Some Words Cost You Sales: What to Leave Out of Stock Metadata

Photo: azmanl

A keyword you can't defend costs more than an empty slot. Four kinds of words to keep out of titles, descriptions and keywords.

1. Brand names

Trademarks, brand names and personal information stay out of titles, descriptions and keywords. On a gaming photo, write what the buyer needs: video game, headset, gameplay. Not the console, the headset maker or the game title.

2. Things not in the frame

If you can't point at it, don't write it. A balcony photo with a coffee cup earns coffee cup, balcony, sunlight. It doesn't earn dog, breakfast in bed, family or beach. Metadata that doesn't match the image puts it in front of the wrong buyers. They scroll past, and a result nobody clicks moves down, so the people looking for your photo never see it.

3. Guesses about people

Don't name real people. Age and ethnicity are facts about your model: take them from your casting notes, never from how someone looks.

4. Repeats

One idea, one keyword. "Coffee, coffees, coffee cup, cup of coffee" spends four slots on one idea. Keep coffee cup and use the other three slots for new ideas: me time, morning, slow living.

Takeaway

When in doubt, leave it out. A wrong keyword brings buyers who were never going to download, and pushes your photo away from the ones who would.

FAQ

Can I use brand names in editorial stock?

Editorial is the exception. An editorial caption states what is documented: the event, the place, the date, and the brands or public figures that are really there, in the format each agency asks for. Commercial stock is the opposite: no brands, no logos, no product names, in the picture or in the words.

Should I keyword ideas that aren't visible, like "self care"?

Concepts are fine when the picture supports them. A woman with a coffee on a quiet balcony supports self care, me time and slow living; that is the reason a buyer needs the photo. Objects and places are different: if there is no dog in the frame, "dog" is not a concept, it is a wrong keyword.

How do I keyword age without guessing?

Use the age from the model release or your casting notes, and write it as an age range rather than an exact number. If you don't know it, leave it out. A missing age costs one search; a wrong one puts the photo in front of buyers who need someone else.

Stock ImageIQ describes only what is in the frame and what you told it. Try it on your next shoot.