Use stock photos without making them look like your staff or completed work

Check what the whole image block implies

Read the image together with its nearby heading and caption. A licensed stock worker beneath 'Our technicians' can imply a real employee even without a name. A generic renovated room beneath 'Recent projects' can imply work the business completed. List these cases before choosing replacements. Licensing permission and accurate representation are different questions.

Separate decoration from project evidence

W3C image guidance distinguishes an image's purpose and context. Google also emphasizes trustworthy content. Use those principles to make your own photo categories explicit: genuine team image, genuine project evidence, generic illustration or purely decorative visual. The business should verify permissions and any claimed connection before publishing the image as proof.

Source checks: W3C WAI: Informative Images · Google Search Central: Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content

Review captions and surrounding headings

Create a small image inventory focused on customer-decision pages. For each image, record its source, intended role, visible claim and proposed action. Do not assume that adding tiny 'illustration' text resolves a strongly misleading heading. If the photo's role conflicts with the page, replace the block or revise the surrounding description.

• Inspect images on About, service and portfolio pages alongside their headings.
• Identify which photos are genuine staff or work and which are licensed illustrations.
• Verify rights and facts with the owner; remove unverified project or team claims.
• Use neutral illustration context or replace the image with genuine, approved evidence.
• Check captions, text alternatives and mobile layout for the same intended meaning.

Avoid labels that invent a team or outcome

Do not invent employee names for stock faces or describe an illustration as a job completed locally. An image can be correctly licensed but still placed in a misleading context. Avoid hiding the distinction in a footer while the main page presents a portfolio. Do not promise that replacing stock imagery will produce a particular ranking or conversion result.

Test interpretation rather than attractiveness alone

Ask a test reader what they think each sensitive image represents. If they assume it is your team or project when it is not, revise the context. Keep a count of corrected image blocks and unresolved permissions. These checks establish clarity and provenance; they are not a statistical measurement of customer trust.

Retain image provenance

Store the image source, licensing record and approved role with the content inventory. Keep genuine portfolio images separate from decorative assets so future page edits do not mix them. When staff or services change, review factual captions. Public project images should retain their appropriate approvals and avoid exposing unnecessary customer information.

Worked example: an illustrative customer journey

For example, a handyman website places a licensed stock tradesperson beneath 'Meet our local team'. The business is a sole operator, and the person pictured is not connected to it. The owner replaces that block with a genuine approved owner photo and a factual introduction.

Elsewhere, a stock illustration remains beside a general process explanation without pretending to document a job. The change corrects what the images imply. It does not demonstrate a measured improvement in trust, enquiries or search position.

Questions about this task