Undergrad at UMN with a strong math background looking for opportunities in machine learning. I am currently a full-time student but I’d be interested in taking a semester off to work in spring, potentially through summer.
I have practical experience with ML from competing in (and winning!) several hackathons this past year.[1] Most recently, my team won the education track at HackMIT with a VSCode extension that revises the user’s code with an LLM and explains the changes.[2] (We also pitched the idea to YC in their sponsor event and won an anytime interview so that’s cool.)
I am currently working through fast.ai and am taking several graduate-level courses on ML theory to solidify my fundamentals. Areas of interest are LLMs, reinforcement learning, multi-modal models, manifold learning, and evolutionary strategies.
Feel free to reach out for anything, even just to chat.
That number can be tough to hit when I can’t think of creative designs, but thankfully, there are a ton of free (or crazy cheap) image editing tools that make you look like a professional.
And that means you can shave time off your day with just a few minutes of image editing.
Thankfully, almost all of them are easy to use even if you have little-to-no experience with graphic design.
Here are six image editing tools that make you look like a pro and will drive your social shares through the roof.
1. VistaCreate
VistaCreate is an all-in-one online platform for designing literally anything a marketer or small business owner may need — no design skills necessary.
You can use it to create posts and stories for socials, make email designs, ads, presentations, and even print materials.
The editor offers thousands of premade templates that already look great, so you can just quickly customize a design and use it right away.
And unlike other graphic design platforms, ALL their templates are free.
In addition to templates, you access a huge library of royalty-free stock photos, videos, vectors, objects, animations, fonts, and music tracks.
With all these tools, you can make videos and animated visuals in addition to static designs.
If you want to publish your design right away, you can post it directly from VistaCreate to your Facebook and Instagram business accounts, and Pinterest. Handy, right?
I like that most of their tools are free, so that you can create a cool design on a budget.
To start creating, log in or sign up to VistaCreate.
So I’ve talked a bit about what VistaCreate can do for you, but let’s show it in action. Here’s a real-life look at me putting this great tool to use.
To begin, I decided to create an Instagram video story for an event I’ll be speaking at.
So, I chose a template first.
I changed the colors, added objects and my photo, and used the Background Remover to erase the background in one click.
Next, I applied a black-and-white filter to make my photo match the style of the conference.
It’s pretty cool!
Next, I animated my photo and objects.
I added all the information about the event and tried different styles to see which color scheme worked best.
After that, I’m ready to post!
VistaCreate also has a resize feature that allows you to make one design and resize it for different platforms in just a few clicks:
Speaking of branded designs, you can build a brand kit in VistaCreate and use it to create a cohesive look for your branding.
Add your business’s colors, fonts, and a logo to your brand kit — and apply it to a template to create your on-brand design.
Having a brand kit is very convenient, especially if you work with many different companies and want to simplify your workflow.
If you work for a new company that doesn’t have a logo, you can create one right from the Brand Kit page using the Logomaker tool.
Click on “Create a logo from scratch”, select an industry, type in your company name — and the Logomaker will offer tons of logo designs.
On top of that, I like that VistaCreate works for both digital and print, so that you can make business cards, flyers, posters, postcards, and other printables in one place.
If you live in the US, you can even use VistaPrint (both companies are part of the Vista family) to have your designs printed and delivered to your door.
For now, you can use them to print posters, flyers, and business cards, with more formats coming soon.
In short, VistaCreate covers all the needs marketers might have — creating branded content for social media and ads, making a brand kit with a logo, and designing print collateral.
You can access it on both desktop and mobile, with the app available for Android and iOS.
2. PicMonkey
PicMonkey is another helpful tool to use for image editing.
If you aren’t a graphic designer but want crystal clear images with high production value, PicMonkey is one of your best bets.
PicMonkey has a slew of diverse features.
For example, you can edit existing images that you have on Facebook, your computer, or anywhere else:
You can also touch up specific photos with new effects.
Also, you can easily start a new design from scratch or with a preset template.
To get started, click “Start a free trial” and create your free account:
You can set up your new account with an email or by signing up directly with Facebook:
Once you’ve created a free trial account, you should be directed back to the dashboard to edit content:
One of the best benefits of PicMonkey is the actual photo editing ability.
For example, other platforms focus more on social media and content marketing images.
But PicMonkey allows you to use diverse filters that you’d find in an expensive application like Photoshop.
