Image streaming is set to revolutionize the way we view and publish images online. But how does it work? And what are the benefits? We explain all.

Any new or unfamiliar technology can seem intimidating at first – and image streaming is no exception.
Indeed, just the idea of streaming images might itself seem odd. Why exactly would you want to stream an image? What’s wrong with just uploading a JPEG?

The reality is that image streaming is easy to understand and even easier to use – and the benefits for image owners, publishers, and advertisers are huge.

In this article, we explain everything you need to know about image streaming, and show you how you can make it work for you.

What is image streaming?

Image streaming is a secure and efficient way to publish and display images online.

Instead of uploading individual image files such as JPEGs, PNGs or GIFs directly to a website, images are embedded using a piece of code, much like you would embed a YouTube video.

Can anyone stream images?

Yes, anyone can stream images. All you need to do is set up an account and you’re ready to begin streaming your images securely online.

How does image streaming work?

The first step is to upload your images to a secure, password-protected central server.

Once uploaded, you can generate an embed code that links to a specific image, which can then be pasted into a compatible webpage editor such as WordPress or Weebly.

Embedded images will be displayed publicly much like when uploaded via traditional methods, but with numerous additional features (outlined below).

You can also allow images to be shared by activating embed and social sharing buttons, which appear within the image frame. This enables anyone viewing the image to copy the code and embed it as they wish.

Why is streaming images better than posting JPEGs, GIFs or PNGs?

It’s more secure 

The current method of publishing images online leaves them completely unprotected against theft. A simple screenshot, right-click or drag-and-drop action is all it takes for a bad actor to create a copy of your image and redistribute it without your consent (or knowledge).

Worse still, image-scraping bots can crawl your entire website unchecked, downloading every image as they go.

By streaming images, you protect them against the above threats. And as they are all streamed from one place, no matter how many times an image is embedded or viewed, it’s always streamed from a single file for maximum security.

It looks better

Usually, images on websites are static and restricted to low resolutions to ensure the fastest possible loading times.

Image-streaming technology changes this, turning ordinary JPEGs into highly engaging images designed to have maximum impact.

Through features such as full-screen viewing and the ability to zoom in to the finest details, your images become fully interactive. Further integrated options, such as embed buttons and sharing controls, encourage users to share them securely.

Furthermore, because images are streamed rather than permanently uploaded to a site, only the detail that’s required on demand is served. This keeps image delivery efficient and your site light, while still ensuring that users see all the detail they require as they jump to full-screen views and zoom in and out.

It provides you with complete control

The fact that every image is streamed from one location gives you more than just security – it also gives you unprecedented control.

Once uploaded, it’s possible to attach uneditable metadata, captions and attribution to your images, and these stay with the images wherever they’re embedded.

Additionally, it’s possible to view a list of every URL and domain that is displaying your images and block them at your discretion so that they only appear where you want them to.

It also gives you comprehensive analytics

The ability to track where your images are viewed and shared is one of the prime advantages of image streaming over conventional uploading. But an additional benefit of this is that you also gain valuable data on usage.

Detailed image analytics provide you with the opportunity to measure image performance by the number of views, clicks, shares and other engagements. You can also see where these shares take place, view theft attempts and much more.

Can I make money from image streaming?

Absolutely. It’s possible to serve digital advertising into image-streaming windows, which means the more impressions images receive, the more money they stand to make.

In-image advertising works on a contextual basis. It uses a broad set of metadata and artificial intelligence (AI) to read both the contents of an image and the contents of the page on which it’s displayed. Not only does this mean that advertising is always relevant, but it also ensures brand safety for advertisers.
A proportion of the ad revenue generated goes to both the content owner and the content publisher, putting well-deserved dollars back into the hands of those hardest hit by the unsecure nature of the current online image ecosystem.

What are the benefits of image streaming for content owners?

Content owners can be anyone from independent photographers and visual artists through to global news agencies. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, you’ll enjoy the same benefits of image streaming.

Image streaming gives you the peace of mind of knowing that your content is displayed in a high enough resolution to look good across various devices, but protected against theft. It’s also fully tracked and easier to control where your images travel online.

This means you can be completely sure your images are being used as intended, always appearing with your chosen caption and/or credit.

In-image advertising also opens up a new revenue stream for content owners. This new way to monetize images is welcome in a digital imaging landscape where it’s getting harder and harder to make money.

These combined factors give artists, photographers, and other content owners the freedom to distribute their images to a wider audience without the fear of theft or value leakage.

What are the benefits of image streaming for publishers?

Publishers that stream images include anyone who embeds an image on their domain. This could range from an individual blogger to an image library.

Because image streaming allows content owners to monetize their images through advertising, many are happy to make their images available to you for free.

This gives you access to a huge pool of high-quality, free content that would otherwise be subject to usage fees under the traditional restrictive licensing model.

Image streaming also offers your audience a better user experience than with conventional images, with built-in interactive features such as Hyper Zoom, full-screen viewing, and captioning encouraging higher engagement.
However, possibly the best part is that if the images you publish receive enough impressions from your domain, you’ll get a share of the advertising revenue. This means you can earn money simply from embedding an image on your site.

Additionally, image metadata and various AI technologies ensure all ad placements are relevant and contextual, and leading ad-security providers prevent threats from bad ads. This means you can enjoy complete brand protection.

What are the benefits of image streaming for advertisers?

Advertisers keen on taking advantage of image streaming can enjoy a long list of benefits. If you’re looking for high-visibility placement on webpages relevant to your ads, in-image advertising is for you.

Images are often the focal point of any online article or page, so by serving ads over them, you gain premium ad placement.
The ads appear briefly and only occasionally in selected SmartFrames. These are also contextually targeted, which means they work with a webpage’s content and the image on which they are displayed so that they are as relevant as possible.

This also means they don’t require the use of intrusive third-party cookies; considering the current changes in data collection and the effect these will have on personalized ads, this provides a far more logical foundation for a future-proofed ad strategy.
Furthermore, with image streaming, you’re protected from the potential damage caused by badly placed ads. That’s because in-image advertising makes use of AI to check images and webpage content so that your ads are always shown in brand-safe environments.

How do I start streaming images?

Content owners

If you’re a content owner, it’s easy to start streaming your images. Simply go to the SmartFrame registration page, enter your details and follow the instructions.

If you encounter any issues, our extensive Help Center is on hand to provide you with everything you need to know.

Publishers

If you’re a website owner or publisher who wants to stream other people’s images, all you need is an embed code. You can get this by simply clicking on the embed icon – which looks like </> – within the image window, before copying the code and adding it to your web editor’s HTML or text editor. Take a look at our Embedding guide for more information.

The content owner has to activate the embed option on their streamed images, so if the embed icon isn’t there, the image is not available for free embedding.

In exchange for a free embedded image, the content owner will usually require that contextual ads are served over the images you publish. In order to ensure this happens, you’ll need to add the SmartFrame Publisher ID to your domain’s ads.txt page.

If you don’t have an ads.txt page, you’ll need to create one – here’s how it’s done. This gives our ad partners permission to sell inventory on your behalf. Want to learn more? Here’s everything you need to know about ads.txt.