Did you know engaging visual content speaks louder than words, creating an instant connection?

Have you ever noticed how a pop of color in an image can grab your attention in seconds?

It’s the magic of first impressions! ​Bloggers and writers add engaging visuals to their textual content to make it more attractive to their users.

Did you know images are equally important for search engine optimization (SEO)?

This article will show you how to improve image SEO and increase traffic to your website, blog, or landing page without getting too technical.

Why Use Engaging Visual Content?

Engaging visuals are not just an option; they’re necessary for any digital marketing strategy.

Their unique ability to captivate, communicate, and connect with your audience is unparalleled.

Let me take you through the magical journey of why incorporating eye-catching visuals into your posts can significantly elevate your online presence.

Firstly, visuals act as the hook that draws your audience in. Imagine scrolling through your Facebook feed – what catches your eye?

Engaging Visual Content or Large Blocks of Text

Is it a long block of text or a vibrant, captivating image? The answer is almost always the latter.

Humans are visual creatures by nature. Our brains are wired to process images 60,000 times faster than text.

This means that by using compelling imagery, your message doesn’t just get seen; it gets noticed.

Secondly, engaging visuals are not just a tool; they’re your best bet for boosting engagement.

Engaging Visual Content is King in Digital Marketing

In digital media, engagement is king, and visuals serve as its chariot.

Photos, infographics, and videos are proven to generate more likes, shares, and comments than their text-only counterparts.

They provide a quick, digestible way to present information and tell a story, allowing audiences to connect with your content more deeply.

This emotional connection is key to transforming passive followers into active participants.

Engaging Visual Content is Memorable

Lastly, let’s talk about memorability. In the never-ending sea of digital content, making your posts memorable is the golden ticket.

Visuals don’t just help, they’re the key to stamping your message into your audience’s minds.

When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later.

However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later.

This statistic alone showcases the power of visuals in ensuring your message reaches your audience and sticks with them.

the role of engaging visuals cannot be overstated. They catch the eye, boost engagement, and make your content memorable.

By mastering the art of visual storytelling, you’re not just posting content; you’re creating an experience.

An experience that resonates, connects, and leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

So, next time you’re about to hit “Post,” take a moment to consider: does my content visually engage my audience?

If not, it might be time to go back to the drawing board. Let’s paint the digital town red, one post at a time!

Photos and images are a supporting tool that can turn your bland content into something compelling and exciting.

By breaking up tedious and large chunks of text, images make your content visually appealing and easier to read.

Be sure to add alt text to your images to enable search engines to know what your content is about and bring more traffic to your content by ranking in visual search.

Create the Right Size Image for Your Engaging Visual Content

Loading speed is one of the ways Google ranks your site. The faster a page loads, the higher it is ranked in the search engines.

When creating your image, use the actual size you need to fit into your article.

For example, do not produce a graphic that is 1920 x 1280 and reduce the size inside your admin area.

This will only change the size viewed but does not reduce the size of your image itself. Instead, use the exact dimensions you need.

Use Google PageSpeed Insights to test how fast your pages load. If necessary, re-optimize your images for faster speed.

Create Unique Images

We all know that a picture speaks a thousand words. Creating custom relevant images grabs the attention of and conveys your message more clearly to your viewing audience.

Using custom and engaging visual content instead of stock images will help your blog or web pages stand out from others in your niche who are posting stock images.

Stock and staged images or photos are impersonal, distant, and sometimes – cheesy.

There are so many tools available online to help you create unique images.

I have been playing around with MidJourney and Bing Image Creator.

Give them a shot. You might be surprised at the awesome visuals you will be able to create.

Compress Images

The larger an image file size is, the longer it takes to load its page. Slow loading sites rank lower in search.

Compressions blend colored pixels that are similar into single pixels that reduce the resolution and file size of images.

The human eye does not typically detect the color differences, so the perceived image quality remains the same.

Use free sites like TinyPNG, ResizeImage, and Online Image Сompressor for all your website and blog images to increase load times and reduce file sizes.

Naming Your Engaging Visual Content Image Files

Use your keyword-rich and descriptive words in your image file name.

Ensure it is relevant to your content and represents what is in the picture.

For WordPress users, the title of any image uploaded is automatically fetched from the file name.

Do Not Forget to Use Image Alt Text

Make sure that all images use an ALT tag to describe them accurately.

Alt tags are the written copy on a web page if the image does not load on a user’s screen.

It helps screen-reading tools describe what the image is about to visually impaired readers.

And alt tags allow search engines to crawl better and rank your web page.

If you are struggling to get your visual content noticed by your target audience, try some of the above tips.

Originally published 11/11/20; updated September 21, 2021; Re-published again on March 20, 2024, to update content and add video.