For example, you can edit things like filters, sharpening, and blurring:
You can even tap into more advanced photo editing tools like curves and levels:
On top of that, you can touch up real-life photos of yourself or your company—if stock photos are not ideal—using awesome image editing tools:
Want to add a spray tan? Who doesn’t?
The portrait photo editing tools are great and allow you to perfect any headshot for your social media or team photo for your website.
On top of that, you can add tons of cool overlays to your content.
For example, if you wanted to add emojis in your picture, simply click the “PicMoji” option and click any emoji to instantly add it:
You can also pick from a bunch of different existing themes and templates if you are lacking inspiration or creativity:
PicMonkey is similar to other tools but lacks the diverse template and preset options some offer.
What it lacks in templates, though, it makes up for in diverse image editing capabilities.
The ability to edit things like curves and levels or touch up portrait-style photos really stands out.
PicMonkey is a great tool for the everyday person who needs detailed image editing but doesn’t want to get bogged down by advanced, technical programs.
If you want to create a beautiful photo in just a few minutes that is less focused on text and templates, this is your go-to tool.
Now that we’ve covered some of the best image editing tools on the market, it’s time for one of my all-time favorites.
This tool isn’t for the faint of heart, though.
It’s meant for more experienced users who want deep customization options and who have a basic background in graphic design.
If you don’t have experience developing graphics out of a blank canvas, you might find this tool a bit frustrating.
Pixlr’s photo editor resembles Photoshop almost exactly. It has just about every editing feature you’d find in a paid tool.
It’s a completely free tool with incredible customization options you’d expect in a high-quality, expensive application.
To get started, head to Pixlr and create a new image from scratch or open an existing one from a URL or your computer.
If you aren’t comfortable with creating designs from scratch, then Pixlr probably won’t be your go-to tool.
It requires some design elements and skills that are above the level of Snappa.
If you create a new image, you can select the dimensions to your liking:
From here, you start to edit a blank canvas just like you would in Adobe’s Photoshop:
The greatest strengths of this tool come in the form of detailed filters, layers, and adjustments.
For example, you can use it to edit an awesome image or create a new blog graphic with various options:
It’s definitely not the easiest tool on the market to use, but if you are looking for a completely free tool with more customization options, Pixlr is a great one.
You can build graphics from the ground up or simply stitch them together like you would in Photoshop.
Go ahead and give it a try today!
6. Luminar AI
From Skylum, we have the first photo editor powered solely by artificial intelligence: Luminar AI.
Its goal is to take some of the stress out of photo editing by automating the process.
Bridging the gap between basic image editing tools and pro software like Photoshop, this software offers the right in-between gear. Best of all, you need no experience to use it.
Once you choose an image to work on, you can start making additions and enhancements.
Navigate through the templates and editing features. The specialty features of Luminar are Face AI, Landscape, and Portrait Bokeh. The software will even walk you through the process with editing suggestions it curates.
The AI portrait, or Face AI, is meant to make enhancements from shine removal to face slimming to color correcting. Highlight your muse’s smile and give them flawless skin for that “wow” level Luminar helps you strive towards.
This is the creative influence that makes Luminar stand out from other AI editing software.
In the section that has more advanced tools, you will see options that help you replace a background or get the perfect bokeh effect. The cool thing is: This can all be done on the same photo.
With Landscape EnhanceAI, a custom brightness map is used to intelligently balance both light and color across the entire image to make it shine.
Lighting is everything with photo editing. The Bokeh Effect is tough to master, getting the proper balance of light just right. Luminar AI puts you in control and makes suggestions for proper focus and blur for an aesthetically pleasing edit.
When you first start using the software, it can be a bit of a chore to learn. After some time, though, you’ll remember which features are your favorite.
No matter your experience with editing, Luminar allows you to make quick edits at the push of a button. This is especially great for those of you who don’t like sitting in front of your computer too long.
One other thing about this software I like besides its ease of use: While it may be a Photoshop competitor, Luminar can be used as a Photoshop plugin.
That’s right. You can have the best of both worlds with all the aspects of each tool.
So, all around, I say it’s a tool most of you will be a fan of.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is image editing?
Image editing is the process of enhancing digital or analog photographs using various methods, devices, or programs. Photo and image editing might be different when creating graphics versus editing a picture. Scanners, digital cameras, and other image-capturing tools may produce good yet imperfect images that need further editing attention.
