself well to a range of contexts.

That could be a meme-worthy company mascot or a thoughtful yet quirky quote graphic. As long as it aligns with your brand and resonates with the people in your industry, it’s fair game.

Step 2: Browse for Images

The next step is a smorgasbord of visual delight. Start browsing for images that reflect your brand, tell your story, and speak to your audience. These can be images that you’ve created yourself or ones that you find on reputable stock photo sites.

Unique brand visuals are ideal, but a well-chosen stock photo can also do the trick nicely when given a bespoke touch or two.

A tip to remember in this phase is to prioritize high-quality, clear images. The most desirable images are those that visually engage the viewer. They should be unique, visually awesome, and relevant.

To carry on browsing smoothly and remaining organized, consider these techniques:

1. Use a dedicated bookmark folder to stash away image links for later.

2. Consider subscribing to stock image sites newsletter for a regular dose of imagery inspiration.

3. Collaborate with your team using collaborative platforms like Google Drive where you all can share and review prospective images.

4. Never forget the licensing agreements. Each stock photo site has its own licensing terms, so make sure you’re in compliance with each image you use.

While browsing may seem time-consuming, remember that finding the right image could make or break your image link building strategy. A little extra time spent scrolling now could pay huge dividends down the line.

Step 3: Come Up with an Outreach List

The next step revolves around outreach to other content creators and site owners. You’re going to brainstorm a list of contacts for image link building opportunities. Factors such as industry relevance, audience overlap, and the quality of the site should guide your selection process.

Bring tools like the Content Explorer in Ahrefs to bear, which can help identify relevant blog posts in your industry that could benefit from your phenomenal images. These could be your initial outreach targets.

Remember, the aim is to open a dialogue, not to make a hard sales pitch. The ideal scenario is to offer mutual benefits. Perhaps it’s sharing your image in exchange for a backlink, or maybe it’s guest posting with your image included.

Don’t rush this step. It takes time to curate a list of quality contacts that may actually result in solid link building opportunities. After all, you’re cultivating relationships and this is central to a successful link building strategy.

Step 4: Perform Outreach

The fourth step is where you roll up your sleeves and dive into the heart of image link building: outreach. This phase might be a tad intimidating, especially if you’re new to the scene.

Don’t fret, armed with your carefully curated list of contacts, you’re ready to reach out, share your incredible images, and start building links.

The trick here is to be friendly, genuine, and to the point. Spell out the probable benefits, and ensure your pitch is tailored. Guide the site owner or content marketer on how your image can provide extra value to their content.

If you’re offering a product image, for example, spotlight how it could enhance their relevant product page. Or, if it’s an infographic or data visualization, explain how it can spike their readers’ engagement and appreciation of the data being discussed.

Remember: the aim of outreach is to develop relationships with the potential of future collaborations. Whether it’s securing a guest post opportunity or arranging an image exchange, the goal is to build a broad network of contacts for ongoing image link building.

Step 5: Utilize Links to the Fullest!

At last, we come to the fifth and final stage of our image link building journey: Utilize those hard-won links to the fullest! Now that you’ve got some backlinks in the bag, make sure you’re milking them for all they’re worth.

It’s time to ensure every image link is properly tagged with your website link. When folks click on your image, ideally, they should be directed to your site. This not only increases traffic but also enhances the user experience by offering more context or information.

And let’s not forget alt text. Here’s where your keyword research will shine. Make each word count, integrating powerful and relevant keywords into your alt image alt text. It dramatically influences how search engines interpret the image and give you brownie points for SEO.

However, one must not sit back and relax after accomplishing this. Regular auditing of your backlinks is mandatory to keep track of their performance. Tools like Google Analytics and Ahrefs can provide insights and help you understand your link profile better.

If links are broken or lead to error pages, fix them straight away. After all, making the most of every backlink is key to a successful image link building strategy.

Conclusion

Integrating image link building into an SEO strategy really is a gamechanger.

From choosing unique, appealing company images to reach out to industry-related site owners, each step acts as a building block towards a healthier link profile.

Remember, image link building doesn’t stand alone; it’s part of a broader SEO strategy.

Handled correctly, image link building can rake in valuable backlinks, drive more traffic, and ultimately elevate a brand’s virtual visibility.

It’s a craft that combines creativity, analytical thinking, and a smidgeon of networking skill.

Downright worth the effort!