Hey Stackers !
What is your opinion on buying images vs getting them free from google/other sources?
Buying images can be expensive but I've seen images for banners at $1. On the other hand you can get it off the net but chances are, if you found it, so have thousands of others.
I am starting to think that paying for images might be better as paid images are less saturated. Hence, you are actually paying less for your campaigns as you'll have a better chance to get conversions as those images are less likely to be used.
I can see this working much better with banners where images are clearly visible. E.g. it might not really matter with 320x50 as the resolution is very low and you can't really see the images clearly but it can make or break a 300x250 size banner.
It's interesting to see if people have tested this out already as I am a newbie and still finding my way around things.
Thanks in advance!
Aris
It's definitely worth buying images if you're in an image-centric vertical - dating being the classic example.
Personally I'm a fan of the stock photography subscription offers - for about $200/month you'll get about 20 images a day, which is more than you'll need unless you're really motoring on campaign creation.
Advantages include a lot of saved time trying to find images, automatic compliance with any offer that's strict on ownership, and generally, really nice, professional-looking images. They'll have good options if you want to composite an image or use a transparent background, and generally if you can think of it, a large stock photography site will have pictures of it.
The saved time issue is a particularly big thing, as is easy access to specific topics. I probably achieved a 30% productivity boost once I stopped trying to scour Flickr for pictures of, say, "50+ attractive brunette Hispanic woman" and used a stock photo site instead.
Plus, once you've downloaded the photos they're yours to use. I've got a massive warchest of images and I can use them whenever I like.
It does depend on the vertical you're in. In games? Probably not worth using stock photography, as there are plenty of sources of nice images for games, including the game publishers. In dating? It's a no-brainer.
But generally, it's a pretty good idea. The only real reason to avoid it if you're in an appropriate vertical is if your budget is tight and you'd be better off spending it on testing.