What are image editing tools?
An image editing tool is software that enables the editing and conversion of images to varying graphic formats. Everyone knows Photoshop as one of the most popular image editing tools, but there are many others with similar capabilities. Some specialize in removing backgrounds or are a beginner-friendly version of capabilities found within Photoshop. If you want to make an infographic, try Piktochart. Maybe you want some AI guidance when editing, try Luminar AI instead. Think of your needs or what you want to learn and let that drive your starting point for your editing journey.
How should I choose an image editing tool?
Think about the functionality you need to perform the task at hand. Maybe you need to crop, rotate, or straighten an image. Perhaps you need to correct a smile or the shading of colors of an image. You might need to create an infographic. Read up on the handy tools I mentioned in this post and choose the one that’s best to get your job done.
What are some features I need to have when editing images?
Some standard features of a basic image editor include:
Along with some of these basic features, items you want to have especially for editing images include adding layers to create different amounts of transparency and adding elements like blur or vignette to create specific appearances.
What is photo editing?
This post-production technique of digital photography involves using photo editing tools to alter images to your desired outcome. It is the digital photography equivalent of a darkroom, where photographs are edited after they’re taken.
How to learn photo editing?
Start with photo editing tutorials to learn your style. YouTube is always a great place to start, but the software you use likely offers a tour of its features – use them to your advantage. You can avoid the need for a lot of editing by adjusting your camera’s settings as well. A higher-quality camera helps, too. With many of the tools like I’ve mentioned, the software provides step-by-step instructions telling you how to use the product in real time of your editing process. If you’re still unsure how to get started, read our complete guide on designing stunning visuals as a beginner.
How to calibrate monitor for photo editing?
This will depend on whether you have a Mac or PC
For PC: Go to Start > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Display > Calibrate Display Color. Then open the software that will walk you through and give you a general screen calibration. You can also find it by searching for “Calibrate Display Color” in your Windows search box.
For Mac: With the glossy glass, it’s a bit more difficult, but setting your white point to 5500 will give your screen a warm and fairly accurate display.
What’s the difference between a photo editing tool and image editing tool?
Photo editing tools are exclusively used for manipulating images captured with a camera. Image editing tools can do this as well, but also have the capacity to work on static graphics, or potentially combine the two.
Image editing is the process of enhancing digital or analog photographs using various methods, devices, or programs. Photo and image editing might be different when creating graphics versus editing a picture. Scanners, digital cameras, and other image-capturing tools may produce good yet imperfect images that need further editing attention.
An image editing tool is software that enables the editing and conversion of images to varying graphic formats. Everyone knows Photoshop as one of the most popular image editing tools, but there are many others with similar capabilities. Some specialize in removing backgrounds or are a beginner-friendly version of capabilities found within Photoshop. If you want to make an infographic, try Piktochart. Maybe you want some AI guidance when editing, try Luminar AI instead. Think of your needs or what you want to learn and let that drive your starting point for your editing journey.
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Along with some of these basic features, items you want to have especially for editing images include adding layers to create different amounts of transparency and adding elements like blur or vignette to create specific appearances.
This post-production technique of digital photography involves using photo editing tools to alter images to your desired outcome. It is the digital photography equivalent of a darkroom, where photographs are edited after they’re taken.
Start with photo editing tutorials to learn your style. YouTube is always a great place to start, but the software you use likely offers a tour of its features – use them to your advantage. You can avoid the need for a lot of editing by adjusting your camera’s settings as well. A higher-quality camera helps, too. With many of the tools like I’ve mentioned, the software provides step-by-step instructions telling you how to use the product in real time of your editing process. If you’re still unsure how to get started, read our complete guide on designing stunning visuals as a beginner.
For PC: Go to Start > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Display > Calibrate Display Color. Then open the software that will walk you through and give you a general screen calibration. You can also find it by searching for “Calibrate Display Color” in your Windows search box.
For Mac: With the glossy glass, it’s a bit more difficult, but setting your white point to 5500 will give your screen a warm and fairly accurate display.
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Conclusion
Content marketing should always include visuals.
You can’t just stick a bunch of text up on a page and expect your audience to read and digest every word.
It’s just not going to happen.
Videos and images are a great way to grab their attention and get your message across.
And, like I said, Google likes them, too. A recent study on Google rankings found that images can even help you rank better.
