Despite the current chatter about "visual search," it's not something new. Visual search has been around for quite some time, but it's only recently that SEO experts are becoming more interested in its digital marketing potential.
So, what is a visual search, and why should you care about this tool? We take a look to help digital entrepreneurs understand what visual search is and how it can enhance a digital marketing strategy.
Visual search is a tool that allows users to search for information on the internet using imagery instead of keywords. Instead of typing out a query, you can upload an image or take a picture of what you're looking for and find related results.
Most platforms use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to power the visual search function. These technological principles help search engines "understand" what is in an image and return the most relevant results.
It's common for most people to interchange image search and visual search. However, there is a distinct difference between these two terms.
Image search is a process of searching for images over the internet using words. In contrast, visual search is searching for information on the internet using images.
Several platforms such as Google, Bing, Pinterest, and many more take advantage of this search feature. However, each of them differs on how they integrate visual search.
Google Lens is a visual search engine developed by Google. It was announced in May 2017 and released on October 26, 2017, as part of the Google Photos app for iOS and Android.
Google Lens is integrated into Google's search engine, where users can use it to search for objects and landmarks.
The tool uses AI to recognize the image you are trying to look at online. After a while, Lens ranks image results based on their similarity and relevance.
Pinterest's visual search functions almost the same way as Google Lens. You can either upload an image from your device or take a picture of something you want to find.
After that, Pinterest will show you visually similar ideas and related pins. The main difference is Pinterest places priority ranking on "shoppable" pins.
Bing's visual search is a bit different. With Bing, you will get image results and general information about the image you're looking up.
Furthermore, their advanced AI can predict search intent and show you more relevant results depending on its intent prediction.
The technologically fluent generations, Gen Z and Millennials, rank the highest in terms of visual search usage. This is the outcome of a study conducted by an AI company, ViSenze.
According to the company, almost 62% of their respondents from Gen Zs and Millennials responded that they prefer to use visual search when shopping online.
From the same research, 50% of Gen Z respondents prefer to be given brand-related search results. In contrast, 41% of the Millennials prefer to see product recommendations based on what people similar to them are also buying.
There are several ways you can take advantage of visual search to market your product online:
To make your product photos more "searchable," you need to have structured data. This will help search engines understand your product photos better and present them to your target users.
Well-structured data can help your content appear in Google's search snippets. As a result, this can help you drive more traffic to your website.
Adding alt text is another way to make your product photos more visual search friendly. This is a short description that gives context to your image.
Ensure that you use descriptive keywords when incorporating alt texts into your product photos. This will help web crawlers easily rank your shop to interested consumers.
As digital marketers, it is crucial to be on top of the latest trends and technologies. With that said, visual search is an incredible – and free - digital tool you should be taking advantage of.
Not only will it help improve the search traffic of your website, but it can also help you have a better understanding of the needs and wants of your target audience.
Visual search is unfamiliar terrain to most B2B and B2C businesses, but it's nothing you should worry about. Connection Model is a trusted digital marketing agency specializing in search engine optimization, website optimization, content marketing and tools such as visual search.
We can help you make your products appear on top of search engine result pages. If you're ready to take your digital business to the next level, contact us today, and let's get started.