Stop indexing my images Google!

[WebCraft]

So you have a great photograph. You showcase it on your business web site, then you notice that you see your great image copied to another web site, and they claim it is the work of "their company". Gosh that is a frustrating issue.

I would almost tend to bet that you have either seen this, or done an image search on one of the many image search features of a search engine and discovered your work ready for someone to copy it.

I am constantly asked the following question:
What do I do?
1) Always, always, always, place your images in a directory separate from your html pages.
Example: MyWebSite.com/images/
2) Use a robots.txt file and write the following command:

list folders robots are not allowed to index
#
#
Disallow: /images/

This will prevent the search engines from spidering that directory.

3) If you have a great photo of a sunset, try to label or name that photo with alpha numeric combinations.

ex: "sunset.jpg" should be something like: "bds421.jpg"
Don't forget... use a good Alt tag!

You may find that your images will not be seen as much, and they certainly will not be indexed anymore.

[mtheory]

Why should it be up to you to take the time to prevent Google from USING your photographs.

It should be them asking you for permission to use your work to fuel their money making resource.

I feel that having your work included in their search devalues the image.

I'd like to see some kind of class action and cease and desist order brought against Google by visual artists.

[WebCraft]

Mtheory,

Point well taken. I could not agree more.
But in the meantime, that is before we all sign a petition to present a lawsuit, we should do what we can to stop the indexing.

One of my clients I re-created a web presence for, had his images all over the web and used unlawfully. So in the clients defense, I presented the suggestion below.

[mtheory]

This got me wondering about the value of internet content and how companies like Google exploit it for profit without consideration for the content owners.

I'm curious if the universities that are being indexed for Google Scholar have been reimbursed in any way for their content.

This may set a precedent from which to take a stand.

[black hat cat]

Maybe they shouldn't be indexing websites either. Afterall, someone could find your site using their SE and easily copy it.

Yes, lets sue Google because I'm too stupid to use a robots.txt file.

Sheesh......

[WebCraft]

Black hat...

Do you comprehend the topic and the discussion? It's about stealing images after they have been indexed. Not the indexing of pages.

Should you want to put more of your pennies in the pot, perhaps you should have a much better understanding of where we ar ecoming from.

Sheesh...

[minstrel]

Originally Posted by Webcraft

Black hat...

Do you comprehend the topic and the discussion? It's about stealing images after they have been indexed. Not the indexing of pages.

It may be what you are talking about but it doesn't seem to be what Mtheory is talking about:

Originally Posted by Mtheory

Why should it be up to you to take the time to prevent Google from USING your photographs.

It should be them asking you for permission to use your work to fuel their money making resource.

I feel that having your work included in their search devalues the image.

To which you responded

Originally Posted by Webcraft

Mtheory,

Point well taken. I could not agree more.
But in the meantime, that is before we all sign a petition to present a lawsuit, we should do what we can to stop the indexing.

black hat cat is dead on: Indexing is what search engines do. They also spell out pretty clearly how to tell them not to do it. If you are publishing photographs on the net and you haven't bothered to figure out how to tell Google or any other search engine not to index those photos, perhaps you shouldn't be publishing them on the net?