Do Lead Photos No Longer Make Sense?

1. 63

   ILoveLegosTooposted 4 years ago

   For a long time, a lead photo was great in driving a nice introduction to an article.  However, with the big video advertisement that is now in front of the article, it seems the lead photo makes a reader scroll too much and may be too distracting.  I've always been an above the fold kind of reader, if you don't get me prior to scrolling, I'm not going to read on.  The video advertisement makes me want to puke.  I'm going to start moving the lead photo down in my articles, hopefully that will help readers get engaged in the article quicker.

   replyreport
   1. 66

      lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      That's a good point.

      replyreport
2. 0

   Marisa Writesposted 4 years ago

   I am very worried about the videos and yes, I would certainly move my lead photos. There may be some advantage in moving the photos even if the videos are ultimately removed, because they are not always the best option.
   
   Most people are like you - an "above the fold"  kind of reader.  If they arrive at a web page and it's not immediately obvious that it's going to be helpful, they're going to click back and try the next result. So unless your lead photo gives them the information they're looking for, they may lose more readers than they win. 
   
   A short bulleted summary of your Hub as the first entry, followed by a lead photo, is often much more effective than opening with just a photo.
   
   Lead photos come from retail (where they're called "hero shots").  Someone is looking for a white column dress and you show a fantastic picture of the dress, and you make a sale.  However, if someone is looking for solid information, then the hero shot will lose you readers unless it's laser-targeted. 
   
   For instance, say someone needs information on how to improve their trout catch, and you give them a jolly picture of kids having fun fishing, the person will click back and try the next result without even reading your article.  If the image is of a record-sized trout that you caught, they will read on.

   replyreport
   1. 65

      OldRosesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I'm sticking with lead photos.  I write about how to grow specific plants.  My thought is that an attractive lead photo of the plant that I am writing about will draw in the reader, even if they are an "above the fold" reader.

      replyreport
      1. 66

         lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         True, this is because in this case, the image actually tells them that they are at the right spot. I won't be moving things around either, I think I have a few lead pictures.

         replyreport
   2. 79

      divacratusposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Makes sense! Honestly, I am confused right now what to do with lead photos.

      replyreport
3. 68

   MisterHubs1982posted 4 years ago

   It's a good idea to have a lead photo to get people interested or focused on the topic, but it does help to have other means to draw attention to your subject matter.

   replyreport
4. 65

   Glenn Stokposted 4 years ago

   I’m worried about this too. And for the same reason that the OpEd mentioned. Marisa makes it clear with significant points that I hope HubPages and Maven staff are reading.
   
   Hopefully, those videos are merely a temporary experiment.
   
   I’m hoping the experiment will end once the stats show how many people click back to the SERPs because they didn’t immediately see anything helpful that matches their search. Marisa, you explained that well.

   replyreport
5. 72

   Glimmer Twin Fanposted 4 years ago

   First of all, I have said it before, but I hope those videos at the beginning go away.  It's far too distracting for someone coming to see an article on one topic, only to see a video about something else.
   
   Second, I think that the lead photo is very important depending on what you write about.  In my case, it wasn't until about a year or so ago that Google overtook Pinterest as my primary traffic source here, and Pinterest is totally photo driven.
   
   It's visual world out there and it's that lead photo that grabs a lot of people.  Granted, that is not the case for every article written or every reader, but I would venture to say that it is for many of them.  It's also especially dependent on the topics you write on.
   
   That being said, with those big videos at the top of the articles (and I don't mean to keep slamming them) it looks extremely busy with the video and the lead photo.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      Marisa Writesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      It is a visual world out there, however as I pointed out, if your visual image doesn't offer the reader what they want, it won't work.
      
      I took a look at a few of your Hubs and I can see that many of them have an image that encapsulates the Hub content - that works.  So do the flower images on OldRoses' Hubs about flowers.  But it doesn't work for everything so the old recommendation to always start with an image is misleading.

      replyreport
      1. 72

         Glimmer Twin Fanposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Agreed Marisa Writes - like I said, I think it depends a lot on what people write on.

         replyreport
      2. 65

         OldRosesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Yup!  That is exactly why I said in my case lead photos work.  Perhaps I should have acknowledged that they don't work for all topics.

         replyreport