Visual Search: How to Use It in Marketing

Visual search is becoming increasingly popular due to its simplicity and speed. If your business isn’t leveraging image search capabilities yet, it’s time to start. This will help you attract more customers and stay ahead of the competition.

In this article, we'll share tips on how to optimize your website for visual search and which platforms you should focus on.

Who benefits from visual search

• Visual search can be used to find medical information (e.g., identifying an insect bite).

• You can find artists or works of art.

• Gardeners use it to recognize plants and flowers or find similar ones for their gardens.

• Students can locate study materials or books simply by photographing a cover or page.

To gain a competitive advantage, businesses need to create high-quality, relevant images and provide detailed descriptions.

How visual search works

Visual search allows people to find information using images. A person uploads a photo to the system to find the product depicted. For example, you can photograph a plant and identify its species or origin through the internet.

A visual search quickly finds the flower name and information about it

Visual search operates as follows: the system receives an image, recognizes it, and searches online for identical or similar pictures.

The search engine selects images, ranks them by relevance, and displays them to the user. It also provides additional information such as names, locations, and prices of the objects.

Display of visual product search with prices in online shops

The search engine uses one or both of the following methods: example-based search (the system looks for images similar to the original based on general features such as shape and color) and metadata search. This metadata includes the image file name and alt text.

Visual search employs two areas of artificial intelligence:

• Computer vision: This acts as the eyes of the search engine. Thanks to this technology, the computer "sees" the image just as we do. It analyzes colors, shapes, textures, and other features. For example, the computer understands that the image shows a vase, not some other object.

• Machine learning: This serves as the brain of the search engine. The computer learns to recognize different objects and concepts by analyzing a vast number of images.

Imagine showing the search engine hundreds of pictures of various cats: big and small, fluffy and sleek, of different breeds and colors. The system uses computer vision to "see" these cats in the pictures. By analyzing them, it begins to understand what a cat looks like. As a result, when you show the search engine a photo of a cat it hasn't seen before, it will correctly identify the picture as a cat, even if the image is entirely new to it.

Why visual search is beneficial for marketers

If you don't optimize your website for visual search, you're missing a significant opportunity to expand your audience and attract users who wouldn't find you through traditional search methods. Here are the main reasons why image search plays a crucial role in developing SEO:

How to use visual search in marketing

To optimize your site for visual search, focus on the following:

• Structured data markup: Use schema.org markup on all multimedia files. These data help search engines better understand images and their content. Additionally, they can enable images to appear in rich snippets on Google.

• Content quality: Use clear and original images and videos. Encourage the creation of user-generated content (UGC) through social media, such as by organizing a contest with valuable prizes for the most creative photos featuring your product.

• Product tagging: Link images to the corresponding product pages through relevant tags. Provide customers with an easy way to make purchases by allowing them to go directly to checkout with one click on the image.

• Image quantity: To make your products more appealing to buyers, use multiple images. This not only enhances the appearance of your website but also attracts more customers through search. By using different keywords for each image, you expand your potential audience, which, in turn, increases sales.

• Using real photos: Replace standard stock images with original ones. High-quality, unique visual materials boost user trust in your site and help improve your search engine rankings.

• Image sitemap: Create a separate sitemap file dedicated to images. With an additional sitemap containing image information, search engines can more effectively index your visual content, increasing the likelihood that your images will appear in search results. This is especially important for large sites like online stores, classifieds, and catalogs. On smaller websites, images are typically indexed without the need for extra settings.

• Image filenames: Use descriptive filenames. Give the image a short, clear name that reflects its content. This helps search engines better understand the image and display it in search results. For example, instead of IMG_13245346.jpg, it's better to use white-wardrobe.jpg.

• Image size: Optimize the size of graphic files—large files negatively affect page loading speed. It's recommended to compress images with minimal loss of quality using specialized graphic editors or online services that support batch image processing. However, the images should not be of poor quality. Content with artifacts or compression traces looks unprofessional and negatively impacts user perception of the site. The recommended minimum width for uploading to the website is 1200 pixels.

• Alt text: Alternative text was originally created to help users understand the content of an image if it failed to load. Search engines use the information from the alt attribute to better understand and index the image's context.

Visual search tools

Search engines use a combination of artificial intelligence and complex algorithms to analyze, recognize, and compare images during searches. These tools benefit both users and marketers. Below, we'll explore the main tools for visual search.

Google Lens can identify plants, animals, objects, and locations. It can also translate text directly from an image, such as signs. Additionally, it reads QR codes and barcodes and displays products available for purchase. It's even used for solving math problems.

Pinterest Lens can recognize objects in photos and suggest similar options. It's easy to find inspiration for clothing, home, or kitchen. Additionally, special features allow you to see how makeup will look on your face or how an interior item will fit into a room.

Pinterest Lens search. Source: martech.org

Conclusion

Visual search uses images instead of text queries. With this technology, users can quickly and efficiently find the objects they need, especially when describing them in words is difficult. Visual search is used in various fields, including e-commerce, design, and fashion.