Image License Metadata: The Decisions That Matter
Structured data or embedded IPTC metadata that tells Google Images who owns an image and where it can be licensed, which can show a Licensable badge.
Samir Haddad
The key figures
- Methods
- structured data on the page or IPTC photo metadata embedded in the image
- Properties
- license, acquireLicensePage, creator, creditText and copyrightNotice
- Display
- images may show a Licensable badge in Google Images
- Requirement
- the license page must be reachable
Why this is worth getting right
It helps photographers and stock libraries get credit and licensing inquiries from image search.
Do this, not that
Do
- Embed IPTC creator and copyright fields in exported images
- Link a clear license page for each image
- Keep metadata when images are processed by a CMS or CDN
- Add structured data for images on key pages
- Check how images appear in Google Images
Don’t
- Stripping metadata during compression
- License pages that do not explain terms
- Claiming ownership of images you license from others
- Broken acquire-license links
When to bring in help
Our advice Bring in help when running a photography or stock business, or when image metadata is lost in your publishing pipeline.
Where this comes from
- Google Search Central — Image license metadata
- IPTC — Photo Metadata Standard
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
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Where to go next
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