Localism - How to Add Photos & Why Quality is Essential

As Localism.com begins the climb up the search engines to be the "World's Most Complete NeighborPedia", remember the value and importance of using quality pictures, titles, and descriptions.  Like anything you put on the Internet, SEO is important. Did you know your photos get SEO?  And there's more than just SEO to consider...  

While the content on Blog posts is "ALL-IMPORTANT", the photos you upload should have the same level of value and priority.  Just like photos of a home help to create interest and contribute to the sale of that home, the same applies to photos of neighborhoods and communities. 

The reason quality is so important:

Your photos not only get Google juice, but they represent YOU as the contributor and are linked back to your profile on Localism.  If you put up less than Quality images, you may be missing an opportunity and get less than quality results.  We should always Autograph our work with Quality, that's our signature.

How To add and upload Photos To Localism:  Here's some sites where I have stored photos in the past.

FIRST: Make sure you have named, re-sized and saved your photos in the proper format. If you don't have a photo editor, you can use sites like Picnik.com or Picasa to name, re-size, and save your images in the proper .jpg format.  It's FREE.  I suggest naming them with a recognizable and search-able file name, NOT P10648235.jpg.  Something like "Monterey Harbor" or "Lovers Point" will get better results.  I suggest nothing larger than 640x480 for fastest uploading and processing time without sacrificing or compromising quality.

NEXT: Go to Localism.com. make sure you are logged in, then select the neighborhood where you wish to add your photo.  Click on the "Upload Photo" link just under the Top Neighbor area on that page, or just below the current photo that may appear.  (uploading to communities without existing photos was corrected)

Click on browse, select your photo from it's location on your computer, then add a description.  Think SEO, make it short and sweet.  You'll notice a link to "Add More Photos" before you begin the upload process.

This is "NEW" and will save you time uploading one photo at a time.  If you want to view ALL photos for that neighborhood or community, just click on the "View All Photos" link.

A Few Things To Know and Remember:

Photos are reviewed by the AR editorial staff for quality and content.  Depending on what you upload will depend on if they show up in that community.  All your photos will ALWAYS show up on your Localism profile.  Currently, there is no way to edit or delete your photos, so be careful and be selective what you submit.  Try to avoid posting pictures that are poor in quality, blurry, low res, or that are too large in file size. CRUCIAL: DO NOT PLAGIARIZE.  

Pictures and photos of neighborhoods and communities are important and shouldn't be taken for granted.  Photos are what helped to make National Geographic one of the Top Magazines in the World.  They are the most viewed pages by consumers when looking to buy a home.  Captured images are what sell newspapers and make Blogs and Websites attractive and sticky.  Pictures represent the closest and next best thing to being there besides video.  They create an emotional element that inspires and motivates ones desire to want to see it in person, to go there, to vacation there, to own there.  Our digital pictures will last for more than just our lifetime.

                                                        Have a picture perfect week!  :-)