An ECommerce Marketer's Definitive Guide To Visual Search

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An eCommerce Marketer’s Def initive Guide to Visual Search
Luc y Manole
Last Updated: June 15, 2021
9 Min Read
Google is const ant ly changing it s algorit hms and updat es, and eCommerce brands
looking t o out perform t he compet it ion need t o st ay abreast of t hese changes. One
significant new t rend in t his regard is visual search.
Research shows 62% of Gen Z, and millennial consumers want visual search
funct ionalit y, while nearly 23% of Google search queries yield images. At t he same
t ime, only about 8% of eCommerce brands have added visual search t o t heir sit e
experience.
Clearly, t his is a huge unt apped opport unit y t hat you would do well t o capit alize on
before your compet it ors cat ch up.
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What is visual search?

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Essent ially, visual search refers t o search made about or wit h images. The most
common way for users t o do t his is t hrough Google Image search, eit her by ent ering
keywords and looking for mat ching images or searching t hrough image files for t he
original source.
One significant st ep forward in t his direct ion is Google Lens, which allows users t o
add calendar event s, find recipes, t ake phot os of product s t hey like, and learn where
t o find t hem online.

Image Source: [1]

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also have funct ionalit ies t hat allow users t o
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shop wit h t he help of pict ures t hey t ake. Similarly, individual brands like Neiman
Marcus have t heir versions of visual search t ools.
The luxury ret ailer, for inst ance, has embraced experiment at ion by launching a feat ure
in t heir mobile app called “Snap. Find. Shop.”
Their cust omers can t ake pict ures of any shoe, handbag, or clot hing t hrough t heir
phone camera. The app would t hen scan t he Neiman Marcus invent ory t o see if t hey
carried an it em similar t o t he it em in t he phot o.
The innovat ive app makes product recommendat ions t hat t he cust omer can purchase
from t he app it self. Due t o t his funct ionalit y, Neiman Marcus has been able t o
increase it s overall app usage and cust omer engagement significant ly, t hereby
reducing cust omer churn.

Why visual SEO matters
At present , t here are over 1.8 billion websit es on t he Int ernet , and t hat number is
going up every day. To st and out among all t hat compet it ion, you need a good reason
for cust omers t o look at your websit e rat her t han anyone else’s, and st rong visuals
are a big part of t hat . Here is why visual cont ent is your new best friend when it
comes t o sit e SEO:
1. Conveys more inf ormation
Today’s cust omers are comfort able when it comes t o Int ernet searches. It is not
surprising since 50% of sit e visit ors decide whet her t o keep browsing a sit e or
abandon it wit hin eight seconds.
You t hus have only a small window of t ime in which t o make an impact — and visuals,
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h t heir high ret ent ion rat e, allow visit ors t o learn much more about your sit e wit hin
t hat small window t han a block of t ext would.
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Image Source: [2]

Therefore, invest in creat ing high- qualit y infographics, chart s, and dat a visualizat ions
t hat sum up import ant informat ion in an eye- cat ching manner, and posit ion t hem on
your webpage in a way t hat sit e visit ors cannot miss.
2. Attracts more links
Hi, I amare
Backlinks Shanaz
crit ical ft rom the VWOyour
o est ablishing Research Desk.
websit e as domain aut horit y, in addit ion t o
J oin our
being onecommunity of 10,000+
of t he biggest Marketing
search , Product
ranking & UX
fact Folks today &
ors. never miss the latest from the
While backlinking remains a challenge for SEO execut ives, having st rong visual
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cont ent such as a dat a- packed infographic can boost your backlinks in much less
t ime t han a blog post or ot her t ext - based cont ent would.
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Therefore, help t he process along by promot ing your infographic among your
professional net work, follower base, and cont ent influence — t he more popular it
becomes, t he more likely it is t hat sit es will link t o it .
3. Improves average site visit length
The longer visit ors spend on your websit e, t he higher your search rankings go,
especially since Google launched t he Rankbrain algorit hm in 2015. Having an
infographic, a video clip, or even an evocat ive image on your websit e’s landing page is
an inst ant at t ent ion grabber. It creat es a feel- good vibe t hat encourages t he visit or
t o st ay longer.
Moreover, 95% of purchases are driven by emot ion. That makes visuals an essent ial
and powerful sales t ool. They can efficient ly communicat e valuable informat ion

