Adding Images to Your AC Articles

For those Content Producers who are still hesitant or uncertain about adding images to their articles on Associated Content, here is a set frequently asked questions.

Why should I add images to my AC articles?

Put simply, people respond to visuals. When a web surfer visits your Content Producer URL and sees a bevy of photos, they’re more likely, on average, to respond positively to the page and to click on links to your work. And if someone navigates to a specific article via a Google search, the image they see - even just a stock photo - helps to make the page of content look more robust and professional. The positive effect of the visual is sometimes hard to explain, but it’s quite powerful in a world where people make instant decisions about what to click on and how to judge it.

Beyond just creating a more attractive context for your AC articles, images can even be instructive or demonstrative. Examples include:

- Photos of a Finished Project. See Jeff Gedgaud’s Replacing the Kitchen Sink for superb use of images to accompany a how-to.
- Images from Travel Destinations. See Gary Picariello’s A Visit to the Brindisi Antiques Market or my own article on Vacations in Montenegro.
- Tech-related Screen Shots. See Lolaness’s Custom 404 Icon in Photoshop.

Also, you’re more likely to get featured on the site’s main page or on the topic pages like www.associatedcontent.com/travel when you’ve taken a moment to include an image during the submission process. Based on the current AC layout, images with a landscape orientation work a little better than those with a portrait orientation for selection as features.