Take it from a copywriter, there are several reasons why it’s a good idea to use captions with the images you post in your blog.
- People read captions more than any other element on a page (except the headline and perhaps subheadings).
This means your captions are a great way to get your message across to online scanner-type readers.
It also reinforces your takeaway message to those who care to read line by line.
Think about it. Images draw the eye naturally. When coupled with a line or two of text, the reader inherently wants to read that text. The subconscious hope is that those captions help pull the story together for them, with minimum thinking required.
- Using captions with images helps when optimizing your images for search traffic.
I learned recently that bounce rates figure into search engine results for any given page.
If you’re optimizing your images for search, then people are probably arriving at your pages via those images. If they’re not finding what they expect, they click away immediately, giving you a bounce.
Captions can reduce those bounces by helping the clicker understand better what to expect when they get to your site.
- People want to click on images, so further motivate with a caption.
It’s a good idea to link images on your site or blog to content you want people to see. A compelling image with a descriptive, clear caption is going to bolster traffic to those pages that are important to you.
There you have it. Three big reasons to use captions. What are you waiting for?
Thanks Lisa for this great info! There’s so much to consider when posting blog articles. I never really considered how important pictures can be with meaningful captions included. I think I’m going to start implementing these concepts into my own articles. thanks again.