about your business offering, which significant ly increases t he chances of get t ing
more conversions.
To convert t he people you are sending t o your websit e, you must opt for proper
conversion rat e opt imizat ion t o get more out of your exist ing websit e t raffic. St rong
visuals can help you achieve t his goal comfort ably.

4.world
Boosts social
of exp erience activity
op timization.
There is a st rong correlat ion bet ween a websit e’s social presence and it s SEO
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rankings. The more social act ivit y you enjoy, t he likelier it is t o generat e clicks.
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Plus, new social media algorit hms make it much likelier for image- based cont ent t o
show up on people’s feeds t han t ext - based cont ent — which makes it all t he more
crit ical for you t o invest in solid visuals for your Facebook and Inst agram pages.
Tips to optimize visual search for your business
Image- based search t echnology will only evolve over t he next few years, and
eCommerce websit es t hat do not come along for t he ride are bound t o suffer. Here
are some easy t ips on how t o incorporat e visual search int o your sit e opt imizat ion
and appeal t o t he new generat ion of visual- first buyers:
1. Add images to your sitemap
Build up an ext ensive library of high- qualit y original images and include t hem on your
sit emap so t hat visual search engines can quickly scan t hem. Be sure t o have a
syst em of organizing t hem, such as Get
by URL.
new poWit
st s ohn temail
he help of an image sit emap, you
will give Google crawlers more informat ion about t he phot os — and make t hem more
suscept ible t o show up in search.

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Image Source: [3]
2. Size your images correctly
When it comes t o image sizing for your websit e, remember t hat less is more.
Excessively large images will only slow down t he load t ime and bring down t he user
experience on various browsers and devices. This would obviously hamper your search
rankings in t he long run.
Before uploading your images, use a compressor such as TinyPNG t o bring t hem
down t o an opt imal size wit hout compromising qualit y or t he proper proport ions.
It would be best t o choose an image file t ype t hat lends it self t o adapt ion and
compression — JPEG is usually t he best . For videos, AVI works best .
3. Name your images properly
Search engine bot s will be scanning your image file names besides t he images
t hemselves. Be sure t o add a unique and relevant name and a short but descript ive alt
t ext t o each. This way, even if t he bot cannot recognize what your image cont ains, it
can refer t o your file name and alt t ext for t he right keywords and feat ure you in
search result s.
For inst ance, if you have a phot o of Not re Dame on one of your landing pages, t he file
name should not be DSC1456.jpg. A proper file name would be “not re- dame- paris,”
ensuring t he main subject of your landing page is at t he beginning of t he file name.

4. Include alt tags
As ment ioned above, alt t ags are essent ial for search engine bot s scanning your sit e.
However, t hey are also helpful for consumers using screen readers t o browse your
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websit e. Even if t hose consumers cannot see t he image, alt t ext gives t hem an idea
of it s cont ent s. When writ ing alt t ext , be sure t o keep it clear and relevant for t he
reader — do not st uff keywords in forSUBSCRIBE
it s sake.NOW