Images should always be a focus in your content marketing and social media strategies.
They are great for driving shares and clicks that plain text just can’t make happen.
Generally, vertical pins should be 1000 x 1500 pixels, or a 2:3 aspect ratio. Pinterest does not recommend images smaller than 600 x 900 pixels.
Pinterest also has specific recommended sizes from their ads manager, so be sure to check those before running any Pinterest ads.
You’ll want to use the correct image sizing so your images fit well without getting cut off.
The image below represents pins that meet the 2:3 aspect ratio Pinterest recommends.
The best Pinterest image size for your business depends on several factors, including the type and messaging in your pin images.
That means you should always test and measure pin traffic and conversions to figure out what works best.
There are plenty of tools to help with this, including the Pinterest Business Analytics Dashboard, which has a custom pin size tool within it.
There are currently eight sizes to choose from when creating pins:
Let’s explore how and why these Pinterest image sizes are used and how they work to drive traffic to your site.
Pinterest Images: Static Pins
Static pins are the most basic type of Pinterest image. They feature only one image and a few sentences that link your pin to your website.
While they may be simple, static pins are very SEO-friendly because they offer concise, relevant keywords that search engines pick up on.
They also provide clear calls to action and direct users to your website with a clickable link in the pin description.
While you might think using multiple images in one pin would be more engaging for users, if the pinner doesn’t have time to read all of your content, they might keep scrolling.
For this reason, static pins can be a great way to get instant traffic from Pinterest directly to your site.
The best Pinterest image size for static pins is 2:3 or 1000 x 1500 pixels. Anything larger than this risks being cut off in user feeds. Static pins work best with PNG or JPEG files at a maximum of 10 MB.
To create a high-performing static pin, be sure to keep your image and text short.
Pinterest users are often scrolling through their feeds quickly, so it’s important to have a clear image with relevant text.
Pinterest Images: Infographic Pins
Infographic pins are vertical Pinterest images that are uniquely visual and encourage users to click through on your content.
Infographic pins are also easy to share across social media platforms, bringing in new audiences for your business.
That said, some users argue infographic pins can negatively impact your search rankings, as they become truncated in search.
How they perform for you will depend on individual factors, so there’s no harm in testing them to see how they perform for you.
The best size for a Pinterest image infographic is 1000 x 3000 with a Pinterest Pin ratio of 1:3. Infographic pins should be no larger than 600 x 2400 pixels.
Let’s look at the different types of infographic pins, and how to use them effectively.
First up are standard infographics which often feature text overlaid on top of a graphic or image. Although they may seem like an obvious choice, not all businesses have strong visual content that works well in this format. Business coaches, influencers, and wellness brands tend to see the most traffic with these pins.
Another option is to use a more complex and detailed image, such as one that features different colors or shapes alongside the text. For example, a retail store could create a gift guide as a long form infographic.
Finally, if you want the most pin-worthy content possible for infographics, try making them interactive. Interactive content is more eye-catching and can encourage users to share your pin, driving more traffic to your site.
Pinterest Images: Square Pins
Square pins are great for sharing images from your Instagram feed.
The best Pinterest image size for square pins is a 1:1 aspect ratio or 1000 x 1000 pixels. The maximum image file size of a square pin should be 20 MB.
Square pins allow you to share compact images that are relevant to your brand aesthetic and easy to share.
Studies have shown the average user spends less than five seconds on a Pinterest page, so it’s critical your images and pin descriptions are concise and effective.
A clear title makes it easier for users to understand what they’re clicking into or scrolling past.
Square pins are easy to view on most devices, which is why they’re a great fit for social media platforms like Pinterest.
To see if square pins work for you, run some tests and judge the results for yourself!
Pinterest Images: Long Pins
Long pins are typically used for blog content or articles, where users can scroll to read the entire text.
Long pins are great when you need people to click through and engage with your website content.
Long pins should use a Pinterest Pin ratio of 1:2.1 or 1000 x 2100 pixels.
If your long pin exceeds this recommended size limit, it may be cut off in user feeds.
If your long pin cannot meet this length, don’t worry! You can help users stay engaged by centering any text before the truncated portion. Once they click the image, they’ll be able to see the rest of your content.
Long pins work best for businesses that have articles or blog posts to share. For example, if you own a hairdressing or beauty salon, you could pin an article about how to take care of your hair type.
