Question about images on your sites...

tazarbm said:

Hey guys!

I'd like to know whether your sites rank better with stock images (downloaded from sites like Pexels, Shutterstock, etc), or the AI-generated images are better. I'm assuming that the AI generated images are seen as more unique than the stock ones since there's so much AI propaganda nowadays, but I still wanted to get 1st-hand knowledge from those who are ranking sites using either method of generating images.

So, please do let me know if I'm not asking for too much

Thanks in advance!

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sanjay2334 said:

Hello @tazarbm, as of my experience AI images are better and performing well if the image is created as per the intent and content which totally matches the E-E-A-T parameters of Google.

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queenofremovals said:

Honestly I’ve seen both work. I’ve mixed stock with a little AI before just to make it feel less recycled. Stock is fine if it’s relevant, AI adds a fresh edge, but at the end of the day Google cares more about context and user signals than whether the pic came from Shutterstock or Midjourney.

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Accflip said:

ai pics give u uniqueness

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Accflip said:

but need to look natural, not plastic.

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Accflip said:

biggest lift comes from alt text + context, not just image source.

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shijin said:

Stock images rank okay, but when I use AI images with relevant context and alt text, engagement noticeably improves

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CPANathan said:

Find a stock pic, bring it to TheAlise or Nano Banana, then you're happy days with some input of your colour palettes

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I think AI-generated images tend to be more unique and can help with SEO, while stock images are fine if used sparingly and optimized. Many SEOs mix both for best results.​

tazarbm said:

yes, but they're so fake!

I generated 2 images yesterday, 1 on Italian architecture, the 2nd one on Sagrada cathedral from Barcelona, and they were both pure garbage,

Now granted, I only prompted simple stuff (make image of Italian architecture... Sagrada church in Barcelona), so this might be a reason why I got such slop, and from what I understood the AI needs to be "trained".

But then again, if I am the one telling the AI how to draw the lines of the Sagrada cathedral realistically I might as well photograph that cathedral myself, or even build it myself over the next 100 years or so... Which is why I don't see the point of this fake-ass AI that's less smart than the least intelligent human alive...


not sure that I understand what this means. And how can I make them look natural, that's exactly what I was trying to do anyway (get a realistic photo of Barcelona's famous cathedral)


you mean from keyword optimizing the image??


I don't know, man. I tend to agree with Accflip that stock images are overused and that google can detect them easily and flag them as non-unique content or something.

Do you have a website that's ranking with 100% stock images? Because if that works I would love to replace the AI with those realistic images...


never heard of those things, but thanks for the tip! I'll look those up and see what they do

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Accflip said:

You might want to test Nano banana for realistic AI images. I agree that most other tools generate garbage.

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