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Sources: [4]
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A t ypical alt t ext : <img src=”escalat or.jpg” alt =”man on escalat or”>
A convert ing alt t ext : <img src=”escalat or.jpg” alt =”man wearing backpack walking
down an escalat or”>
Alt t ext can help you rank in Google Images, which is responsible for 20.45% of all
online searches worldwide.
5. Optimise your eCommerce site f or text search
While visual search should undoubt edly be a focal area, you do not want t o forget
about ranking for t radit ional t ext - based search eit her. Opt imize your eCommerce
sit e’s t ext for SEO and be as careful about your keywords, headlines, alt t ags, and
met at ags as you would be for your image file names and alt t ags. Do not forget t o
A/B t est t hem over t ime t o see what works for your sit e and what does not .
6. Add captions
Capt ions provide cont ext for your images and also weave it in wit h t he rest of t he
t ext cont ent on t he webpage. You may use t he same image more t han once on your
websit e, but add different capt ions t o suit different cont ext s.
Capt ions wit h relevant keywords help boost your search engine result s and boost t he
cust omer’s reading experience by providing det ails about t he fabric and design t heme
for an image of a dress.
7.world
Upgrade youropchatbot
of exp erience timization.
Several chat bot s now offer visual search funct ionalit ies as well. If you are serious
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about opt imizing your websit e for visual search, adding a chat bot like t his can
st reamline conversat ions wit h sit e visit ors.
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The chat bot provides links t o relevant images as real- t ime answers t o queries. For
inst ance, if someone asks about summer clot hing on an apparel websit e, t he chat bot
can respond wit h images from t he lat est summer collect ion.
American Eagle Out fit t ers, for inst ance, has a chat bot t hat asks quest ions t o visit ors
and makes product recommendat ions based on t he informat ion collect ed.

Image Sources: [5]

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8. Optimize your social media visuals

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Part icularly on channels like Inst agram, having t he right visual appeal is key t o
at t ract ing and ret aining cust omers.
Apart from using high- qualit y images, pay at t ent ion t o how your feed looks — for
inst ance, Inst agram uses a grid layout , so you want each phot o you upload t o
complement t he ot her ones around it visually.
Moreover, t o at t ract t he at t ent ion of shoppers, your Inst agram feed needs t o reflect
your brand aest het ics appealingly.
For inst ance, if your ret ail brand st ands for eart h- friendliness, creat e an Inst agram
feed represent ing just t hat . Your choice of images needs t o reflect your brand
aest het ics.

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Image Source: [6]
Infuse warm and eart hy vibes t hrough t he art ist ic select ion of your product phot os.
Plus, use t he right hasht ags so t hat your images are easily searchable, and be sure t o
post at t he opt imal t imes for maximum engagement .
Wrapping it up Get new po st s o n email

As Google cont inues t o push t he boundaries of what search is and what it can be,
eCommerce market ers need t o plan for t he fut ure of search, which at t he moment , is
except ionally visuals- focused.
Since online shoppers cannot t ouch or feel a product , t hey depend heavily on images
t o make purchase decisions. Therefore, it is essent ial t o opt imize eCommerce sit es
for visual search. What do you t hink?
Image Sources

Lucy Manole
Lucy is a creative content writer and strateg ist at Marketing Dig est. S he sp ecializes in writing ab out
dig ital marketing , technolog y, entrep reneurship , and education. When she is not writing or editing ,
she sp ends time reading b ooks, cooking and traveling .
[email protected]
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An eCommerce Marketer’s Def initive Guide to Visual Search

Last Updated: June 15, 2021

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What is visual search?

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Image Source: [1]

Social media plat forms like Pint erestSUBSCRIBE

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1. Conveys more inf ormation

Image Source: [2]

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2. Attracts more links

3. Improves average site visit length

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Hi, I am Shanaz f rom the VWO Research Desk.

Tips to optimize visual search for your business

1. Add images to your sitemap

Hi, I am Shanaz f rom the VWO Research Desk.

2. Size your images correctly

Hi, I am Shanaz f rom the VWO Research Desk.

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5. Optimise your eCommerce site f or text search

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Image Sources: [5]

8. Optimize your social media visuals

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Image Source: [6]

Wrapping it up Get new po st s o n email

Hi, I am Shanaz f rom the VWO Research Desk.

Predict A/B test results using ancient Indian astrology

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Optimizing Your Site For Conversions: A Primer On

Scale your A/B testing and experimentation with

REQ UES T DEMO

© 2021 Copyright Wingif y.

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