Another great use for long pins is if you’re selling products online. You could share a link with several different images that sends users through to the product page.
This allows users to see different views or angles of the product, so they can make an informed decision about what to purchase.
Pinterest Images: Carousel Pins
Carousel pins are a great way to show a lot of information in one pin.
For example, if you’re selling jewellery online and have several rings for sale from the same collection, carousel pins allow you to include up to five images per pin/item that users can scroll through.
The best Pinterest image size for carousel pins is 1000 x 2000 pixels and should be no more than three images in length. As well, carousel pins can be shown in either standard Pin Size (2:3) or Square Pins (1:1).
Carousel pins allow you to showcase multiple images with a short text description below each image. These are perfect for businesses that showcase events, recipes, tutorials or other content people want to scroll through.
These Pinterest image pins can help drive people directly to your online store, as they can see exactly what you’re selling and buying right from the pin. This is a great way to generate sales!
Include descriptive text on the image itself, including hashtags and relevant keywords. This is one of the most powerful ways you can increase website traffic from each pin’s click-through rate, as it helps your Pinterest page connect to search results across the internet.
This will also ensure your pins are easy to find when people search on Pinterest.
2. Include the Right Links
Next, include a link in the pin’s image description so when someone clicks it they can be taken back to your site with ease. You can also use copy to encourage them to click through again by including more text about what they will see if they do.
3. Use High-Quality Images
If you’re linking to your store, be sure to use product pins with clear, high quality images. Link the pin to a specific product with an easy-to-understand description that encourages viewers to purchase there or visit your website for more information.
Ensure your logo is displayed on every pin you create, but make sure it’s visible. Pinterest recommends avoiding the lower right corner as that area gets covered up by product icons.
4. Include Alt Text on Pins
Be sure to add alt text to all your images. This will help improve the SEO of your website and let Pinterest know what each image is about.
You can also pin images directly from your website or blog by adding a “Pin it” button on the page. By doing this, you won’t have to upload and crop each image as they will be sized automatically for Pinterest image requirements. (This also allows users to pin your images, which expands your reach.)
5. Monitor Pin Performance
Lastly, monitor all of your pin impressions to see how you can improve your content. Different pins may bring in different results, so pay attention to what you pin to track how Pinterest impacts site traffic and conversions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pinterest Images
What are the Pinterest post dimensions?
Different kinds of Pinterest images use different sizing, but Pinterest generally recommends a 2:3 aspect ratio, or 1000 x 1500 pixels limit.
What are the most popular pins on Pinterest?
The most popular pinned content on Pinterest is DIY and craft pins, entertainment, weddings, and holidays and events.
How do I drive traffic to my website on Pinterest?
There are many ways to drive traffic to your website from Pinterest which can include keyword targeting, proper Pinterest image sizing, applying for Rich Pins, and creating strong visual content.
Is Pinterest a good source of traffic?
Pinterest is one of the leading sources of traffic for bloggers, sometimes even beating out SEO.
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What do backlinks, reverse image search, and your business have in common?
Your bottom line.
Sure, you can blog until you have hundreds of posts on your site, but it takes time.
Can your business afford to wait? Probably not.
This is where a backlinks strategy comes in. Not only can it help with boosting your domain authority (DA), but it could expose your business to a new audience who may want to buy from you if you target the right sites.
How do you find these sites? Reverse image search. When done correctly, you can use it to snoop on your competitors and find the backlinks boosting their DA and profits.
Here’s how to turn their backlink success into yours.
What Is Reverse Image Search?
A reverse image search uses an image in place of a text-based query.
All you need to do is upload an image onto a search engine, and you’ll get a list of information. These details usually include:
file type
source of the original image
image size
other sizes of the same image
websites using the image
related images
While many people use reverse image search to check if someone is stealing their content, it’s a powerful tool in the hands of a savvy digital marketer.
I’ve used reverse image search to grow my backlinks by 26 percent, but it can do so much more than find unclaimed backlinks. When done right, it can give you the upper hand over your competitors while growing your authority.
Why Would You Use a Reverse Image Search for Competitor Research?
Backlinks.
Using reverse image search on your competitors is one of the best link-building strategies most people skip.
Not having any backlinks is a reason more than 90 percent of websites don’t get traffic from Google.
By uploading a photo of a competitor’s headshot or company logo, you can see at a glance where their inbound links are coming from and start building a list of backlink opportunities.
