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A guide to reverse image search
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With reverse image search engines, you can now sort through and upload a great selection of quality images for your e-commerce page to drive sales.  

How many times have you come across an image of an outfit, furniture, or even accessories on the Internet and wondered where you would be able to find this? Humans are naturally visual creatures, and whenever we see something that sparks our interests on the internet, it leads to an increased chance of  purchase. Reverse image search is a technology that helps consumers search for products through visuals instead of keywords. 

Reverse picture search is a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) technique that runs an image as a query and retrieves information such as the brand carrying the product of interest. Through the years, reverse image lookup has become an essential business tool that revolutionised the way people interact with the products they see online.

Many shoppers worldwide are already searching for visual content through shopping apps such as Taobao and Amazon before making their purchases. This rise in conducting a search through images stems from consumers’ desires for new fashion brands or products.

What’s more, implementing a reverse image search for your e-commerce website can also enhance your current marketing efforts. 

Benefits of using reverse image search engines in the e-commerce industry

Many e-commerce brands are often competing for a bigger market share within the industry. Apart from using keyword search, incorporating a reverse image search engine on your site or app is an excellent way to gain ground. With new, intelligent, visual search technology used by big brands and platforms like Google and Bing, the search market landscape is constantly changing.

Furthermore, with the recent advancements in visual search technologies, brands like ASOS and even Pinterest have made it easier for users to snap an image, upload it, and search for similar products. Here are three significant advantages that a reverse image lookup has over text-based searches: 

1. Seamless consumer journey  

During the buying process, a buyer will less likely make a purchase if they have to scroll through multiple pages to find a particular product. For instance, ASOS has eliminated the tedious task of searching by conducting a backwards image search, ASOS Style Match, where shoppers can find products on the app with a quick tap. All they have to do is to upload a picture and the app will find the product in the image or recommend something similar. 

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These reverse image searches generally yield a more targeted result and better usability for the consumers. Assuming the high accuracy and quality of your reverse image search engine, your consumers are promised a better customer experience, allowing you to retain them as a customer and drive conversions

2. Refined on-site search

Consumers looking for a specific product are more likely to be qualified leads and have more control over their search parameters. When they search for an image online or via an e-commerce site, the process can filter their search beyond just keywords by showing them what they want. 

Assuming the product is out of stock, having a comprehensive reverse image lookup program can show results for a similar colour, size preference, or style. This ensures that your customers always find something close to their search. 

Product recommendations are often based on similar visuals, colours, and complementary styles. Not only is the buying process simplified, but the increased customer engagement can drive higher sales.

Now that you know about the advantages of reverse image search, let us share some tips to help you get started. 

Tips for businesses to perform reverse image search 

Although setting up a reverse image search engine takes a lot of time, doing it properly is effective in boosting your images’ visibility. Overall, this drives traffic to your site and can even improve your positions on search engine results pages (SERPs). 

Here are some quick tips on how you can optimise your reverse image search: 

  1. Compress your images – image compression is important to core web vitals as well as your image SEO. For instance, if you pack your website with high-quality but heavy visuals, your users may have to wait for a long time before the page loads. 

Read more on the importance of product SEO listing here. 

  1. Name your image files properly – image file names should always state what is on the image, as it helps search engines to recognise it, thus improving your chances of ranking higher. 

  2. Add image alt text – this refers to the way you describe your image to search engines, and generally, the clearer the description, the better it is for search engines as well as users to pull out the relevant images.

Delivering a hassle-free shopping experience

The search technologies and visual recommendations of reverse image search engines have been extended into real applications. It has become more important for businesses in the e-commerce industry to maximise their shopping experience. The delivery process is just as important, apart from ensuring that your images are optimised and easy to search. Choose DHL Express to support your e-commerce business and deliver a completely hassle-free shopping experience for your customers. Reach out to us to find out more.