How Will Visuals Help My Website?

Articles that include images are viewed over 90% more than those that don’t. In addition to this, Google ranks articles with visuals higher than those without them. Not only do pages with visual content rank higher, but pages that include video are more than half as likely to generate a first page ranking on Google. 

How Does Google Read Visual Content?

Google doesn’t necessarily read visual content as a person would. Instead, the Google algorithm looks for images by matching shapes with the content in the images and linking it all together. It’s for this reason that visual content should be optimized for your site specifically. Either way you slice it, visual content is imperative to page and website performance, especially now. 

If you or your business are interested in upping your visual content game, The Digital Intellect is well-equipped to help. Our team is stacked with experts in their own fields. You can find out more about our process here.

What Kind of Visual Content is Best for Me?

There are a plethora of kinds of visual content that work best for any given client; this is all dependent on the brand’s goal. Some of the most common kinds of visual content include the following:

• Infographics – visual content that contains bodies of text, icons, shapes, and other visual elements to display information.
• Video – visual content that involves piecing together footage and editing visual elements to communicate thoughts, ideas, and stories.
• Animations – animation is a facet of video content that allows an icon or visual element to appear more lively and… well… animated.
• Social Media – visual content for social media most often comes through the means of a carousel graphic, a photo, or short-form video content (most often user-generated). 

INFOGRAPHICS

Infographics are a type of visual that combines data, body text, icons, and images to help a person make sense of a particular topic. Most often, when consumers look for information quickly, they may leave a page within a few seconds if they’re not getting what they’re looking for immediately. The content may be right in front of their face, but if it’s not delivered in a way that’s easily digestible, it could have a negative impact on bounce rate. This is why displaying the content in a visually appealing way is a game-changer.

Webpage visitors look at the visuals of a site more than the text itself. Oftentimes, web developers will format pages in a way that makes the text much easier to read. This is because people comprehend ideas, statistics, and bodies of text better when it’s delivered in an easily digestible format; this is why infographics perform very well on websites. They take a vast amount of information and statistics and inject them into a work of art composed of the brand’s preferred typeface, color palette, icon composition, etc.

To go a step further, infographics take some time to curate information and statistics; doing so goes a long way in communicating that you’re an expert in your field without shouting it from the mountaintops. When looking for answers to their questions, audiences want to learn from the experts. With the visual juggernaut that is infographics, we can help you get there. 

In addition to all of this, infographics help with SEO. How so? Well, visuals, whether they be infographics, videos, or social media posts, are easily sharable. Infographics specifically are aesthetically precise; when a person wants to curate your images to communicate expertise, not only will it increase brand recognition, but it could also link back to your site, creating more traffic. Not only that, but including links and alt-tags could also help them rank higher, thus helping your page rank higher (all because ranking on Google image searches ties into your SERP).

VIDEO

Video content takes up well over a third of all internet activity. As a result, many businesses have begun formatting their websites for more video content. This helps keep consumers on pages for longer. In addition to this, at this point in time, more than 82% of consumer traffic is influenced by video content.

Some different kinds of video content include the following:

• Short-form video content
• Explainer videos
• Product videos
• Company culture videos
• User-generated videos (selfie videos)
• Testimonials
• Podcast videos

Those who watch videos on the internet are oftentimes browsing through the content they enjoy. This has shifted the way that people consume content. After all, who would want to read a 3,000-word article when watching and processing information in a video could take you less than half of that time? Video content, overall, is a more efficient way of consuming content. 

In addition to all of this, if a brand, product, or service provider uploads videos to YouTube and keeps all of their video content there, then they’ve given themselves an advantage over the competition on Google. This is especially true when taking advantage of the meta-descriptions, keyword targeting, and title.

SOCIAL MEDIA VISUALS

Social media is not just a fad; now, it’s a lifestyle. It has become essential for doing business. Ever heard the phrase, ‘out of sight, out of mind’? This is the idea. People spend most of their time on social media these days. If they aren’t aware of your brand on these platforms, it’s almost as if you don’t exist. This is why social media presence is imperative, especially visually. 

As previously mentioned, the more visuals you incorporate into your social media strategy, the better off your web traffic is. This is because the more often your content is shared, the more it’s suggested to others. The more exposure your content gets, the more visitors you’ll get to your site. The more visitors you get to your website, the more likely those potential clients will convert.

This is Great and All, But Where Do We Even Begin?

All the pieces are there to start your visual content strategy, but where do you even begin? Most often people will dive straight into content creation; however, it’s often easy to forget that content marketing is a marathon, it isn’t a sprint. The idea is to be in the game for a long time, to be efficient, and to do it well. This can’t be done if you don’t first understand who you are as a brand. If you already know this, then you may want to start with who you are as a brand visually. Ultimately, brand identity lays the groundwork and foundation for successful, long-term content creation. 

BRAND IDENTITY

A brand is not something a person can determine for themselves; this is because, ultimately, a brand is what the consumer says it is. It’s all about what THEY say it is. That’s not to say, however, that there aren’t ways to influence brand perception and interaction.

Brand identity design is a way in which a product, service, or business can influence consumer decisions and emotions, and attract certain kinds of individuals. This aspect of design is most commonly recognized as visual elements used to identify a brand; this includes type, color, logo usage, patterns, textures, illustrations, icons, etc.

Having a consistent, strong visual identity is imperative to influencing consumer decisions, interactions, and engagement. At The Digital Intellect, our visual content department can help you make sense of what your brand is and isn’t visually. This will have a massive impact on how your audience interacts with your brand on a daily basis, as well as illicit more engagement. Once a brand identity is established, it makes it much easier to compose infographics, videos, social media graphics, and other forms of visual content. 

Want to Get Started?

At The Digital Intellect, we believe in helping your dreams come to fruition. With visual content creation, we can turn that dream into a visible, tangible reality. Whether it’s through video, infographics, or a complete brand identity redesign, we’ve got you covered. If you’d like to take the first step, fill out the form below!