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Should you Use Images in your Blog Posts?
The answer is YES, a big YES, and I’m going to tell you exactly why.
According to research, blog posts with relevant images get 94% more views than blog posts without images. That’s a huge percentage to consider whenever you’re thinking about adding images to your blog post. If 94% more views are occurring from a blog post with relevant images, then I think it’s definitely worth considering having at least one image in your blog post.
Another fun fact: the human brain processes images much quicker than text. Including images on your site makes it easier to read through the text itself, and it makes your content much more compelling and conveys the message better.
Why #1: More Views
You should use images in your therapy blog posts because blog posts with images will get more views. Images naturally grab your attention.
If a potential client is scrolling through social media or your website, and they see an image (as opposed to a big block of text), their attention is automatically going to be grabbed.
Having images on your blog is going to make it much more likely for someone to click through to your blog post and stay there and read it.
Why #2: More Shares
Images get more likes and shares on social media.
Even if your business doesn’t have social media profiles, your current clients or potential clients are sharing your content to their friends and family.
If you include an image in your post, it’s going to automatically pull that over to Facebook or Twitter, and that status update is going to get much more likes and shares than a link to a blog post that has only text.
Why #3: More Engagement
Images increase reader engagement.
If someone comes to your website, they’ll see you have a blog, and click through to your blog. When they see that your blog post have images, they’re much more likely to click through those blog posts and stay on your site longer, which increases reader engagement. The longer they stay on your website, the higher your ranking with Google.
Why #4: More Meaning
Images can communicate your message beyond what words can express.
If you have a blog that’s talking about depression, and you include a photo of a man sitting on some stairs with his head in his hands, then that’s going to be able to communicate your message beyond what words can express.
When a potential client comes to your site and is feeling depressed and they see that image, they’re going to understand the photo on a personal level and be even more likely to read your post and reach out to you for help.
Why #5: More Memorable
Images make content more memorable.
When someone sees your blog post and they’re reading through it and they see a really great image (like the depression image example above), that post is instantly more memorable than if it was just a big chunk of text.
There’s all a lot of really great reasons to include images on your blog and we definitely recommend that you do so if you’re not already doing so.
Photo Alternative: a Graphic
You can also use graphics that contain the title of your specific post.
If you’re not sure what image to use with a post, you can use free online tools to create graphics with the title of your blog post.
Our favorite tool for creating graphics for your blog posts is Canva. You can actually create a graphic with just the title of your blog post and use that as your image.
Avoid These Images
We recommend avoiding cheesy posed stock photos.
You may not know what I’m talking about here, but if you go to iStockPhoto, and type in “depressed male” or “happy woman”, you’ll see a lot of really posed stock photos.
You really don’t want to use these photos for your posts because you don’t want to mock people’s emotions. That said, there are a lot of really great photos on iStockPhoto, so browse around if you like, but avoid the overly dramatic and posed ones.
If you want to learn more about blogging for your therapy website, be sure to check out our free report: The 7 Creative Ways to Get Ideas for Blog Post Topics.
