The importance of images on a small business website

Websites images serve a higher purpose than just looking good.

Images are the best way to communicate a lot of information in a short space of time. In a few short seconds a well placed, relevant image tells a website visitor key facts about your business such as what you do, your size, your quality, how you do it, and much more.

Research tells us that website users scan websites, they don’t read. They look at the images first. Why? Images are the best way to communicate information without forcing the user to read. They set context and convey a perception of your choosing. They capture attention.

If images are used effectively, a business can gain a lot more traffic and conversions – whether that be generating enquiries or making sales.

So what a the main reasons images are important on a small business website? Let’s dive deeper….

1. Imagery personalises a website – establishes brand identity

• Brand imagery plays a vital role in creating a positive and long-lasting association with your brand.
• A core element of brand imagery are photographs which can be just as important as your logo or company name.
• Using the same images or style of images consistently across all your marketing materials helps build a cohesive brand identity that people will recognise when they see it.

2. Customer visualisation – images bring your business, product or service to life

• Images help you make the best first impression.
• They bring your offering to life and give your visitors the power to visualise and imagine using your product or service.
• This creates a greater opportunity for sales as well as highlighting your brand.

3. More views and clicks – appealing imagery translates to higher visitor engagement

• As humans, we are very visual beings, so images not only attract our attention but also spark emotions and draw us in.
• If your website has appealing imagery, there is more chance of people staying on your home page.
• Images improve the user experience; visitors will be more likely to stay on your website and stand a greater chance of being converted into an enquiry or sale!
• Websites with images get more views. Nearly double, in fact, according to one study that found online content with images gets 94 per cent more views than pages without.

4. SEO value – images are indexed by search engines

• Did you know that images can benefit your indexing on search engines?
• The captions that you label your images is considered content for SEO purposes.
• If it is a genuine description of the image, with some added keywords incorporated, the content will show up for both web and image searches, giving your website more opportunity to be found.

Website visitors will notice imagery before wording. So, if you’re keen for your website to make a great first impression and rank higher in search rankings, consider great imagery.

For great looking websites that convert your visitors, contact kurl web – Newcastle and Maitland small business website specialists.