Do you know how many pixels an image needs to be in order to make it pin-able? Or, which shapes are most preferred by other social networks? And, do you know that the size of an image can have a large impact on your SEO? Yep. It all matters. In the past, more often than not, my concept of an image’s shape or size has been little more than “does it look good?” and “does it fit?” Other than that, I really haven’t worried much about the size or shape of my images. I’ve since learned that setting the size and shape of your image ahead of time can have a big impact on both the professional look of your blog as well as the search engine’s look of your blog. So today I’m going to share 4 tips for creating more effective post images in hopes that it will help us both be more intentional in our photo selection.
4 Tips for Creating More Effective Post Images
1. Provide at least one square image and set it as your feature image.
While we live in a world that generally thinks of images in a 4×6 photo mind-set, in the blog world, more often than not, the square image receives more appreciation. Think about it. If you want to link up an image to a blog party, what shape will the thumbnail need to be? Square. Feature images? Square. Facebook preview links? Square. And, in any place a square image is preferred, if none is provided, then the program involved will automatically crop your feature image to become a square which doesn’t always look the most professional nor appealing.
2. Set your minimum image height and width to no less than 100 pixels.
Why? Several reasons. To begin, Pinterest will not allow a pinner to add an image less than 80 pixels by 80 pixels. In addition, Facebook’s preview images are 90 pixels by 90 pixels. Anything less than that and the image will look distorted. Finally, most party and feature image locations require a 100 pixels by 100 pixels thumbnail. Again, anything less than that will cause the image to look distorted.
3. Set your maximum width to no more than 500 pixels.
Several places I read even suggested no more than 400 or 450 pixels. The main reason for this being, the larger the image size, the longer it takes to load your page. And the longer it takes to load your page, the lower your SEO. It should also be noted that Pinterest will accept an image with a maximum width of 554 pixels and most of the other social media networks incorporate images of less than 500 for their features and highlights making anything bigger pointless for most blogs.
4. Consider including an image that is higher than wider.
In the age of Pinterest, it bears to include at least vertical image with a height nearly double (or more) it’s width because the taller the image the more likely it will be pinned and re-pinned on Pinterest. However, remember, the larger the image, the longer the load time so you definitely want to keep this image a one-per-post occurrence.
Bonus Tip:
Now that you know the optimal image sizes, next comes the changing of your blog settings so that that your images automatically upload to your maximum specifications. If you use WordPress, this is super easy. Go to “Settings” and “Media” in your dashboard to automatically set your image sizes. If you are using blogger, you may find this tutorial helpful in setting your default image sizes.
And that’s it. You are now on your way to creating more effective post images that both your readers and the search engines will enjoy. Have any other effective post image tips? Share them in the comments. I can’t wait to see what you have to share!
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
