Image search: what it is and how to find useful photos for the site
99% of Web pages host at least one image, even if it is only a background or favicon, and according to some estimates there are about 750 billion images on the Internet; let’s also add that it is estimated that Google Images has indexed about 136 billion files. In short, images represent one of the main resources of the Web, imposing themselves not only as an element of decorum, but as a visual reminder for the user, a factor that can determine the success or failure of a web page. Their relevance is also undeniable in SEO and digital marketing, where a relevant and optimized image can improve ranking in search results, increase user engagement and reinforce the brand message. But how do we navigate through this immensity of multimedia content? In short, how do we do image search and what tools are needed?
Image search, what it is
Image search is a process that allows users to find photographs, illustrations, icons, and other types of visual content through specialized search engines, stock image sites, or features built into generalist search engines.
This search can be based on textual keywords, which describe what the user wants to find, or it can be conducted using the images themselves as the starting point for the search, also known as reverse image search or image search.
Image search is a fundamental element of the modern Web, enriching the online experience by providing quick and intuitive access to a vast universe of visual content. Thanks to the advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, image search is continuing to evolve, becoming more sophisticated and able to meet users’ needs in increasingly accurate and reliable ways.
How image search is done
Image search can be done in several ways:
- Text search, based on keywords. Users enter descriptive terms into the search bar of an image search engine to find related visual content. These terms can include objects, people, places, colors, emotions, or any other relevant descriptor.
- Reverse image search. This method involves uploading an image or entering an image URL into a search engine that offers this functionality. The search engine analyzes the image and looks for matches or similar images in its database.
- Advanced Search. Many image search engines offer advanced search options that allow users to specify parameters such as image size, image type (photo, clip art, GIF), predominant color, usage rights, and more.
- Search by category. Some image sites allow users to explore collections of images organized by category or theme, making it easier to discover relevant images without the need for specific keywords.
- Use of tools and plugins. There are tools and browser plugins that can simplify image search, allowing users to right-click on an image on a web page and directly initiate a reverse search.
What image search is for
Image search is a Web feature that proves indispensable in a multitude of contexts because it supports both professional and personal goals and provides users with the tools to navigate and use the vast world of online visual resources with responsibility and awareness.
For those who need to identify specific visual elements, such as unfamiliar objects, locations, works of art, or historical figures, image search provides an effective means of acquiring relevant and verifiable information.
Design professionals and creatives rely on image research to access a vast repertoire of visual references that can stimulate new ideas and positively influence their projects, in a process of inspiration that is crucial to maintaining innovation and freshness in their work. In education, image research enriches teaching materials, facilitating more dynamic and interactive learning: teachers and researchers frequently use this resource to illustrate complex concepts and increase student engagement through visual content.
For marketers and SEO specialists, image search is a strategic element in attracting and maintaining audience attention. Selecting relevant and engaging images is critical to effectively communicate the brand message and optimize the online visibility of content. Website owners and blog managers leverage this feature to enhance the user experience and encourage greater engagement by selecting appropriate photos to enrich their content and make it more engaging.
Verifying the authenticity of images is another critical aspect, especially in a digital context where copyrights must be scrupulously respected. Publishers and digital content managers use image search to ensure that images are being used in accordance with applicable regulations, thus avoiding potential legal violations.
Finally, image search also has its place in personal leisure and entertainment. Users explore collections of images out of pure personal interest, discovering new content that can educate, inspire, or simply provide a moment of entertainment.
The importance of visual research
It has certainly occurred to each of us to do an image search, that is, to use a classic search engine with the express purpose of displaying multimedia results, photos to be precise.
In fact, according to some estimates, nearly 20 percent of all search queries on Google refer to images, and people search for millions of images online every day.
Until not too long ago, the easiest way to perform this task was precisely to make use of a normal search engine and type query+image (or query+photo) into the search bar, but thanks to the overall evolution that technology is undergoing we now have even faster, and above all more effective, ways to search for images – that is, to use the appropriate image search engines or to take advantage of the reverse search functionality.
In all cases, however, we still have to enter a relevant keyword and cross our fingers, hoping that the image we have in mind actually exists on the Internet and the Web. If we are lucky (if we used the right query and chose the best search engine) it will only take a few seconds to find the resource and possibly use it on our site, where possible by license. In this regard, it is worth a quick reminder that most of the images found online are normally copyrighted and therefore we cannot simply download or copy them for use on the blog or website, but to our rescue come the various stock photo sites that make available high-definition images, often also for free, licensed under Creative Commons.
What image search engines are, allies for finding photos online
Image search engines are sophisticated systems that use advanced algorithms to interpret and catalog images on the Web.
Put another way, an image search engine is simply an online site that stores and indexes image files, labeled according to specific keywords or appropriate tags. Today, they are more advanced than ever and allow you to refine your desired image search through advanced search filters and other tools.
Their algorithms are based on a number of factors, including the text surrounding the image, metadata, quality, and visual relevance. Visual search, in particular, is gaining ground, with users increasingly inclined to search for products and information through images rather than text, and this change in user behavior “forces” those who run sites to publish optimized images that can be easily interpreted and indexed by search engines.
