Have you heard of visual search? Is your company using it? Omnichannel, artificial intelligence or visual search are digital marketing trends that are gaining traction every day.
In online businesses, there are new terms and new ideas that you need to learn and embrace every time you turn around. A visual search is something that can help build your business, but first, you need to understand what it is.
What is Visual Search?
A visual search is a way to use images for online searches. Screenshots, photos, and Internet images all become searchable. Yes, that’s a thing. Google even has an “Image Search” option where you can upload an image and it will tell you all the sites that use that image.
Search engines can even show related and similar images to help improve search results. A business that uses lots of images can benefit greatly from a visual search. If you sell tools, machine parts, or other types of products, a visual search makes it easier for people to find you.
Imagine someone sees a photo online of a wrench they really like, but can’t find what website it is sold on. They can save the image to their mobile device, upload it to a search engine, and find a site that sells that particular wrench.
The main search engines for visual searches today are Google, Pinterest, and Amazon, but Bing is starting to enter the visual search world as well. Even some well-known retailers, like Ikea and Wayfair, are building visual search tools into their own websites.
Why Visual Search is Important to Business
Imagine how much easier it will be for shoppers to find, and purchase, your products if all they need is a photo. They will no longer have to think of search terms that will hopefully give them the results they’re hoping for. If they can find a photo of what they want, search engines will be able to find both that product and other similar products they might like better. Visual search options can significantly improve your SEO and the number of clicks to your website if you offer products similar to what people are searching for.
Would it surprise you to know that 55% of consumers say that visual search is influential in helping them develop their own style and taste? And in research studies, more than 50% of those asked preferred visual information over text.
If your online business sells physical products, visual search is going to be a huge part of your potential growth very soon. If you’re not already using it on your website, it’s time to start looking into it so that you can get ahead of the curve.
Be on the lookout for our next post about how to make Visual Search work for you and your B2B business.
Other Posts of Interest
A few other posts you might be interested in:
Making Your Site Searchable (Series)
Google Analytics Roundup (Series)
