Doctor Genius (DG) is dedicated to helping our clients reach their target audience through various means. One such tool we use to reach the top of search engines is images. It is no secret that images help SEO scores. However, incorporating more original images over stock images sets you apart from the hundreds and possibly thousands of sites in your field.
The benefits of original images over stock images
While stock images are popular in the medical field for adding personality to a website, anyone can use a stock image with the correct copyright license. There is nothing wrong with this. However, there is a chance that various websites choose the same images. Consequently, when search engines like Google decide where to rank websites, it becomes more difficult to differentiate between websites with the same stock images on main pages, like the home and “about us” pages.
Implementation will request each client to send us original images to help us build out the site and include them on the service pages. This is because original images go beyond giving a website a personality. They help with the following:
Originality
When a company takes its own images, it owns the copyright license. This means that no one can use their images without their explicit permission. This greatly reduces the risk of another website in the same industry (or otherwise) using the same images.
Increased comprehension
They say an image is worth one thousand words, and we have to agree. Images can tie together an entire article or help those who only have time to skim it better understand the message the webpage is trying to convey. In doing so, the bounce rate, a key indicator in user experience, automatically decreases. This translates to the quality and strength of SEO you are trying to achieve for your content, as Google considers user experience a key metric in search engine result page (SERP) rankings.
Builds trust
Building trust is another key factor in obtaining new patients. If all a potential patient sees when they are clicking through a website is recycled stock images, they will likely be weary of giving them a call. Furthermore, taking pictures of products should not be the only type of image on a site. Including pictures of current team members around the office or at events will help potential patients or clients feel more comfortable seeing a familiar face during their first visit.
Displays community involvement
Many patients who are loyal to their state or city love to attend professional establishments that give back to their community. A stock image cannot display this. Moreover, many times, including images from community involvement displays diversity, which also aids in building trust.
Factors to incorporate when choosing images
DG believes in providing quality service across the board. Therefore, we will instruct each client on what will improve their SEO rankings and usability on their site. While we encourage using original images, it is important to incorporate several factors in each image. Consider the following before sending us images:
The images are high-quality
Clear, crisp images not only help SEO but also make a site look professional. When images are fuzzy or do not have a focal point, they look amateur and communicate the company does not take pride in its work. Furthermore, clear images enhance site speed.
The images are mobile-friendly
When taking images, take multiple, using multiple lenses. This way, when we incorporate them on your site, we can easily manipulate them to fit into multiple dimensions without sacrificing their quality.
The images clearly depict services, teams, and office
Images will be used on multiple web pages for multiple reasons. Therefore, we need to have a good selection of images that speak to the content we create. Furthermore, having variations helps us optimize images. We create alt texts (alt tags), schema markups (enhanced descriptions only visible to search engines), and site maps (tell Google about each image on the site).
Doctor Genius is here to help
Please note that it is okay to incorporate some stock images on your website. In fact, we encourage it to help you put out more blogs each month. However, you should have more original, high-quality images on your main pages to help set yourself apart from the competition. If you have questions about what factors to consider when taking your images or how we optimize sites for SEO, contact us today.
Doctor Genius, located at 16800 Aston Street, Suite 270, Irvine, CA 92606, provides a range of services for practice success. We seek to meet our clients’ needs by providing a variety of marketing, SEO, practice optimization tools, and coaching to transform the healthcare experience. Though we work to provide the most accurate information, the content found on this website is solely intended for entertainment purposes. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that the information provided is entirely correct. You may not use the information on this site to cure, prevent, or diagnose a perceived medical issue. If you have healthcare-related needs, please speak directly to a healthcare professional. Never self-perform medical treatments discussed on this website. All images displayed are also for entertainment purposes only, and personal experiences may differ. Please note that the practice tactics mentioned on this site might not be applicable to your industry or practice.