Image search works in exactly the same way as text search, except that the SERP that appears after entering a query will not consist of clickable blue links, but of thumbnail preview images corresponding to the keywords of the search.
In this way, image search becomes significantly easier because we will avoid having to browse through hundreds of similar photos before locating the appropriate one that may then, unfortunately, not be freely accessible or usable.
Through image search engines we can find the photo to be related to a text content, compliant with the correct usage rights, or a high-resolution image to be used in a marketing campaign, or simply a photo to be used as a desktop wallpaper: in all possible cases, there are plenty of tools that come to our rescue.
How image search engines work
The Web offers many different options for image search, from general search engines with an image search function to more specific search engines dedicated to image browsing and indexing. The latter, in particular, are very useful portals that help millions of people find high quality images without having to waste time scouring the web for the exact photo they need.
The success of a search engine is based on its ability to serve relevant images, and thus to correctly match the indexed resources to the query people are looking for, also by means of tags that define the ‘context’ and help filtering. Conventionally, tagging makes it possible to distinguish the type of image (photograph or graphic), the colours (black and white, colours, dominant colour), the category (to simplify the search) and the content (the actual tags, like those on blogs in short).
As said, there are many image search engines and it is not easy (nor perhaps possible) to identify the absolute best, because each system has its advantages and disadvantages and everything depends on our needs. The most famous and most widely used is obviously Google Images, which has on its side the strength of the classic search system, but also the combination of a powerful general image search and reverse search functionality.
Not to be overlooked, however, is the alternative represented by Bing, which, with its attractive visual interface and easy-to-understand filter options, positions itself as a strong competitor for general image searches, just as the old Yahoo! or Yandex also offer their own image search engine.
Then there are more specific tools that focus precisely on visual resources: for instance, Pinterest (which is precisely an image-based platform) has its own visual search tool that allows one to browse through results visually similar to the image that has caught one’s eye, selected from within a rather large image database thanks to pins created by users. Even Flickr, although now in a waning trend, is still a possible mine of original images from amateur and professional photographers who share their work on the platform, while TinEye offers more refined and often better suggestions than Google’s reverse image search.
In any case, learning how to use image search engines efficiently will be of great help to us and, often, we will only find the best result by launching search queries on several tools and comparing their answers.
If anything, the saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” downplays the comparative value of images and text. And while we can intuit how powerful images are, we should not leave this understanding to our imagination-there is plenty of data to make the point very clear. Although text still plays an important role in marketing, research shows that images are much more powerful engines of engagement and conversions.
What is and how does image search work
As mentioned, there is a specific option for refining our online activities, namely reverse image search or image search, a feature offered by many search engines that allows us to use a photograph or image as a search query instead of textual keywords, so that we can find photos similar to one that we own in our computer archive or that has hit us online.
This type of reverse search relies on visual recognition algorithms that analyze the submitted image to find matches or related content on the Web.
Reverse image search is particularly useful for discovering the source of an image, finding similar images, or gathering information about an object, place, or person depicted in the image.
How reverse image search works
When performing an image search, the search engine performs an analysis of the uploaded image to identify various elements such as colors, shapes, text, patterns, and other distinctive visual attributes. This data is then compared against a large database of indexed images to find matches or similar images. Algorithms can also use facial recognition, object recognition, and text recognition (OCR) to improve search results.
In a nutshell, reverse image search engines are able to find the source file of an image, helping us to trace the original source of the image after uploading a similar and related one as a search query.
There are many possible use cases for these tools: we can, for instance, start from a small or blurred image to display (and use) the high-resolution original, or launch a search for a product of which we have no information other than a photo (and thus find details of the name, brand and other useful information), or even delve into the context of an image.
Reverse image searches are particularly useful for webmasters and content creators who need to find a similar image of higher quality or a source file. Among the advantages of these systems are the possibility of verifying the origin of an image (and possibly also its online dissemination, which is particularly effective for authenticating profiles of people, news and event images), monitoring copyrighted images (discovering precisely which sites have used that media content, with or without attribution) and precisely finding similar images, i.e. better shots or options for an image.
Amongst the disadvantages, we must say above all that the reverse image search does not always work, because it may happen that the function is executed without obtaining results, and this depends on various factors – site hosting the image preventing media content indexing, for example, or data centre slightly out of sync or search engine not particularly effective in recognition.
How to search for images
There are several ways to perform an image search, and the steps may vary slightly depending on the search engine used.
In general, the process follows this path:
- Access the image search engine. Open the preferred search engine that offers image search, such as Google Images.
- Upload or enter the image URL. We can choose to upload an image from the device or enter the URL of an image we found online. To upload an image, there is usually a camera icon in the search bar that allows us to select a file from the device. To enter a URL, simply paste it into the appropriate field after clicking on the camera icon.
- Image analysis. Once the image has been uploaded or the URL entered, the search engine will analyze the image using its visual recognition algorithms.
- Visualization of results. After analysis, the search engine will present a set of results that may include similar images, web pages containing the image, or information related to the image. These results can be filtered or sorted by relevance, image type, size, and other available options.
