There are many websites that offer free images to use online… Many people just pull images off Google, however, this turns into a huge copyright issue and can cost thousands of dollars if you use images from some extortionists!
To protect your business from this ongoing issue we have included several places and suggestions below to find high-quality images to use for your website and marketing…
The first place to start your search is www.Flickr.com
There is a search feature at the top that you can type in what you are looking for. There are usually some great images; however, you must switch to “commercial use allowed” in the options…
To filter to see just non-copywritten images you must click on the text that says “Any License” on the upper left side of the page and select “commercial use allowed.” These are now the allowed image.
This does limit the great images that you will find, however, we did find ways to increase the chances of finding images for what I need.
For example: if you are looking for a bedroom picture to use for an interior painting article or slide show, try using search terms like bed, mattress, rooms, or even sleepy, cozy, sleeping.
Example 2: Looking for images of someone working you can look for desk, office, businessman, or even professional, meeting, interview…
WARNING: make sure the search results are filtered to show only “commercial use allowed” every time you click back to the page or do a new search!