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Using Stock Image Search (Unsplash, Pixabay) ​

Learn how to automatically fetch professional stock photos for your featured images using integrated APIs. Pro feature only.

Overview ​

Stock Image Search automatically finds and downloads relevant, high-quality images from external sources when your content doesn't have images. Never publish a post without a featured image again.

Note: This is a Pro-only feature. Upgrade to Pro to access stock image search.

Supported Image Sources ​

Available Providers ​

ProviderLibrary SizeLicenseAPI Required
Unsplash3M+ photosFree to useYes (Free)
Pixabay2.7M+ imagesFree for commercialYes (Free)

Prerequisites ​

Before you begin:

  • [ ] Auto Featured Image Pro license active
  • [ ] API key(s) from chosen provider(s)
  • [ ] Basic understanding of API quotas/limits

Provider Setup Guides ​

1. Unsplash Setup ​

Step 1: Create Unsplash Account

  1. Visit https://unsplash.com/join
  2. Sign up (free)
  3. Verify email

Step 2: Register Your Application

  1. Go to https://unsplash.com/oauth/applications
  2. Click "New Application"
  3. Fill in application details:
    Application Name: My WordPress Site
Description: Auto Featured Image integration
  4. Accept terms and conditions
  5. Click "Create Application"

Step 3: Get API Keys

  1. On application page, locate Keys section
  2. Copy Access Key (public key)
  3. Do not share Secret Key publicly

Step 4: Configure in Plugin

  1. Go to Auto Featured Image > Settings > External APIs tab
  2. Find the Unsplash API Access Key field
  3. Paste your Access Key
  4. Click Save Settings

2. Pixabay Setup ​

Step 1: Create Account

  1. Visit https://pixabay.com/accounts/register/
  2. Sign up (free)
  3. Verify email

Step 2: Get API Key

  1. Go to https://pixabay.com/api/docs/
  2. Scroll to "Search Images" section
  3. Your API key is displayed if logged in
  4. Copy the key

Step 3: Configure in Plugin

  1. Go to Auto Featured Image > Settings > External APIs tab
  2. Find the Pixabay API Key field
  3. Paste your API Key
  4. Click Save Settings

Search Settings ​

Keywords Optimization ​

Configuration:

☑ Clean search query
  - Remove common words (the, a, an, how, to)
  - Remove special characters
  - Limit to 5 keywords

☑ Add category to search query
  Example: "cameras" + "Photography" = "cameras photography"

Fallback keywords: photography, blog, article

API Priority Order ​

When multiple APIs are enabled:

When both Unsplash and Pixabay API keys are configured, the plugin will try each provider in order until an image is found. If no image is found from any provider, the plugin falls back to other generation methods (title-based or default image).

Image Filtering ​

Quality Filters ​

Minimum Dimensions:

Minimum Width: [800] px
Minimum Height: [600] px

☑ Reject images below minimum

Orientation:

○ Any orientation
● Landscape (horizontal)
○ Portrait (vertical)
○ Square

Image Size:

Preferred size: Large / Medium / Small
File size limit: [5] MB

Content Filters ​

Safe Search:

☑ Enable Safe Search
  Filters adult content automatically

Image Type:

☑ Photos only
☐ Illustrations
☐ Vector graphics
☐ Clipart

Color Filters:

Preferred colors:
☐ Grayscale
☐ Transparent background
☑ Full color
☐ Specific color: [Color Picker]

Attribution and Licensing ​

Understanding Licenses ​

Unsplash License ​

✓ Free to use ✓ Commercial use allowed ✓ No permission needed ✓ Attribution appreciated but not required

More info: Unsplash License

Pixabay License ​

✓ Free for commercial use ✓ No attribution required ✗ Cannot redistribute on stock sites ✗ Cannot sell unmodified copies

More info: Pixabay License

Automatic Attribution ​

Configuration:

Attribution Settings:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
☑ Add photographer credit
  Location: Image Caption / Image Description
  Format: Photo by [Name] on [Source]

☑ Add source link
  Add to image description

☑ Track image source
  Store in post meta for records

Example output:
"Photo by John Doe on Unsplash"

Search Best Practices ​

1. Craft Effective Search Queries ​

Good Examples:

  • "business meeting" → Clear, specific
  • "woman working laptop" → Descriptive
  • "sunset mountains" → Visual keywords

Bad Examples:

  • "how to start a business" → Too wordy
  • "the best" → Non-visual
  • "click here" → Not descriptive

2. Use Fallbacks ​

Strategy:

Primary: Stock Image Search
Fallback 1: First Content Image
Fallback 2: Title-Generated Image
Fallback 3: Default Image

Never leave posts without images.

