They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

I’m not quite sure how that adage translates to digital marketing, but I can tell you this — when it comes to building your business’s online presence, pictures are important.

No, seriously! There are all kinds of digital marketing strategies that you can employ for your business, but pictures shouldn’t be overlooked.

To best explore the role of pictures in your local search strategy, we have broken down the information into the six journalistic questions: why, where, who, what, when and how.

Check out the information below to learn more about the best practices you should follow! 

1. Why Are Pictures Important?

Pictures are an easy way to showcase what sets you apart from the competition and give your business a visual appeal that’s important for conversion.

They add a humanized component, and sometimes consumers just want to know that there’s a real person on the other end of their computer screen, looking to help them out.

After all, people like to see people.

If I’m looking to work long-term with an attorney, I’d like to see the person with whom I’m beginning that working relationship. If I’m hiring a moving company, I feel better inviting them to my home if there are pictures of the employees and the moving team.

Plus, having pictures of a storefront or building can help people confirm that they’ve found the correct location, especially if they’ve driven to visit you for the first time.

Ever stopped by a new place and wondered if you were walking up to the right door? Pictures can help eliminate that doubt — both for your customers and for the directories that list your business information online.

In fact, images of your business’s permanent signage are becoming increasingly important to help consumers know they’ve found the right business.

2. Where Should I Post Pictures?

While it’s great to have pictures on your website, it’s important to supplement these photos with pictures posted on other platforms, too!

Facebook and Instagram are great, graphically-oriented sites to feature pictures, but social media doesn’t hold the monopoly on photos.

You can also post pictures to important search directories, like Google, Bing and Yelp. This helps to “legitimize” your business, and people can even engage with pictures on Google by giving a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down.

3 & 4. Who & What Should I Take Pictures Of?

The short answer? Anything.

There are a lot of options when it comes to deciding who and what you feature in the pictures you post online.

You can put up pictures of the outside of your store, the inside of your office, candid photos of your team hard at work, headshots of you and/or your employees, snapshots of your products, etc. (And don’t forget a professional logo!)

Even with all of these options, one factor is crucial: make sure the pictures are of good quality.

Artsy camera angles, perfectly posed group shots and top-notch products can only take you so far if the end result is a grainy, pixelated image.

If it’s a choice between a poor-quality image or no image at all, we suggest the latter. Low-quality pictures suggest a low-quality business, although a lack of photos isn’t doing you any favors either.

If you really don’t have anything, use this opportunity to revamp your brand and take new photos to bolster your digital marketing efforts!

Stock images work in certain situations, but they can never replace real pictures of you and your business.

5. When Should I Post Pictures?

Posting pictures, like so many elements of digital marketing, isn’t just a “one and done” effort.

While it’s tempting to toss a few old photos on a listing and call it a day, this isn’t the most effective way to represent your business.  

Instead, think of posting photos to your digital marketing platforms on a frequent, consistent basis.

In addition to simple photographs, you can promote upcoming events, celebrate recent victories, proudly feature customer/client reviews or highlight any changes to menus, products, services, prices, etc.

Bottom line: Uploading pictures should be an ongoing process. After all, you, your team and your business are constantly growing, so you want your pictures online to reflect those exciting changes. 

6. How Can I Post Pictures?

Luckily, the “how” of adding pictures to your online listings is fairly straightforward; log into the account you use to manage each of your listings, navigate to the pictures or photos section and add your files directly.

While it seems simple, making sure to visually present yourself online is crucial for growing your local presence and appealing to consumers who are searching for you, your products and your services.  

Of course, if you have any questions about the importance pictures play in your local search strategy, or if you’d like to learn more about the different digital marketing strategies we offer, click here for help!