Visual search has been around for a number of years and is built into several popular search engines and social media platforms, including Pinterest, Bing, Snapchat, Amazon, and, of course, Google. In this article, I am going to look at what visual search is, its rise, how websites can use it to their advantage, and how to adhere to best practices.
What is visual search?
Visual search uses artificial intelligence technology to help people search through the use of real-world imagery, rather than through text search.
- Useful for eCommerce stores and brands, and with the implementation of well-optimized content, they could stand the chance of being the returned search result for a user.
Sell to Customers That Have Already Made a Decision
With properly optimized content through visual search, you can find your site interacting with people that have already made their minds up about whether they want to make a purchase
- Often referred to as “spearfishing”, visual search closes the number of steps and work between a customer searching for an item and then buying it from a website
Use Appropriate Image Sizes and File Types
To ensure that your content is as optimized as possible, it is also important to think about the file size of your image as this could affect how quickly your site loads to users.
- The following three sites are great for compressing images:
- BMP GIF, JPEG, WebP SVG
Where next?
As Google and other platforms push the boundary of what search is and what it can be, it is integral that site owners and marketers alike plan for the future of search
Get Discovered by the Next Generation
60% of Generation Z now discover brands solely through social applications
- 69% looking to purchase directly off the back of the platforms
- Pinterest generates over $1 billion in ad revenue
- Ben Silbermann, Pinterest CEO and co-founder, said that the company’s plans for 2020 are to focus on “delivering relevant content, ads, and shopping experiences
Why Visual Search Differs From Image Search
Visual search falls under the umbrella of what is known as “sensory search”, which includes searching via text, voice, and vision.
- Although both visual and image search is based around imagery, the crucial difference lies in the fact people use words to conduct an image search whereas, with visual search, a user uses an image.
Create a Connection with New Customers
Trust is critical in helping customers move towards a potential purchasing decision.
Visual Search Best Practices
Provide search engines with as much information as possible
- Structured data for images
- Otherwise known as “alt tags” and “alt descriptions”, the alternative text appears in place of the image in case it fails to load on the screen
- When adding alternative text to your website, ensure that it is honest, concise, and well written
The Main Players in Visual Search
Each major visual search platform offers slightly different search functionalities, and users tend to use each one for a different set of needs
- Introduced in 2017, Pinterest Lens boasts over 600 million searches every month, and it was announced in 2019 that the technology has the ability to recognize over 2.5 billion items
- Bing Visual Search allows developers to tell the search engine what information people should gain from a particular image
- Amazon’s visual search app, StyleSnap, allows searchers to take pictures of objects or products they are interested in using a function within Amazon’s mobile app. From there, users are presented with relevant information and similar products
- Google Lens was announced and launched at Google I/O in 2017
- Android users can find Google Lens technology in a number of applications including Photos, Google Search, and Google Assistant
How Sites Can Benefit From Visual Search
As search expands beyond its traditional forms, and new technologies continue to be introduced, it is important to understand and take advantage of it as soon as possible.
- Getting ahead of the competition is better done early rather than late
- The primary benefits are:
