Everyone desires to take their websites to the highest google ranking. It is only possible if you keep updating the site components with the constantly changing SEO algorithms.
To master SEO performance, you must take special care of various metrics. But wait! What metric has been trending recently that can also make your SEO strategy future-proof? The answer is a no brainer – visual search technology.
Glossy perfectly explained the meaning of visual web search by comparing it to the Shazam, where instead of searching the songs, you search for the designer jacket that you have seen elsewhere and wanted so badly but can’t remember the brand although, you have its picture.
In the opinion of Ben Silbermann, Pinterest’s CEO, “the future of search will be about pictures rather than keywords.” And we 100% agree!
Implementation of Visual Search in Branded Apps
With the implementation of visual search in branded apps and websites. A noticeable spike in functionality can be experienced, leading to a digital transformation.
It will meet your shopping demands when words fail to describe what you are trying to find. Approximately 45% of the UK retailers have been using the visual search image approach.
Undoubtedly, significant growth in visual search tools has been observed. It first caught attention in 2018 when Pinterest stated that it recorded more than 600 million visual searches monthly.
Where technology and search engines have improved, the visually image search has also become more famous, making e-commerce businesses use quality, high-resolution, clear images. Not to mention, humans crave graphical presentation because visually processed content tends to impact more strongly.
Visual Search Stats – Making Shopping Experience Much Easier and Quicker
Wanda Gierhart, the chief marketing officer of Neiman Marcus, says, “Visual search removes hurdles, taking the customer directly from inspiration to gratification.”
All you need to do is “snap the item, search the item (or similar items), and buy the item.” This is how the visual search tech work. Pretty simple, huh?
According to 55% of consumers, Visual Search is actively involved and extremely helpful in developing their style and taste. If you haven’t used the visual search engine, you must, and then you might not need anyone to convince you to believe.
How amazingly this tech helps in finding landmarks, translating written content, searching recipes, reading nutrition information, and lots of other tasks.
eBay, Blippar, EasyJet, Levi’s, Disney, Walmart, and many other businesses have debuted visual shopping search engines in different timelines.
We suggest you capitalise on visual search demand or leverage the ready-made image search engines right away by tailoring your visual search strategy based on how your buyers are conceptualising your services.
How does visual search work?
Visual search, categorized as “sensory search,” is based on a prized combination of computer vision, AI, and machine learning. On the one hand, computer vision captures the image and presents the product.
On the other hand, machine learning and AI interpret the image and comprehend the message shown by the buyer. The visuals are regarded as queries for exploring the precise matching search results. What a miraculously intelligent use of technology.
Even though it is in its initial stages, it is doing well. You can get an idea with the stats of Google Lens visual search usage as it has already been used for approx. 1 billion times in 2019 and over 3 billion times in 2021 each month. It definitely sounds like a huge success.
Make the Most Out of Visual Picture Search
All the retailers and store owners can make the most out of visual picture search by delivering a seamless, joyful, more efficient, and faster way of shopping.
In the near future, a massive wave of improvements in visually image search tech is expected to hit every other big and small company, mainly operating in the fashion and home decor industries, to build and expand the user base, increase ROI, remain competitive, and blur the line between in-person and eCommerce shopping.
The most significant difference in conversion rate in 2019 was observed in BooHoo visual search, which enjoyed an 85% increase by introducing the Camera Search feature.
Moreover, Tommy Hilfiger’s image recognition visual search app brings new customers, increases web traffic, and surges user engagement over time.
According to the Invespcro research, 74% of online shoppers agreed that typical, old-styled product search through keywords or text has been highly ineffective in helping them search for the exact product they are looking for.
Another survey states that 59% of the consumers consider visual information much more important in comparison to textual information while surfing across multiple industries.
By 2023, The Global Visual Search Market is predicted to exceed $14,727 million
Visual Similar Search Tech Importance By Business Category
Has visual image search already become the top SEO ranking factor? Can it really bring the game-changing transition to your website? Well, not yet! But considering how 62% of millennial is already fancying visually similar image search tech over other tools, you can expect this trend to keep surging.
According to Global Data, 20% of the buyers in 2019 preferred using AI visual search if the feature is provided in the app or website.
Market research conducted last year shows that certain business categories are ranked considering how immensely visual search has affected their SEO ranking.
| Industry | Visual Importance (percentages) |
| Clothing | 86% |
| Furniture | 85% |
| Cars | 58% |
| Groceries | 56% |
| Vacations | 55% |
| Household items | 46% |
| Electronics, Wines and spirits | 41% |
Top 4 Platforms For Visual Search In Ecommerce
- Pinterest – Back in 2014, Pinterest let the browsers highlight only particular segments of Pins to discover other Pins that appear similar in design to a selected section. Now?! Technology is made efficient enough to help you identify more than 2.5 billion items, even if the image is pixelated. The ‘Shop the look’ pins for advertisers are the biggest Pinterest visual search tool to date.
Back in 2018, brands could target over 5,000 categories by using visual search marketing through Pinterest visual search Lens. You can imagine how much it must have increased till now!
- Bing – The intuitively smart web-based image search makes Bing a big player in the visual search race! In addition to finding related products. A Bing visual search can define what suitable and positive action should be given to the customer.
- Snapchat Camera Search – Since 2018, Snapchat visual search has been highly helpful in recognizing a barcode for the buyers who intend to search for the products on Amazon. Capture the item, tap on the card, and place an order!
- Google Lens app – It can scan and identify pretty much everything. In comparison, the 2018 version of Google visual search is more straightforward, more efficient, more accessible, and installed initially on various Android smartphone cameras.
Why Is Visual Search Important | Benefits Of Visual Search
- It saves your time by providing you with the exact matching item. Usually, text search brings tens of (nearly) visually identical products, finding the desired product more difficult. AI Visual search tech facilitates purchasing decisions by making sure that the user receives what they want to see.
- Visually similar image search benefits the retailers by quickly and effortlessly turning the consumers’ search to potential leads and sales conversion. One study showed “how visual internet search leads to check out twice as quickly as text-based search.” It beneficially bridges the gap between online & offline shopping experiences by forging a sense of physical connection.
- You will experience ease in tracing and determining the success of visual search performance, regardless of a custom app or visual image search engine. From catching the buyer’s click on visual search results to making a purchase, brands receive continuous updates.
Worst 4 Challenges Of Visual Search Shopping
- More complicated, intricate, and multifaceted than text search.
- You might receive irrelevant result images due to improper visuals.
- People will take time to adjust to visual photo search as they are accustomed to search by keywords.
- It hasn’t been monetised yet, which makes the future of visual search slightly unpredictable.