Example Illustration

So  until now you registered as a contributor and selected your first graphics to upload. You might think your work is done at this point, but so far you only completed half the job!

The second half is crucial to the success your file will have on the agency’s marketplace. Of course I’m talking about keywording your work correctly. Without the right title, tags and description no buyer will find your work in the large pool of already existing stock data. There are no sales without good keywording!

Document Title: This is the name of your file. Some agencies use the title in their search algorithm , so it is important to pick a meaningful, descriptive title.
e.g.: Business Man Hand Adding Missing Puzzle Piece

Description: Keep it brief and simple, while at the same time describing the major elements of your file. Include dominant colors, abstract concepts (like feelings and underlying messages), full names of places and the country where e.g. the picture was taken or the clip shot.
e.g.: Vector Illustration showing a company employee in a suit adding missing puzzle piece to an idea light bulb.

Keywords: Here is the place where you can collect words that describe your file and define in which case the buyer will find it. Most agencies accept up to 50 keywords. Try your best to use all of them, because one well set keyword may make the difference between a bestseller and a file that sells only a few times.
e.g.: puzzle, business, jigsaw, idea, bulb, success, light, solution, vector, illustration, concept, lightbulb, inspiration, graphic, strategy, businessman, concepts, think, icon, big, man, leadership, expertise, people, complete, cartoon, hand, choice, computer, creativity, connection, imagination, connect, innovation, motivation, human, men, design, teamwork, color, inserts…

Don’t add bad keywords like brand names, the name of your camera or your own name!

Tip: Shutterstock has a nice “Keyword Suggestion Tool” that will automatically generate about 42 matching keywords according to three similar images you select manually. Alternatively you can also use Stocktagger.