Image search is a powerful tool that takes advantage of computers’ ability to “see” and “understand” images in ways that approximate the human ability for visual recognition. This technology continues to develop rapidly, with applications ranging from digital marketing and product identification to academic research and digital security.
How to perform a reverse image search with Google
Besides the aforementioned TinEye tool and other similar systems, the most famous and most widely used reverse image search engine is undoubtedly Google with its Google Reverse Image Search, which in practice is an alternative method for finding images on Google from photos, valid when we are in doubt about the most appropriate terms to use in the query or when we want to learn more about an image we have seen online or saved on our hard disk.
Launched as a feature in 2011, Google reverse image search is really easy to use, both from desktop and mobile, because it works on Safari, Firefox and Chrome, with obvious advantages when using Google’s internal browser. For instance, Chrome users can simply right-click on an image anywhere within the window and select ‘search for this image on the Web’ (now ‘search for this image with Google Lens‘) and display a SERP that returns what the algorithms consider to be the ‘best guess for this image’, as well as pages that include matching images.
From the home page of Google Images, we can launch a search by clicking on the camera icon and selecting one of the two available tabs: intuitively, ‘paste image URL’ allows us to launch a search for an image already present online, while ‘upload an image’ allows us to upload a resource saved in our offline archive (unlike Tineye, there is no limit to the size of images that can be uploaded to Google).
In both cases, after clicking on ‘Search by image’, we will see the uploaded photo at the top of the page together with some suggested keywords: next to the image, Google will inform if there are other image sizes available for download. From here we can explore similar images or check the websites that contain the image.
If we want to launch a reverse image search from a smartphone, the procedure is not very different: we open the Google mobile app and click on the camera icon on the right. The system will ask us for access to Lens in order to directly frame an object with the camera and find related results – an approach that will be increasingly central to search and which is also the basis of the Multisearch system presented at the last Google I/O 2022.
The art of capturing attention: the power of images for SEO and digital marketing
As mentioned, today more than ever a site must focus on multimedia to attract attention-not coincidentally, we talk about attention economy-and the visual aspect has also become central to SEO and digital marketing strategies, reinforcing the brand message.
Basically, we need to be aware that images are not just ornaments: they are powerful tools for increasing user engagement. Therefore, it is not enough to choose a “beautiful” image to be successful: we need a relevant, contextualized image, integrated into the larger content, capable of keeping the user on the page, enticing them to explore the content further.
Strategically integrating images with text not only enriches the message but also facilitates comprehension and memorization of information. In addition, images can be used to guide the user through a predetermined path within the site, improving dwell time and reducing bounce rate.
In this regard, image quality is a crucial factor: a sharp, well-composed and visually appealing image can make all the difference.
The key to standing out and making our media assets stand out, however, is “optimization”: just as we regularly do for optimizing textual content on the site, in fact, we must also pay attention to SEO for images, which requires some attention to detail.
In a nutshell, optimizing images for SEO means always choosing a file name that is descriptive and contains relevant keywords, for example; in addition, the folder structure on the server can also influence how search engines interpret the importance of an image. The alt attribute, which is often overlooked, is useful because it provides a textual description of the image, which is useful for search engines and accessibility. Image compression is another critical aspect, as heavy images can slow down site load time, hurting both user experience and SEO ranking because they impact performance calculated by Core Web Vitals. Finally, the choice of image format can affect visibility and loading speed, with newer generation formats ome WebP or AVIF offering an excellent trade-off between quality and file size.
Another challenge concerns the legal and bureaucratic aspect of images: it is imperative to understand copyright and the various licenses for use to avoid infringement that can lead to legal and financial consequences. Every image is protected by copyright unless expressly stated otherwise, and using images without the permission of the rights holder can be risky. There are different types of licenses, such as Creative Commons or Royalty-Free, that allow the use of images under certain conditions. It is critical, therefore, to make sure you have the right to use an image before publishing it on your site or marketing channels.
The SEO opportunities of image search
We can then call it a parallel SEO, which aims at optimising a specific type of content: image search is becoming an interesting challenge not only for those who provide the service (i.e. image search engines), but also and above all for sites that want to appear in positions of visibility and exploit these resources to win new organic visitors. As we probably experience every day, finding the perfect image to go with a content can often be a challenge, but it is very useful in order to succeed in the goal of winning over the reader: in our support come various image search engines, starting with Google’s service, but also the mechanism of reverse image search, with which we can also deepen the context around the photo.
From what has been written, we should have understood why it can be important for those in the digital field to learn how to do an effective image search: multimedia content is now a key asset for web pages, to be taken care of as much as textual content, and the right SEO optimization of images needs to be implemented to take full advantage of their value.
To summarize, hosting unique, contextualized, content-consistent images on site pages-and tagged with the right keywords-can increase the chances of ranking these assets on search engines and, in concrete terms, the chances that users will find these images and land on our site through a general image search or reverse image search.
And so, media files are a possible source of additional organic traffic for our business, as well as additional leverage to outrank our competitors, and more a general media is gaining in importance with each passing year, playing a crucial role in enhancing the user experience and responding to the user’s search intent.
