How to use stock photos on a website the right way

We’ve used stock photos across a variety of sites, from corporate brochures to SaaS websites. Some of them were requested to “add some human touch to the page”, while others were extremely purposeful. With this article, we’re focusing on the latter, giving you tips on how to use stock photos when nearly every pixel matters for your conversion rate.

Start by checking what your competitors use

A common gripe with stock photos is that they all look “the same”, or that you’re running the risk of using the same ones as your competitor. In the end, if you’re a service company, there’s only so many free stock photos of people in a meeting room. At some point, you’ll inevitably duplicate SOMEONE.

There are two ways to solve this problem. First, have a look through the sites of your direct competitors and avoid using the same images. If you sell software and end up “copying” a law firm, nobody will really bat an eye. But if it’s a direct competitor, it’s likely that some of your prospects will see both websites and notice the similarities.

And second, consider choosing from paid stock photo libraries. These are less popular and while they don’t guarantee unique images, the chances of finding a real gem are much higher. On top of that, you can still double-check if your competitors use the pictures you’ve considered buying.

Use stock photos for the right reasons

We mentioned requests to add stock photos for “more of the human touch” on the page. Seeing people and their expressions has proven psychological benefits on marketing websites – but there are many other types and use cases for stock photos.

The one that goes under the radar is using them as a sort of product demo. This works especially well if you don’t have stunning product screenshots or if you simply want to break up the page structure while still showing off your software.

While the stock photo itself won’t include your product, there’s a good way to incorporate it into the images. Here’s one good example:

Stand out by adding custom overlays

As much as a “raw” stock photo can communicate what you need, it’s also never exactly what you need. This can be easily done by adding branded illustrations or other overlays, such as product screenshots for a SaaS company.

Here’s an example of how we did that for one our clients:

Not only does the overlay add a custom feel to your stock photos, it’s also a great way for software companies to get fewer dead clicks on images. Instead of using a plain screenshot that might incentivise people to click on it, you can overlay parts of that screenshot over a stock photo. This makes it more obvious that the image is for informational purposes, rather than an interactive element.