Yeah, image geotags are cool, they’re the latest buzz…but who cares? Should you really care just because everyone else cares? Well, it takes a lot of time to create image geotags and put them in your images, then some sharing sites may use them while others may not…so what’s the use? In this article I’ll show you two of my own examples of using image geotags: Picasa Web Albums and Flickr…then you can decide for yourself if image geotags are the next thing you’ll be staying up late for.

How did I prepare my image geotags for Flickr and Picasa Web Albums ?

I have shared in the past that I’m using Geosetter to add both EXIF Lat/Long coordinates as well as IPTC geographic location tags. Geosetter also translates EXIF into Flickr geotags and adds them to the IPTC portion of the image metadata. Once image geotags are present…just upload them and take a look at your map ! It’s that simple.

Add location information into your pictures

See my image geotags in action.

I have actually used the same pictures on both sites because I wanted to see the different ways that Google and Flickr use the same image geotags. Both sites are pretty cool, but Google’s use is more straightforward…more standard, because it’s using the EXIF lat/long information while Flickr is using specific IPTC keywords (Read How to use your image geotags in Flickr. Well…here are the examples:

• Google’s Picasa Web Album – Click here to see my albums.
• Flickr – Click here to see my albums.

On Flickr you can also examine the EXIF image metadata and the image tags that were automatically created by Geosetter.

Is it worth your time to create image geotags?

Well…it depends…it depends if you think it’s worth your time (Read Is your workflow good enough?). If you could care less where the picture was taken, then obviously you shouldn’t spend anytime worrying about geotags. But if you really want to show the exact place where you took a particularly great picture…then geotags are your friends. So…the simple answer is that geotags are great…if you need them.

1. How to use your image geotags in Flickr
2. Geotagging and Geocoding – friends forever.
3. 2 simple methods for geotagging your pictures
4. Best resource for understanding image metadata standards.
5. The road frequently traveled by image metadata

Additional resources:

• Download my book.
• Get free tips by e-mail.
• Get updates by RSS
• Follow me on Twitter
• Get awesome deals on photo gear.
• Amazing value for your website.
• Track your website visitors in style.