What Is Reverse Image Search & Why It’s Essential to Your E-commerce Business

E-Commerce E-Commerce Basics

Reverse image search is a relatively new search method that allows people to upload a picture and browse similar photos on the web. Search engines use image recognition technology to bring up related images.

As an e-commerce business owner, you can use Google reverse image search to drive more traffic and sales. After reading this article, you’ll understand the best reverse image search practices for e-commerce and answers to questions like, “How do I reverse Google image search?”

What Is Reverse Image Search?

All the major search engines, including Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex, have a reverse image search feature. Users can upload a picture from their computer or mobile device and find similar images on the web. They can also find information about the object or person in the picture.

Most search engines use image recognition technology to find results. If you upload a picture of a squirrel, for example, the engine will show you other squirrels. Yandex, in particular, uses a combination of image recognition and facial recognition technology, allowing you to search for people and find their personal websites.

Search engines also rely on other data to find similar images on the web. They might look at alt tags, image file names, and more to compare pictures.

Numerous mobile apps allow users to run reverse image searches from their phones. Google Lens is an app that enables people to use their phone cameras in real-time to search for relevant web results.

Who Should Use Reverse Image Search?

E-commerce site owners can benefit from targeting reverse image searchers.

Let’s envision the following scenario. Someone sees a product they love. Perhaps they see it in a public place, like the airport or at a friend’s house. They may not even be sure what it’s called, so they snap a picture and perform a reverse image search. Your site displays the item, and they proceed to click on it and buy your product.

Similarly, a customer is at Target or Walmart and likes a product they see on the shelf. What they don’t like is the price; they want something more affordable. Perhaps they just want something from a different brand. The individual reverse image searches the item, and your site shows up, offering a lower-priced or higher-quality product.

Why Is Reverse Image Search Essential?

More consumers are utilizing reverse image search, and retailers are starting to understand its critical role in driving sales.

According to a study by Intent Lab, 36% of consumers have performed a visual search.
In most categories, almost 60% of consumers preferred visual information to textual information.
The global visual search market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9%, thus expecting to reach $14,727 million by 2025, according to research.

Image search engines go beyond Google. TinEye, for example, is also popular. It was the first reverse image search engine that used image recognition technology instead of image metadata. Various AI-driven image search engines are cropping up as well.

Here are the top benefits reverse image search can bring to the e-commerce industry:

Increased traffic: E-commerce business owners looking to drive more traffic should optimize their images for visual searches.
More sales: Many of the visitors you get from visual searches will be prequalified buyers — people who already know what they want. You’ll drive more sales and revenue.
More mobile users: Almost three-quarters of all online sales happen on mobile. Reverse image searches typically occur on mobile, as users snap pictures with their phones and upload them to search engines.

More consumers are utilizing reverse image search, and retailers are starting to understand its critical role in driving sales.

How Can You Optimize Your Product Pages for Reverse Image Search?

You need to focus on a few things if you want to drive more traffic from reverse image searches.

Firstly, you need to take better pictures that clearly depict the product. Hiring a professional photographer to take high-quality, unique images of your products is best. If you simply pull photos from the manufacturer’s site, likely, your website won’t rank first, or it’ll get lost in pages of similar image results.

In addition, it’s essential to optimize each image’s metadata. Add high-volume keywords to the alt text. Edit each image’s file name before uploading it to include those keywords as well.

Finally, upload several pictures of each product, ideally from different angles.

Do those steps in addition to all of your other product page optimizations. If you still need to list the product benefits, add keywords in the description, and add product tags.

If you can add a reverse image search feature to your store, that’s even better, as it allows your visitors to find the specific products they are looking for.

How Reliable Is Reverse Image Search?

Reverse image search engines are reliable. They use advanced neural network technologies to identify images accurately. Most visual search engines are less effective when searching for people, as they don’t use facial recognition technology. However, they are still effective at showing similar pictures of celebrities and famous figures.

Why Do People Use Reverse Image Search?

A reverse image search is a quick way to find web results without spending time typing. It also allows people to find out what an object is if they don’t know what it’s called. Comparing prices is also easier with a reverse image search.

What Are the Top Reverse Image Search Engines?

Here are the best reverse image search engines:

Google
Bing
Yandex
Yahoo
TinEye
Pinterest

Conclusion

If you aren’t yet optimizing your product pages for reverse image searches, now is the time to do so. The optimization process will allow you to get ahead of your competitors and drive more traffic.

Reverse image search is more critical for some industries than others. For example, it’s vital in the fashion industry. If you’re selling ebooks online, though, reverse image searches may make up a lower percentage of all searches and traffic. Still, though, taking high-quality pictures and optimizing their metadata will help you leverage more SEO traffic overall.