Flickr is a site owned by Yahoo that allows anyone to store and share photos online. (For more info on Flickr accounts, see my post about Flickr.)

There is also a way to use Flickr to increase viewers to your online store (Ebay, ecrater, Amazon, etc.), website, or blog. The appropriate way to do this is to post photos that are appropriate and pertinent to the online page you’re linking it to.

For a photo of a product your selling online, be sure to include a good description of the product in the notes section attached to that particular photo in your Flickr account. Part of the information must include a link to the page to which you’re trying to increase traffic–this is what will lead interested viewers to your site. If you’re trying to encourage traffic to a website or blog, be sure to include your website address in your profile–this will give anyone interested in your photos one more opportunity to find your online presence.

With photos that you feature on a blog post or website, follow the same method. In addition to a good description on Flickr, it is vital that you include as many relevant tags (on Flickr) as possible. An appropriate–and complete–notation of tags for each photo will help to ensure that people interested in the topic will be able to find it on Flickr.

Post the Most Interesting Photos You Can

You’re likely to be a lot more successful in obtaining additional traffic to your website or blog if the Flickr photos you’re using to direct traffic are more interesting–so get creative. Take photos that aren’t the typical view that everyone is used to seeing–even if the photo is of something that is fairly commonplace. Try different angles, lighting, and arrangements of other items in the photo. You can also try different backgrounds, settings, or presentation.

Of course, taking photos of unusual items–especially when presented in an interesting way–can help drive traffic to your website or blog even faster.

Other Places to Post Photos Online

You can also post and share photos at PhotoBucket.com, ShutterFly.com, and Picasa Web Albums (http://picasa.google.com/features.html) from Google. There are others out there, as well, but these are a few of the biggies.

For more info on how to get more traffic to your website, see my post Hot Blog Tip — Increase Traffic to Your Website with Amazon.