What’s up Fish Fans! My name is Marcus. You’re watching Marketing Madness, the Blue Fish vlog! Our goal is to address common questions that business owners may have about marketing, advertising, sales and business in general.

Today we are going to be talking about the importance of choosing good images for your website. The images that you select for your site are the first thing that connects the visitor to your business. You want these pictures to speak volumes about who your company is and the feelings your customer will get from working with you. A picture is not just a thousand words, but also the potential for a thousand more clients.

Let’s dig into a few particulars that might help.

Your hero image is usually the first visual that your visitor sees on your site. This picture HAS to be clear which requires a significant file size. You will want this picture to sum up your company in one look because it could be the determining factor that leads a future client to you or away from you. We will talk more about this later, but a great idea is to have a professional photographer take this picture for just YOUR website.

I mentioned file size a second ago. Most sites will not require large file size images. The largest image size you’ll usually need would be 2000px wide. And the size in terms of megabytes should be kept below 1MB. This is because Google factors page speed into your ranking. Besides, the last thing you want people doing is leaving your site because it is taking too long to load on their data connection.

Next up, lighting! You don't need the fancy set-up if you are doing this on your own. When taking pictures indoors, windows are your best friend. (Selfie lovers, this is a tip for you too ;)) A little bit of natural light can transform your photo and give it more appealing textures and colors.

If you do not feel comfortable taking your own website pictures, please don’t use stock photos if possible!! And definitely, do not use stock photos with super polished people in them. A professional photographer will take photos that communicate personality and show who you are. Not only are you going to look different from the company down the street, but also original content can help with SEO. If you need help with picking the right photos or hiring a photographer, we know a guy! ;)

Well, that’s a wrap for this week! I want to thank you for checking in. Make sure to hit that like button. And if you have any questions or comments leave them down below. If you want to talk about how Blue Fish can help you grow your business just send us a message and we’ll get the conversation started!