Things to Consider When Selling Stock Images

Images of people - These images can be excellent for editorial use but are more challenging to sell for commercial purposes without releases. Whenever possible you should always get a release.



Images of public property - Again, same as above will likely apply.



Flowers and Scenic's - Competition here is fierce and the market can be limited. File size is also very important. You must have stunning images to be successful.



Similar images - Having many of the same image or theme makes it very hard for our rankers to place images in the database. One or two is fine, but not pages of the same content. It is VERY hard to narrow down the best shots but the same is true for our rankers trying to properly classify images. Whenever possible, we suggest being critical of overloading images of the same subject and doing your utmost to put the very best forward.



Title, description and Meta data - Our search does a relevancy scan of all three items to present results in our search engine when people search for a word or phrase. We then add a formula that creates a score including our rankers 1-100 ranking that was placed on the image. This allows us to present the best and most relevant information to buyers.



Keywords - It is important to set relevant keywords to images so as to be found by descriptive searches. Putting as many keywords as possible that still have relevance is very important. Using an array of key word that apply to your image will vastly improve your exposure.



Descriptions - It is always best to use descriptions whenever possible. Buyers like to read about the images and know something about them. This text is also used in the search criteria and increases your relevance in the buyer searches.



File names - Your file name is also included in the search criteria so if your image has criteria in its name that is being searched it becomes relevant as well. Ideally image files will have a name that defines the image.



File Size - Many buyers need images with large file sizes for their output production. File size can often be a factor for a purchaser. Photostockplus.com shows the file size of the image and can not offer anything larger than what is uploaded. Anything less than 1MB is going to be limited and will mainly be used for internet applications. Of course this can greatly reduce your possible market exposure. Always upload the largest image you have on file.