Images for Advertorials: Format, Copyright and Alt Text

What an image must do in a sponsored article

An image is the first thing many readers notice, and in a news listing or a social preview it may be the only thing they see before deciding to click. For sponsored articles it also carries a legal and editorial risk that a block of text does not. An image can infringe someone’s copyright, show a person who never agreed to appear, or mislead the reader about what is being offered.

Our requirements are short. An article comes with an image in JPG or PNG format, in landscape orientation, with the source named or confirmed as free of rights. Images of an identifiable person need that person’s agreement. Images without a licence are among the forms we reject, as listed in the publishing rules. We deliberately do not quote exact pixel sizes here, because the right size depends on the site, and the publisher’s own requirements apply.

This article explains the reasoning behind those rules and how to meet them without difficulty. If you also need help with the text itself, our SEO article writing service covers the writing side.

Format, orientation and file weight

JPG or PNG

JPG is the usual choice for photographs, because it keeps a good balance between quality and size. PNG is better for graphics with flat colours, sharp edges, logos or screenshots with text. Avoid sending a PNG photograph that weighs several times more than the same picture as a JPG would, with no visible gain in quality.

Landscape orientation

Landscape, meaning wider than tall, fits the header and preview layouts of many publishing sites and social platforms. A portrait image is often cropped heavily, which can cut off faces or key objects. If your best photo is portrait, choose another one or take a wider shot instead of relying on cropping.

Resolution and weight

The image should be sharp at the size it appears, without being far larger than needed. Heavy files slow pages, and slow pages frustrate readers and can indirectly affect search visibility. Compress before sending, and look at the result at normal size. If an image looks soft or blocky, use a better original rather than compressing it further. We do not set a single weight limit, because needs differ, but the principle is simple: no heavier than the quality requires.

Text inside images

Avoid placing important words inside the image. Text in a picture cannot be read by screen readers, may be cropped and is hard to translate. Use the article text, the caption or the alt text instead.

Copyright and licences

Copyright arises automatically when someone creates a photograph or an illustration. Finding the image online does not transfer any right to you. For a commercial publication, which a sponsored article is, you need to be able to show that you have the right to use the image. The table lists the usual sources and what to check for each.

Whatever the source, keep a record: where you obtained the image, the licence or permission, the date and the person who granted it. If a question arises a year later, a short note will save you a long search. When you send the article, state the source or the licence next to the file. That is what “source mentioned or free of rights” means in practice.

A note on generated images

Images made with generative tools raise questions of their own. Check the terms of the tool for commercial use, and do not present a generated picture as a real photograph of a real place, person or product. A generated illustration of a concept can be perfectly acceptable; a generated “photo” of a supposed customer is a fabricated testimonial in image form. When in doubt, use a real photograph.

People in images

A photograph of an identifiable person is personal data under European data-protection law, and in many situations it also touches on personality rights. The practical rule is simple: no identifiable person appears without their agreement. For a sponsored article, that means:

• get written consent from employees, customers, partners or models, covering use in online publication, and keep it;
• take particular care with children, where the agreement of a parent or guardian is needed;
• do not use photos of public figures to suggest an endorsement they have not given;
• be careful with crowd shots in which individuals can be recognised;
• never use a photo of a real person to illustrate a fictional customer or a made-up testimonial.

In sensitive sectors the bar is higher. Pictures of patients, for example, are covered in our article on advertorials for clinics and medical practices. This section is general information, not legal advice.

Alt text that helps

Alt text is a short description of an image, stored in the page’s code. It is read aloud by screen readers for people who cannot see the picture, shown if the image fails to load, and used by search engines to understand what the image contains. Google’s SEO starter guide also recommends descriptive alt text. Write it for people first.

How to write it

• Describe what is shown and what matters about it, in one short sentence.
• Be specific: “Technician checking a solar inverter on a rooftop” says more than “solar panels”.
• Do not start with “image of” or “photo of”; screen readers already announce an image.
• Include a keyword only if it genuinely describes the image. Stuffing alt text with keywords helps nobody.
• If an image is purely decorative, an empty alt text is acceptable, but a header image in an article usually deserves a real description.

Before and after

The business names above are fictional. If your image is a chart, say what the chart shows in the alt text or the nearby text, and state the data source, as discussed in the article on sources and data in advertorials.

Choosing an image that earns its place

Legal safety is the minimum. A good image also helps the reader, and a few habits make the difference between a picture that fills space and one that adds something.

• Show something real. A photograph of your actual workshop, shop front or team usually conveys more trust than a generic picture of handshakes. Readers have seen the generic ones many times.
• Match the topic. If the article is about preparing a balcony for summer, the picture should show a balcony, not a sofa in an empty studio.
• Be honest about the product. The image should not show a result, a size or a quality that the product does not deliver. This matters for products and services alike.
• Keep the composition simple. One subject, clear light and room around it survive cropping better than a crowded scene.
• Consider more than one image. In a long article, a second or third image, each with its own caption and alt text, can break up the text and explain a step. Each one has to meet the same rules on rights and consent.

Think too about how the image will look when it is small. In a list of articles or a social preview, the picture appears as a thumbnail. A detail that is clear at full size, such as a small logo or a line of text, may vanish. Preview the image at thumbnail size before you send it, and pick another if the subject becomes unreadable.

File names, captions and credits

Three small details complete the job.

1. File name. Use a plain, descriptive name in lower case with hyphens, such as baker-loaves-wooden-rack.jpg, not IMG_4837.jpg. It helps you organise files, and it gives search engines a small extra clue.
2. Caption. Captions are often read even by people who skim the body text. Use the caption to say what the image shows and to credit the source, for example “Photo: company archive” or “Photo: [photographer’s name], licensed from [library]”.
3. Credit line. If the licence requires attribution, follow its wording exactly. Failing to do so can invalidate the permission.

Consistency helps your brand too. Use the same company name, spelling and logo version in captions and in the text. It makes your presence easier to recognise across publications, an idea we develop in the article on brand mentions and backlinks in AI answers.

Images and structured data

Publishers that mark up their articles with structured data usually include the main image as a property of the article. That is a decision for the publisher, but it is another reason to supply a clean, correctly credited file. If you manage your own website, the guide to schema.org and JSON-LD for articles shows where images fit in the markup.

A checklist before you send

1. The image is JPG or PNG, in landscape orientation.
2. It is sharp at normal size and compressed so that it is not heavier than needed.
3. You can name the source, or the licence says it is free to use for this purpose.
4. Anyone identifiable has agreed in writing.
5. It does not mislead the reader about the product, place or person.
6. The file name is descriptive, and the alt text and caption are written.
7. The credit line follows the licence terms.

Next step

Before your next article, collect a small bank of images you can use with confidence: your own photographs of the premises, the team (with consent) and the products, each with a short note on rights. It will save time on every future publication and prevent the last-minute scramble that leads to a risky choice.

If you would like help with the article that goes with the images, you can brief us through the article writing service, and we will tell you what we need before we start.

Frequently asked questions