(4) Searching Through Images

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and search engines have taken that to heart. Image search is continuing to grow in popularity and for good reason. When you don’t have the words to describe a product, place, or idea, image search comes in handy. Searchers don’t need to translate their thoughts into words, but can simply upload the image they want to see more results based off of.

One of the biggest uses for image search is product searches and shopping. Take a consumer who sees a specific lamp online. Instead of googling “lamp with swirls on the shade and jagged edges,” they can screenshot the post, and search via the image for similar products. It is then easy to filter based off other product attributes.

This article from Syte includes these three main selling points of why image search adds more value to the searcher:

• Results are more accurate
• Opportunities for cross-selling
• Instant and intuitive shopping experience

However, as the technology continues to become more advanced, there are also some rising concerns over how it will be used. This brief article from LinkedIn includes some of these concerns:

• Consumer safety. Search engines are becoming more and more trained in the ability to take the context clues in a picture and return with information. Posting pictures of a car’s license plate, a house, a workplace, or any other location could be reverse searched, putting their safety potentially at risk.
• Identity Theft. Any posting of important documents, even if it is loosely in the background, can potentially be used to create fakes or lead to fraud.
• Reputation Damage. Once images are posted they are accessible forever and could be manipulated by others, threatening your reputation and online presence.

As with everything, there are two sides to the coin, and the jury is still out on the overall effect of image search. While it does provide some value and benefits to users, the advanced technology can easily be misused.