Simplifying the Sale of Your Photography through Google Image Licensing

I am extremely enthusiastic about Google Image Licensing program, and you should be too. Let me explain why.

At PhotoShelter, our mission has always been to facilitate photographers showcasing and selling their photography online. While we have successfully fulfilled this role for photographers, one aspect of their process they wish we could assist with: finding buyers (if we could wave a magic wand and make that happen, we would!).

As we are not a photo agency, sales and marketing of photography is ultimately the responsibility of each photographer themselves. While recent SEO updates can make it easier for our members to attract interested clients through SEO results alone, they should only serve as one part of an overall marketing plan.

Over 15 years have passed, and our photographer members have come to realize little value from Google Images. Indeed, many have made it clear they want it removed entirely as they perceive that it simply makes it easier for people to steal their work.

Now, with Google Image Licensing’s debut of its Image Licensing program, many photographers who had doubts are excited at its potential impact – hence why we provided all necessary support for it in all PhotoShelter Photographer websites.

What it Is:
Going forward, Google Images search results will now feature image thumbnails with usage licenses attached and display a “Licensable” badge to make viewers aware that images don’t come free. In addition, this provides direct link back to your website where a license for its use can be purchased directly.

Google Images could become an important source of traffic and revenue for independent photographers looking to sell images online via their own websites. Provided they’re set up correctly, it could prove an invaluable source of sales leads and income.

Are You Prepared for IPTC Field Fillout in PhotoShelter?
Filling out IPTC fields within PhotoShelter archives shouldn’t be too difficult or time consuming a process; two IPTC fields need to be filled out.

1) Web Statement URL
A Web Statement URL is a hyperlink that leads directly to a page detailing the license governing an image’s usage. For instance, PhotoShelter offers Licensing Agreement page detailing various licensing options; or alternatively you could create your own terms page somewhere on your website and link there instead.

2) Licensor URL You should provide a URL where users can find information on licensing an image, for instance through a contact page where the license can be purchased.

Once you’ve filled out those two fields for each image that can be licensed, make sure each image is contained within a public gallery where Google Bot can see and crawl it; PhotoShelter will handle everything else for you!

You could enter links into these two IPTC fields gallery-by-gallery within PhotoShelter Archive; but, if you have thousands of images needing this badge, email our Technical Support team with two URLs that need adding and they will do it all for you!

Google offers two methods for providing image licensing information.

1) Structured Data: When Google notices this type of text data embedded within HTML documents but not visible on websites, they’ll read it and associate any images it contains with what they contain.

PhotoShelter has integrated structured data into all pages on their website.

2) IPTC Photo Metadata: This data is embedded into each image file itself and travels with it when uploaded or exported from applications like Photoshop, Photo Mechanic or now Google Photos. Although its presence may not be readily apparent in a photo itself, its presence can still be read by these applications as well as Google Images itself.

PhotoShelter has integrated two IPTC fields into every image file displayed on your website. Although only one option needs to be supported, we decided to support both. One primary reason for doing this is so if an image from your website is taken and used elsewhere later on Google Images there will still be a link back to you and your website present in Google’s index of images.

I strongly urge anyone looking to sell their images through our program to complete these two fields so they can become part of it when it finally exits beta (which could happen any week now.)

Our backend support of this program was extensive. It is of vital importance to us that PhotoShelter users have access to what may be an invaluable source of highly qualified photo buyers.

This is as close as we can come to waving that magic wand.

Google Images released new licensable image features today that will aid photographers looking to improve the discovery and potential earning of their content. Learn more here.