Do You Know Who Your Buyer Is?
Agencies, e-commerce, publishers and brands don't buy "three men in a meadow". How to write stock metadata in the language of the people who buy.
Your real customers are marketing agencies, e-commerce shops, social media creators, publishers and large corporations. They don't buy "three men in a meadow". They buy a picture that fits their campaign.
"Who" and "what" is not enough
"Three men walking through a meadow" describes the photo. It doesn't say what a campaign could use it for. The real keywords for this photo do: togetherness, bonding, connection, active lifestyle, multigenerational family, leisure activity.
Speak their language
Real titles from the same shoot:
- Multigenerational Family Playing Cards While Making Shared Memories
- Grandfather Showing Smartphone While Taking a Slow Day Outdoors
- Multigenerational Family Walking Through Meadow Enjoying Unhurried Time Together
One shoot, several niches
The whole shoot is 16 photos: a grandfather, his son and his adult grandson playing cards at home and spending a sunny day outdoors in the mountains.
All 16 photos of the shoot. Photos: azmanl
The same 16 photos, three markets:
| Keyword | Photos | Example market |
|---|---|---|
| Multigenerational Family | 13 of 16 | Family and insurance campaigns |
| Active Lifestyle | 9 of 16 | Health and outdoor brands |
| Wireless Technology | 9 of 16 | Telecom and tech brands |
Keyword counts are from the shoot. The markets are examples.
Takeaway
Position your content in niche markets, not in pixels. Before you keyword, ask which campaign could use this frame. Then make sure those words are in the metadata.
FAQ
Who actually buys stock photos?
Mostly people who need a picture for a message: marketing and design agencies, in-house brand teams, e-commerce shops, publishers and news sites, social media creators, and corporate communications. Almost none of them search for what is in the frame. They search for what their campaign is about.
Should I keyword one photo for one buyer or for many?
The shoot can serve many buyers; a single photo works best for one. Give each frame the angle it supports most clearly and spread the angles across the series, so frames don't compete for the same buyer. We explain the method in Keyword Weight and why it matters in Same keywords on every photo?
How do I find out who buys my photos?
Agencies rarely tell you who the buyer is. Look at which of your files sell and what they have in common, search the agency for your best keywords and see what sells next to yours, and run a reverse image search on your best sellers to see where they end up. The campaign around your photo tells you the words its buyer used.
Stock ImageIQ writes metadata in the language of the people who buy. Try it on your next shoot.
Read next: Keyword Weight: Why Niche Keywords Win in Stock Search · Same keywords on every photo? Your series is competing with itself