Why is this important?
Backlinks are a valuable Google ranking factor. The search engine uses links from other sites as a vote of confidence.
According to a study by Backlinko, the site holding the #1 spot on Google has, on average, 3.8x more backlinks than those in positions two through 10.
By analyzing where your competitors are getting links, you can determine what sites are helping grow their authority and get a slice of the pie for yourself. Getting those backlinks could help grow your traffic, build your authority, and potentially one-up your competitor.
For example, let’s say you’re competing with me. If you reverse image search my headshot, you’ll see results like these before the fold:
When you scroll down past this, you’ll see a few more pages:
If you continue to scroll through the results, you’ll see I’ve been featured on sites like:
Searchengineland.com (DA 91)
Meltwater (DA 77)
Forbes (DA 95)
Getresponse.com (DA 81)
These are all powerful backlinks helping me grow my domain authority, website traffic, and sales.
How to Do a Reverse Image Search to Track Your Competitors
Ready to uncover those hidden link-building opportunities that lurk behind your competitor’s images? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it.
Step 1: Find a Photo
What photo should you use for your reverse image search to track your competitors? I’d recommend using a headshot of the person who would be credited as the author.
Use their LinkedIn profile picture. They’ll likely use the same headshot for their guest blogging bylines, just like I do.
In addition to searching for a competitor’s headshot—or if your competitor doesn’t have a “face” attached to it—search for the brand’s logo.
Step 2: Use Reverse Image Search
You can’t upload a photo on the standard Google homepage.
Click on “Images” in the top right-hand corner to load the reverse image search feature or go to images.google.com.
Next, click on the camera icon.
Choose the headshot or logo you downloaded in step 1 and click on the blue “Upload an Image” tab. Google will then return a results page that looks like this:
Step 3: Start Looking for Opportunities
If we use the example of my headshot, you’ll see the first result points back to this blog.
Scroll down further, and you’ll see my author profile for CoSchedule. The blog has a DA of 57 and is a popular tool for content marketers. As a competitor, this is the kind of site you want backlinks from or to write guest posts for.
Having a guest post on a high authority site like CoSchedule could add to your credibility. You can use it to establish yourself as the go-to expert in your niche and get your message in front of your target audience.
Don’t forget to reverse image search your competitor’s logo! It can help you find opportunities to get listed on resource pages or niche directories.
How to Find Guest Post Ideas Once You’ve Completed the Reverse Image Search and Competitor Research
Now that you’ve completed your reverse image search, you should have a master list of websites your competitor uses for backlinks. Now what?
It’s time to come up with guest post ideas, start pitching, and, when a site agrees to your guest post, deliver compelling content to drive traffic back to your business.
You’ll have a much stronger pitch if you have a few blog post ideas. Here’s how to make sure you come with content the website will love.
Read Their Blog
You don’t want to make the mistake of pitching a blog post that’s already on your target’s website or won’t add value to their audience.
Editors receive an average of 10 pitches per day, and 20 percent of them don’t thoroughly read 90 percent of those pitches because they can tell at a glance they’re not worth the time. Make sure yours is in the 10 percent that the editors read.
How? By thoroughly reviewing the website you’re targeting. After reading the site’s content, you should be able to answer the following questions:
Who is the audience? B2B, CEOs, moms working from home, etc.
What is the level of the audience? beginner, intermediate, advanced, etc.
What type of content do they post? 3,000+ word tutorials, quick tips and tricks, narrative essays, etc.
What are the content gaps? Are they missing a comparison between two popular tools? Can you offer a different perspective on a hot topic?
What topics do best? Use Buzzsumo to see what posts get the most shares on social media.
Keyword Research
Once you have a few topic ideas in mind, tie everything together with keyword research.
Presenting a unique guest post idea backed with a strong long-tail keyword shows you know how visitors reach the site and, therefore, can write for their audience.
Plus, you want people to read your post. Choosing a keyword with a decent amount of traffic ensures you’re writing a blog your target audience will find and consume.
Use Ubersuggest to find high traffic, low competition keywords. Remember to check your chosen site’s DA so you can target the right keywords.
How to Pitch Your Guest Post After Doing a Reverse Image Search on Your Competitors to Find Potential Backlink Opportunities
Always check to see if the site has guest posting guidelines. If they do, follow them to make sure your post doesn’t get rejected. According to research by PointVisable, 22 percent of guest posts are rejected for not following the guidelines.