3. Monitor API Usage ​

Check Quotas Regularly:

Unsplash: 42 / 50 requests used this hour
Pixabay: 234 / 5000 requests used this hour

☑ Email alert when reaching 80% of limit

4. Cache Search Results ​

Configuration:

☑ Enable search result caching
Cache duration: [7] days

Benefits:
- Faster repeated searches
- Reduces API calls
- Saves quota

Troubleshooting ​

Issue 1: No Images Found ​

Possible Causes:

❌ Search query too specific ❌ Filters too restrictive ❌ API quota exceeded ❌ Network/connectivity issue

Solutions:

1. Check API connection status
2. Broaden search query
   - Use fewer keywords
   - Remove filters temporarily
3. Check API quota/limits
4. Test with different provider
5. Review error logs

Issue 2: Poor Image Relevance ​

Problem: Images don't match content

Solutions:

A. Improve Search Query

Bad: "Guide"
Good: "Business strategy guide"

Bad: "Tutorial"
Good: "WordPress tutorial coding"

B. Use Custom Field

Add custom field to posts:
Field: featured_image_keyword
Value: "specific descriptive keywords"

Configure plugin to use custom field

C. Manual Selection (Pro)

☑ Show search results preview
  - View 10 options
  - Select best match
  - Confirm before setting

Issue 3: API Key Errors ​

Error Messages:

"Invalid API key"
"Authentication failed"
"Unauthorized"

Solutions:

  1. Verify API key is correct

    • No extra spaces
    • Copy entire key
    • Check expiration

  2. Check API status

    • Visit provider's status page
    • Verify account is active
    • Check account status

  3. Regenerate API key

    • Generate new key
    • Update plugin settings
    • Test connection

Issue 4: Rate Limit Exceeded ​

Error: "API rate limit exceeded"

Immediate Solutions:

1. Switch to different provider (priority order)
2. Wait for limit reset
3. Use cached results
4. Enable request throttling

Long-term Solutions:

1. Upgrade API plan (if available)
2. Distribute requests across multiple APIs
3. Process posts during off-peak hours
4. Use CRON scheduling to spread requests

Advanced Features ​

Custom Search Parameters (Pro) ​

Per Provider Settings:

Unsplash:

Collections: [Collection IDs]
  - Curated collections only
Orientation: Landscape
Color: Blue tones

Pixabay:

Category: Nature, Travel, Business
Editorial: Yes / No

Fallback Search Terms ​

Configuration:

If primary search fails, try:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
1. Post category name
2. First post tag
3. Generic term: "blog article"
4. Site name / brand term

Example flow:
Post title: "10 Tips for Success"
→ No results
→ Try category: "Business"
→ Found 150 images
→ Select best match

Manual Selection Mode (Pro) ​

Enable Preview:

☑ Show image selection interface
  - Display top 10 results
  - User chooses best fit
  - Quick selection interface

When to use:

  • High-priority posts
  • Homepage featured content
  • Strict brand guidelines
  • Specific visual needs

Performance Optimization ​

Reduce API Calls ​

Strategies:

  1. Use Caching

    • Cache for 7-30 days
    • Reduce duplicate searches

  2. Batch Processing

    • Process posts during off-hours
    • Use CRON scheduling

  3. Smart Fallbacks

    • Try content images first
    • Use stock search as last resort

  4. Pre-fetch for Categories

    • Cache common category searches
    • Reuse for similar content

Cost Management ​

Free Tier Usage ​

Unsplash: 50 requests/hour

Daily capacity: ~1,200 posts
Monthly capacity: ~36,000 posts
Cost: FREE

Pixabay: 5,000 requests/hour

Daily capacity: ~120,000 posts
Monthly capacity: Unlimited (within hourly)
Cost: FREE

Last Updated: February 2026 Difficulty Level: Intermediate Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes

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