To spice up your blog posts, it’s important to add images. Images add interest, color, and even more understanding to the reader of the information you are trying to convey.

But there’s a lot to know about using images to make sure you get the most out of them on your blog.

Understand copyright laws

You can’t just find any image you want by searching Google and using it. It is important to understand how copyright works. Please read the fine print no matter where you find the image, to gain permission and give proper credit.

Where to find images

You can buy royalty-free images at stock photo sites like iStockPhoto.com and stockfresh.com, or you can find free images at morguefile.com. These are just some examples. Royalty-free does not mean that an image is free; it simply means that you can pay once, and if you use it according to the license agreement, you don’t have to pay per view.

Format images correctly

You want to make sure your images aren’t too big to suck up bandwidth and cause your pages to load too slowly.

Make sure your images relate

Adding images to your blog posts, if you choose the right thing, will make your blog posts come alive for your audience. If the image advances the story of your blog post, it will mean a lot. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and it’s true if you choose well.

Add “ALT” tags to your images

Many bloggers think tags are old-fashioned and unnecessary, but if you want Google to index your images properly, you’ll need to add alt tags and a good description, using keywords that fit your website and blog post.

Save images on your own server

It’s tempting to host your images on another server due to space, but it’s best if you host your blog images on the same server. If you use WordPress, simply upload them in the media section to ensure fast image loading.

Use screenshots or make your own images

Sometimes the best images are the ones you create yourself using screenshots. This is especially true if you’re creating an how-to post that needs images to help guide the blog post reader to carefully follow the instructions. You can easily create your own images by taking photos with your phone and using software like Canva.com to edit the image and post it to your blog.

Be consistent

It can be hard to be consistent about how your blog posts are laid out if you don’t create a guideline for yourself (and others if you have guest bloggers). But you don’t want to confuse your readers by making your website look cluttered without any order. Try to place the images logically in each blog post.