Most people like e-commerce because of the wide variety of choices and unparalleled convenience. However, there is still a gap between the online and in-person experience. VR is coming along to close that gap a bit, but until haptic technology advances, the online experience will always be somewhat of a compromise.
Good-quality images can go a long way toward convincing consumers that your products are what they want. But how do you get them to appear on the Google Image search engine results page?
Let’s find out!
Google image search
Google Image Search is a repository of more than 136 billion images. According to a Google/Ipsos poll, 85% of consumers say product descriptions and images are instrumental in deciding which brand to buy from. Other data suggests that 3 in 4 consumers rely on high-quality digital photos.
Images are a vital part of the e-commerce user experience, but you probably knew that anyway. But thanks to the recent Google Lens update, visual search is about to become more popular.
What the Google Lens update means for e-commerce brands
In 2022, there were about 8 billion Google Lens searches per month. Last year, that number grew by 50% to 12 billion. With somewhere in the region of 225 billion searches on Google per month, these figures mean Google Lens accounts for 4.7% of all searches, without accounting for traditional image searches.
Google Lens helps consumers point their cameras at objects or images and get instant search results. This presents a new and intriguing channel for e-commerce brands and an exciting and seamless consumer shopping experience.
There are several benefits here for e-commerce brands. Firstly, if you retail products with a high visual impact (fashion, shoes, home decor, jewelry, etc.), attracting web visitors via images should be a priority for your brand anyway. However, that’s not the only reason to make Google Lens optimization a priority.
Another thing that should bump up the appeal of optimizing for Google Lens is that it helps expose your products to people who might not be actively searching for them, which is pretty hard to do with traditional SEO alone.
Finally, Google Lens encourages a more spontaneous type of purchasing, which can benefit brands that sell fashion, tech gadgets, decorative items, and more.
So, let’s take a look at what you can do to get your image SEO on point.
Image SEO tips that will help your brand connect with more customers
Here are some image SEO tips that can help Google recognize and index your images.
#1. Use original images
Using stock promotional photos is very tempting and convenient if you sell products you don’t make. However, Google prefers original and unique content, whether written or visual.
Google’s algorithms are fairly sophisticated at this point. They can detect when images are used widely across several sites. So, if you want to outmuscle your competitors, you have to get your camera out.
Conversion tips
- Make sure your images are high-quality.
- Use different angles or 360-degree photos.
- Keep your lighting and background consistent.
- Showcase your products in use.
- Where relevant, include size reference objects.
#2. Use descriptive file names and alt text
Optimize the file name and alt text with relevant keywords. Adding these details will help Google understand your images and index them for image search. This process will increase the likelihood of driving traffic to your website and help Google better understand the context of your pages.
Conversion tips
- Use keywords separated by hyphens in your file names. (E.g., comfortable-black-running-shoes.jpeg).
- Keep descriptions concise, with no more than five words per file name.
- Use alt text to describe your images accurately.
- Use keywords in alt-text, but don’t go overboard. (E.g., comfortable black running shoes for men and women).
- Keep alt-text descriptions under 125 characters.
#3. Image Sitemaps and Structured Data
Create an image sitemap and implement schema markup so you can provide search engines with the detailed product information they need to index your images.
You might think this is minor or overly technical, but it’s worth your attention. Nestle R&D showed that sites with rich data had an 82% higher CTR, while a SEMRUSH study suggested that sites with schema markup had 114% higher conversion rates.
Conversion tips
- Submit your image sitemap through Google Search Console to ensure it gets crawled.
- Test your structured data implementation using Google’s Rich Results Test tool.
- Use schema.org structured data markup to provide additional information about images.
#4. Appear on Google Lens
While Google Shopping allows you to promote your images via paid campaigns, the search engine giant offers free listings. Even if you use the free option, your images will show up in searches on:
- Google Search
- Google Images
- Google Shopping
- Google Lens
However, you must create a feed for your Google Merchant account to pull this off. Alternatively, as detailed above, you can Integrate structured data markup onto your website.
Final thoughts
Image SEO is becoming increasingly important. As consumers shop more via smartphones, e-commerce stores must account for the growing relevance of voice and image interactions. Following our image SEO best practices offers an extra and productive channel that will help you connect with modern shoppers.
There’s 12 billion Google Lens searches each month, so make sure your e-commerce photos are among them!
