Key Takeaways:
- Visual search simplifies product discovery, reducing customer frustration and improving sales.
- High-quality images with accurate alt text are essential for improved search visibility.
- Reverse image search enables brands to reach a global audience, transcending language barriers.
- Optimizing visuals requires less effort than traditional SEO but delivers strong results.
Have you ever come across a product on social media that instantly caught your eye, but when you tried searching for it on Google, the results were completely irrelevant? Finding the same item online often feels like looking for a needle in a haystack. That’s where visual search, or search by image, changes the game. With just a single photo, people can now quickly and accurately discover products online.
If you want your e-commerce brand to be part of this revolution and make your products easily discoverable, this blog is for you. We’ll dive into the key benefits of visual search in e-commerce and explore how you can optimize your store to stay ahead.
What is Visual Search?
Visual search in ecommerce enables customers to discover the exact same product using the referral image, instead of words. In this approach, shoppers must utilize an online reverse image search tool or use Google Lens.
Such online search by image tools utilize pioneering AI algorithms that analyze the image, explore its features (such as color, background, person, or item), and then find similar images from the database.
It’s like your mini-Google that can be used to find similar images along with their source links.
Key Benefits of Visual Search in Ecommerce
The visual search approach has revolutionized the way people shop. Nowadays, even when you visit a physical store to buy clothes, you can show them a picture and ask if they have the same item. In online marketing, you do the same, but technology has made it very easy to find the store where that product is available (in stock). Explore the benefits below of visual search in ecommerce:
Better Product Discovery & Sales
Visual search can lead to direct product discovery that can engage customers to buy it, because that’s why they were searching for it. And if you’re selling them the same product at a reasonable price, they will be interested in buying.
Besides, with this, you don’t have to focus on SEO a lot. Since your customers are finding you via images, the only thing is to ensure your images are highly optimized for ranking.
Reduces Frustration & Bounce Rates
No one has time to scroll through countless items or color variations to find a specific product. They want easy and hassle-free shopping, just like happens in the physical stores where the sales executives show them trending and new arrivals.
With the reverse photo search technique, you can reduce the frustration that deters customers from making a purchase. Additionally, with just one click, customers will receive a direct link to your product and be able to purchase it directly.
Works in Any Country & Region
Different countries speak different languages, and whenever they need to buy an item online, they type a keyword in their own language. This reduces your global sales because the majority of stores are only optimized for a particular language and country, mostly English.
But with the reverse image search method, language or region doesn’t matter. If you accept orders from worldwide and other countries, then chances are that when searching by image, Google will show your store in similar results. That way, you can reach the global market and 2x or 4x your sales.
Take Less Search Optimization
Unlike other search optimizations, like SEO, GEO, local SEO, and product listing, visuals take a little less time and effort. They can be done if you add the correct alt text, attributes, and caption in the image.
Another critical factor is to ensure the image is of high quality (not the distorted one). That way, the AI technology will be able to recognize the features in the image and display similar results.
These are some benefits you will get if you optimize your ecommerce store for visual search.
How to Optimize Your Ecommerce Store for Visual Search?
Visual search optimization is a part of search engine optimization that focuses specifically on the media files of your website or e-commerce store. Discover the approaches you can follow to optimize your ecommerce store for visual search and make your brand stand out.
- The first thing is to make sure that the images are always of the highest quality. Machines and bots can easily process high-quality visuals.
- Ensure the alt text of the image is correct. For instance, if the images are of a headphone item, then mention it in the alt text. The format is: alt=“Gaming black headphones”.
- Always make sure that images are compressed for faster loading speed. You can use the WebP format in your images for a smaller size but high quality.
- The name of the image should be the same as the product in the image. Don’t keep the name “JPG1.PNG” or “front.png.” If the image is about a gaming chair, then the name should be “gaming-chair.png.” Google will be able to categorize images and display them in relevant searches easily, or when a person performs a search.
- Your image should be in a plain background with no other unnecessary things in it. For instance, if the image is about a t-shirt, then make sure no pants or a hoodie are appearing in the same picture.
- You can also create and submit an image sitemap to Google to help it understand where the images are located. This will help them navigate your images more quickly than any other ecommerce store.
These are some basic rules or strategies that you can follow to optimize your ecommerce store for visual search.
End Notes
In summary, visual search is transforming the e-commerce experience by making product discovery faster, easier, and more accurate. Customers no longer struggle with irrelevant keyword searches; they simply use images to find exactly what they want. By optimizing your online store with high-quality visuals, proper alt text, and image sitemaps, you can reach more customers, reduce bounce rates, and drive global sales. Embracing visual search today not only improves customer experience but also gives your brand a competitive edge in the ever-growing digital marketplace.