I've been contributing to Adobe Stock and Alamy
for 25 years. In that time I've seen the same
pattern over and over — photographers uploading
consistently and getting almost no sales.
The problem is almost never image quality.
It's that nobody is searching for what they upload.
Here's the exact method I use before every session:
STEP 1 — Open Adobe Stock in incognito mode
Set region to United States / English.
This shows real international demand, not local.
STEP 2 — Type your keyword and watch the autocomplete
Note two things:
- What position does your term appear in?
- How many suggestions show up total?
STEP 3 — Calculate the Opportunity Index
Base Score = (Total suggestions - Your position + 1)
If 10 suggestions appear and you're at position 3:
Base Score = 10 - 3 + 1 = 8
Then multiply by demand:
- 8-12 suggestions = x1.5 (high demand)
- 4-7 suggestions = x1.0 (medium)
- 1-3 suggestions = x0.5 (low)
Visibility Score = 8 x 1.5 = 12
STEP 4 — Check platform results
Divide results by 1,000:
120 results / 1,000 = 0.12
STEP 5 — Final Index
Visibility Score / (Results/1,000)
12 / 0.12 = 100 → Exceptional opportunity
INTERPRETING THE INDEX:
> 10 = Exceptional — shoot immediately
5-10 = High — shoot
1-5 = Medium — worth testing
< 1 = Avoid — too saturated
REAL EXAMPLE:
"woman working from home" → 80,000 results → avoid
"mature alternative woman working from home" → 30 results → exceptional
Same niche. Different angle. Completely different opportunity.
I built an Excel template that calculates this
automatically — happy to share if anyone wants it.
Any questions about the method, ask below.