Personalize the Email
Hop onto LinkedIn or read the “About” page and find the exact person you need to email. If you can address the blog owner by name, you’ll have a higher chance of success than starting an email with “Dear Sir.”
Introduce Yourself
Include your industry expertise, accolades, and link to other places you’ve been published. You want the person to understand you’re not a generalist. You’re an expert with something valuable to add.
Reverse Image Search FAQ
How do I reverse Google Image Search?
Go to images.google.com and click on the camera icon. Upload the image and click on search.
How do you do a Google reverse image search on my phone?
Download or take a screenshot of your chosen image, then open the Google (not the Chrome) app on your phone. Tap the rainbow camera icon, allow any permissions it asks for, then tap the gallery icon. Select an image from your phone, and Google will display the results. You can also use Google Lens to take a photo and search for it.
How do you reverse image search with Chrome?
If you’re using the Chrome browser (again, not the app), you can reverse image search by right-clicking on any picture and selecting “Search Google for an image.”
Is reverse image search free?
Yes. It’s a free tool you can access via Chrome.
Reverse Image Search Summary
As you can see, reverse image search is a powerful backlink tool. It can help you identify the best sites to target for backlinks and go after the sites giving your competitors results in their business.
However, searching for an image is only the start. Once you have a list of sites, do your due diligence and pitch blog post ideas to establish your business as the go-to expert.
Only compelling blog posts will get you the backlinks you need to rank higher on search, attract the right people onto your website, and into your sales funnel.
Do you think reverse image search is a good way to gain an advantage over your competitors?
There’s no shortage of amazing images online, but that doesn’t mean you’re always going to find the original. So many images you find on blogs and other websites originated from somewhere else. While it may not seem like a big deal, it seriously pays to know how to find the original.
Here’s how to find an image source quickly and easily.
Why It Is Important to Find Image Sources
It’s always handy to know how to find proper image sources online. It won’t just make your life easier when it comes to finding high-quality photos; it could also help you avoid legal trouble.
You Saw an Image and Want to Find It Again
Is there anything more annoying than seeing a cool image online, saving it to your desktop, and then forgetting where you found it in the first place? Worse still, you then have to waste hours trawling through your browser history to find it.
All of this wasted time and effort can be avoided when you know how to find image sources quickly.
You Want to Use an Image in Your Blog Post and Attribute It Properly
Images are vital when writing blog posts. Research shows articles with photos get 94 percent more views than those without them. That’s because nothing puts readers off more than huge blocks of text. Images help break your writing up, make points clearly and improve the reading experience.
However, you can’t just use any old photo you find on the internet in your blog. You have to make sure you are legally allowed to use it and that you can attribute it properly. You’ll need to find the original image source for both of these tasks.
Once you’ve found the image source, you’ll be able to work out whether you’re allowed to use the image (I help you with this below if you’re still not sure), and you can attribute it correctly if you need to.
While it’s very rare for small sites to get into legal trouble for using copyrighted images or not abiding by Creative Commons, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
You Need a High-Quality Version of an Image
Low-resolution images suck. They look bad on your blog, and they look even worse when you scale them up for printed marketing materials — but pixelated images are exactly what you’ll get if you don’t find the original image source.
Why? Because reposted images are usually shrunk to reduce the file size and increase website load times. This is great for the website in question, but it’s not great for you. The original image, on the other hand, is usually much larger in size. Whether you want to use an image in a piece of marketing collateral or edit it yourself, it pays to be able to find the source.
5 Ways to Find Image Sources
Finding an image source isn’t difficult. Here are five different ways you can use to find any image source today.
1. Use Google’s Image Search to Find Image Sources
Google Images Search is the de-facto place to find images online. You probably don’t need me to tell you that, though. What you may need me to explain, however, is how to use Google Images to find the source of an image.
You can do that easily using Reverse Image Search. Head over to image.google.com, but instead of typing in a keyword, upload your image. Google will show a link to every page on the web with that picture, and it shouldn’t be too hard to find the original.
You can even use Google’s Reverse Image Search on your iPhone by requesting the desktop version of the site in Safari.
2. Use Other Reverse Image Toolsto Find Image Sources
Ever found an image on Twitter or Facebook and wondered where to find the original image? While it sounds like a tall order, reverse image search tools actually make finding original sources using just the image far easier than you’d think.
