Are You Stealing Your Blog Images From Google?

There's a chance you could be a thief and not even realize it.. and you may be displaying some stolen property right on your blog.  

In the past few months, we've seen top leaders in internet marketing teaching in their videos the ease of which a person can simply grab any image they like/need from Google and use it on a blog, an ebook or an advertisement. 

Here's the short answer:  It's stealing.   Plain and simple.

That being said, how is it that even the most law-abiding, rule-following people are often unaware that grabbing any image off the internet is not okay?

We think it relates to the misconception that once an image is put on the internet, it's free for anyone else to use.  The truth is, we don't have the right to use an image we don't own, any more than we have the right to use any ebook, article, blog post or website we find on the internet.  Copyright applies to photos and graphics in much the same way it does for printed words.

If we were to go to your blog, copy one of your blog posts and use it as though it was our own, it would be called plagerism.  You'd be angry (rightfully so) and we'd be accused of stealing your work (rightfully so).  Yet, when it comes to photos or images, the same logic is often not applied.

Before you think it doesn't matter, consider this;  We often wonder how many people steal images from the internet for their websites and blogs, then ponder why their business isn't growing.  We suggest that it's one of the basic laws of the universe;  You can't steal on one hand and expect to reap rewards on the other.   

So, here's the truth of the matter.  Every photo we use needs to be checked as to how it can be used.  Every photo and image needs to be obtained from a reputable website so the use information can be checked. Some of these might include Microsoft's ClipArt, Fotofolio, iStockPhoto, iCLIPART and Flickr.  Not every image on those sites can be used in the same way, however.  You need to pay attention and become familiar with the types of licenses available.

Beware of websites you find online with "royalty free" images you can download for free.  Most often never disclose where the images originated.  This leaves you open to accusations of theft from the actual image owner.

Again, if you think there's a slim possibility of anyone ever discovering you are using stolen images, think again.  Most bloggers work to get boatloads of visitors to their blog.  Having a very popular blog, making the front page of Technorati, getting a great Google Page Rank is what bloggers strive for.  The more popular your blog, the more likely someone may recognize some of your images.

If you don't want to be bothered with searching the internet for images you can legally use, then look at one of the image providers above and chose one or two as your primary source of images.  Read through their terms of service and take the time to understand what you can do and what you cannot do with the images.  Then go back through the images you currently have and replace any that you suspect might not be okay to use.

It's also important to understand that just giving the photo owner a credit may not be enough.  The terms of the license for use will often disclose other restrictions, such as no altering of the photo (includes cropping and resizing), not using it commercially (could include blogs, ebooks, videos), or providing a link back to the orginal owner's website. 

If you found yourself reading this article and gasping "Oh, no!  I didn't know!"  then don't feel too badly.... you're likely in very good company.  With more and more top leaders teaching it's okay to grab those Google images, it's no wonder so many people don't know it's really stealing!  Just go do something about it!

 I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic...please leave a comment!

Best,

Robin