How to generate traffic using Flickr

Flickr is the major social media platform optimized for sharing images online. It has an active online community of users and holds a Google PR9 rating. In this article, I will cover some techniques you can use to generate web traffic using Flickr.

Organize your portfolio

Dispense with the clutter

This first step won't generate traffic on its own. But, if you want people to stick around your Flickr profile, then you really need to get organized. Only put your best photographs on your public profile, and limit the number of images of the same thing. Of course, you can use Flickr as storage for thousands of photos if you want. But, keeping only the best ones on your public timeline will encourage visitors. Taking this first step to decluttering your account is, therefore, the foundation of everything else in this article.

Titles

Modern cameras automatically give a file name to an image. This is often for example the date that the image was taken Based on the file sequence on your device. These generic titles are meaningless to the actual content of the image. Flickr enables users to search the site, and Flickr regularly gets indexed by Google. It, therefore, makes sense to give your images contextual titles. These will help them get found by users on Flickr as well as the web.

Descriptions

Following the same theme as Titles, Flickr also enables you to write descriptions for your image. At minimum you want some contextual content to describe what the user is looking at and to keep them engaged. You can though also add links to your website or blog directly in the description section. These links are NOFOLLOW in terms of search engine indexing. But, they can help you generate human traffic to your site.

Keywords

Keywords, or Tags as they are referred to in Flickr, are another great way to make sure your image gets found on Google or Bing. So make sure to include at least 5 to 10 keywords for each of your public images.

Metadata & Geodata

Metadata & Geo-data are often overlooked but consider. For a photographer browsing images and perhaps looking for inspiration, they can be vital pieces of information. You may have noticed that under each image on Flickr there is an information tab? This allows you to see the metadata.

If you leave all of the metadata in your image when you upload, it allows others to see; for example what camera and lens you used to take the photo, and also the actual settings for the shot. Also, leaving Geo-data in your images, it lets others know the exact location that you got the shot. So, ok, this in itself isn't going to generate traffic, but it will keep people engaged in your content, which; might keep them coming back for more.

To Generate Traffic on Flickr Get Active

Now that you have taken care of your portfolio of images, it's time to get active on the Flickr network. As a social network, Flickr is no different than say Facebook, Twitter, etc. The more active you are on the Flickr site, the more traffic you are going to get to your profile. Social media sites rely on the human psychological requirement for validation. i.e. Humans have a pre-programmed tribal instinct for other humans to validate that what they have done is good. With this knowledge, there are a number of things that you can do to generate traffic to your Flickr profile:

Fave

If you see an image that you like, then add it to your favorites. Images that you have Faved appear in a tab on your profile. Others can see this, and importantly the owner of the image gets a notification. This may then spur them to look at your profile and fave one or two of your images. This also gives you potential traffic sources from others checking out the Fave tab in your profile.

Follow To Be Followed

If you really like and/or are inspired by the images that someone else posts; then you get an option to follow them. You never know, they might follow you back. Flickr sends a regular email (unless you have opted out) of the images the people you follow have uploaded. So conversely, if someone follows you, this might prove to be a regular source of traffic for your profile.

Comment On Others Work

Similar to adding a Fave to someone's image, commenting on one is a better way to generate traffic. There is a higher probability that the recipient will check out a comment, and the comment remains with the image; so you might get traffic from others.

Groups

Are a great way to showcase your images, and also a way of socializing with like-minded people. Flickr has groups for pretty much everything you can think of. Groups that:

1) Require you to Fave other images if you post.

2) Allow you to post whatever you want.

3) Require your image to be authorized by a moderator.

Any of these can be a source of web traffic to your profile. But, be warned, you need to be active on a group for traffic to be enduring. Images you post will inevitably move down the group pool as others post. So, you need to be prepared to spend a bit of time and effort on this to work long term.

Create A Group

If you want to get into Groups, then why not create and moderate one yourself! If you are prepared for a bit of effort on your part, then your group should create a ready supply of traffic as you interact with your new community.

Galleries

Were a recent and great addition to Flickr. They allow you to collate other people's images into themes of your choosing. Galleries are then a tab available through your profile, and any image that has been added to a gallery is cross-referenced in its description; similar to comments. Galleries then are similar to comments, in that they are likely to get a traffic hit from the recipient, as well as the potential for others, browsing images that are in galleries.

Regular Uploads

Try to regularly upload fresh material to your Flickr public profile, this will keep your followers engaged. Also, try to upload only a few photos at a time; a maximum of 5 per week. Flickr sends an email shot to your followers of new posts. This email only includes up to 5 images. Therefore, any more than 5 and you are losing potential traffic.

Closing Thoughts

Using these techniques, you should be able to generate a steady flow of traffic to your Flickr profile. You may also be able to convert some of that to traffic for your own website. But, the expression: 'You don't get anything in life for free' rings true. The more time and effort you put in, the more traffic you will get back from the Flickr platform.