I have recently started adding at least one photo to each of my new posts/pages on my niche sites because not only does a high quality, relevant photo grab readers attention, but they are also a great little SEO booster.

How Images Can Help With SEO

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  1. File NameHaving one of your target keywords as your photos file name is a great way to not only boost on-page seo, but it also might see you get search engine traffic through Google Images.
  2. Alt TextMy currently favourite SEO plugin is Yoast’s WordPress SEO plugin that is basically like All-In-One SEO – but does a lot more. And what it does is analyse your post and rates it on a heap of different factors related to your focus keyword (so that you can fine tune your content). One of these SEO factors is having your keyword in your pictures Alt Text. The reason this is important is because it is your way to tell Google what the picture is and allows you to focus Google’s attention onto your main point.

Since images are important, we need to get our hands on some that we can use – and if you have a lot of niche sites and are producing a lot of content then buying all these images can get expensive! iStockPhotos, which is probably one of the most well know royalty free photo websites are quite expensive, with photos ranging from about $5-20+, which I am sure you would agree would add up quite quickly!

Why Can’t I Use Free Photos From The Internet?

You know what? There is absolutely nothing wrong with finding free photos and using them on the internet, AS LONG AS the website specifically says that you can use them for commercial purposes.

There are a couple of websites that have quite a lot of free photos that are also royalty free, but the problem I find is that while the quality is good, it is not great and I can never seen to find the type of photo that I am looking for.

What About Google Images?

It can be quite easy to just do a search of Google Images, find a photo that you like and copy and use it on your own website. Aside from the fact that you are stealing someone else’s property, you will also lose some of the SEO value because the same image will already be ranking in Google Images  – most likely for the same phrase as you are targeting.

It just makes sense to use royalty free photos, and I want to share with you my latest hot find when it comes to cheap royalty free photos.

Where I Buy My Royalty Free Photos

I have always been a massive fan of the Envato network. I’ve bought quite a few WordPress themes through ThemeForest, and I’ve even designed a few items and listed them for sale on GraphicsRiver, but there latest marketplace is quickly becoming my favourite:

Introducing: PhotoDune

PhotoDune is a royalty free photography marketplace that already has over 220,000 items for sale. Each item is priced based on their size and since most websites only need the ‘extra small’ or ‘small’ sized photos they will only set you back $1-2.

Here are a couple of the photos that I have recently bought for the first site in my new niche site challenge.

*Using their watermarked images as I only have single licenses – which allows me to use the photos on one site*

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As you can see, the photos are vibrant and professional and from memory I paid $1 for the first one, and $2 for the second (cause I needed a larger size).

If you are looking for cheap royalty free photos for your websites then head over to PhotoDune and see what they have to offer!

Where Do You Get Your Photos?

Do you have a favourite website (either free or paid) where you get your photos from? Leave a comment below because I would love to check them out.