All you need to do is upload or copy and paste the image into the tool, and the search engine will find every instance of that image online. In most cases, it won’t be hard to find the original image.
There are plenty of reverse image search tools out there, but here are a couple of my favorites.
TinEye
TinEye is a great reverse image search tool that helps locate an image source in seconds. You can search by uploading a URL if you have one or the image itself.
You can also use TinEye’s Chrome extension to right-click on any image while browsing and instantly get access to the platform’s data.
Search By Image
Search By Image is an Android app that lets you reverse search for images on Google TinEye or Yandex. Search by uploading images from your phone or opening images from Facebook, Twitter and other apps.
3. Look Up the Image MetaData to Find Image Sources
You can find a surprising amount of information about an image in the file’s metadata. Sometimes it will even include the image’s source.
You don’t need to be a technical whiz, either. First, download an image. For the purposes of this example, I’ll be downloading this image from the Good Housekeeping website.
On a mac, you can find the image’s metadata simply by right-clicking on the image and selecting “Get Info.” You’ll be served up a load of data that probably won’t make much sense, but you’ll clearly be able to see the image’s source.
On Windows, just right-click the image and select “Properties.”
4. Use the Chrome Browser to Find Image Sources
If you use Chrome, you don’t need to visit Google Images to do a reverse image search. Instead, right-click on the image when you find one you want to search and click “Search Google for Image.”
You’ll be shown the full reverse image search results as usual.
5. Use Visual Search by Bing to Find Image Sources
Bing has its own image search functionality called Visual Search that makes reverse image searches a breeze.
You can drag your saved image into the search bar or upload it, and Bing will show every location it can find it online. You’ll also get a pretty in-depth rundown of the image’s attributes and any text that Bing can find in the image.
How Do You Attribute Image Sources Correctly?
How you attribute images depends on the type of image and where you found it. Most sites will be very clear about what you need to do when it comes to attribution, but it can help to know the following terminology.
Creative Commons Images
This nonprofit organization allows the use and sharing of images and other creative materials through a series of licenses. Some won’t require attribution at all, some will let you edit images, and some will be incredibly strict.
Attribution is a legal requirement of Creative Commons images unless the image has been published under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. The Creative Commons outlines clearly what it classes an “appropriate credit” using the TASL method. You’ll need to include the following details:
title
author
source
license
Here’s an example from Creative Commons that shows exactly what they mean.
If you alter a Creative Commons image, you must include the changes in the attribution.
Public Domain Images
When work is listed in the public domain, it means the copyrights to it have expired. It is free to use, share, and edit. You don’t need to attribute the image at all or ever reference the original source.
Royalty-Free Images
Royalty-free images usually aren’t free. Rather, you have to pay a fee to use the image once, but are then free to use it again as many times as you like without paying royalties. That’s what the royalty-free part means.
Royalty-free images usually don’t require attribution, but be sure to check the licensing agreements of the site you downloaded them from. There may be other restrictions, too, like not using them for a certain purpose or in a certain niche.
5 Sites to Find Great Images
The costs of paying for images every time you use them quickly adds up for small businesses. It simply isn’t a sustainable practice. That doesn’t mean you have to go without images, however.
There are plenty of places online to find high-quality royalty-free images. Here are a few of my favorites.
Unsplash
Unsplash is probably the best stock photo platform in the world. You can use the images for free in almost any way you like.
Pexels
Pexels is another large, free stock photo platform like Unsplash. It has its own license that governs what you can and cannot do with photos.
Burst
Burst is Shopify’s stock photo platform. You can download photos for free without being a Shopify customer.
Flickr
Flickr is a fantastic image repository where you can find thousands of images to use for commercial purposes for free.
Canva
You may have used Canva to create a new logo or poster, but did you know it also has hundreds of free stock images you can use, too? You don’t even have to edit them to download them.
Conclusion
Finding an image source can seem like a lot of work, but it’s well worth it to find a high-quality image or protect your site from legal issues. Use any one of the five strategies I list above, and you’ll be sure to find the original source of just about any image you can find online.
There’s no shortage of amazing images online, but that doesn’t mean you’re always going to find the original. So many images you find on blogs and other websites originated from somewhere else. While it may not seem like a big deal, it seriously pays to know how to find the original. Here’s how to find … Continue reading How to Find Image Sources For Proper Attribution or Research
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