discuss Is ClipArt A Waste Of Time?

is there any reason to NOT use it?

Yes, its probably old and really crappy looking and shows its age.

I suspect that old clip art looks, well old
There are nice graphic images, as well as photos, on places like Pixabay, etc. that are probably more current and interesting.
Bob

Bob Hawkes said:

I suspect that old clip art looks, well old
There are nice graphic images, as well as photos, on places like Pixabay, etc. that are probably more current and interesting.
Bob

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That might be close to the truth - but using any kind of stock image means you lose uniqueness, whether or not you pay for it. And I'm not looking for those sort of options.

Remember that the most difficult pics to "get for yourself" are people pics, and if you are using graphic clip art it might be an easy way around the need for those images - I have been known to use posed dolls, and I am not alone in that respect.

I would point out that an old clip art compendium invariably includes a clip art editor, which can be used to generate custom clip art images - do that right and you get closer to unique content. Those are much less likely to be ignored or downrated by Google bots than a Pixabay photo.

Frankly, I don't care if using ClipArt looks 15 years out of date and vaguely cheesy. If I do use it, that is my problem. What worries me is that there might have been some SEO reason why everybody abruptly stopped using it 20 years ago

crabfoot said:

Frankly, I don't care if using ClipArt looks 15 years out of date and vaguely cheesy. If I do use it, that is my problem. What worries me is that there might have been some SEO reason why everybody abruptly stopped using it 20 years ago

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I am not an expert in this (or much actually ) but I doubt very much that clip art or not makes much difference directly in SEO. I think the only indirect effect would be if people viewed it as cheesy or unprofessional and as a result spent less time on a page, as Google definitely take that into account.

I suspect that the change had more to do with views in the commercial design field than it did about SEO per se. When I use tools like Nibbler re site optimization while they mention aspects like scaling and speed of loading of graphics, and alternate text, they don't mention anything re the image content per se.

I agree with you that it is important to most of the time not use art that is exactly the same as elsewhere. It is pretty easy with modern tools to make adjust art to the way you want. In general I think that is a worthwhile time investment.

Best wishes,

Bob

There is very little SEO benefit to which images you use. It's more of an aesthetic, branding thing. That said, if your site users don't agree with your choice of images, then yes, that ultimately affects traffic, SEO and ranking.

It's always about what the user wants.

You can find free images here:

• https://pixabay.com
  
• https://unsplash.com
  
• https://www.pexels.com

I would only use 18 year old clipart if the intention was either historical / educational or comical / sarcastic.

And no, it will not improve SEO in 2019.

please post a few samples so we can accurately judge the value of these clip art images.

urlurl said:

please post a few samples so we can accurately judge the value of these clip art images.

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No can do right now - no CD drive here, no access to one for about 14 days (I'm moving house).

Art critique will not answer the question, anyway.

crabfoot said:

What worries me is that there might have been some SEO reason why everybody abruptly stopped using it 20 years ago

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