Why Google Wants to Amplify Visual Content

Google recently made some changes to the way people and businesses connect with each other visually. For example, on September 29, Google announced that the company will make it easier for people to find products from retailers by displaying product search results visually. Many industry watchers interpreted the news as Google playing catchup with Amazon because Google will display product search results similar to how Amazon has been doing so already on its website. The development also underscores the importance of visual content. 

What Google Announced and Why the News Matters 

According to Google, the company will change how some items such as apparel appear in search results. Instead of sharing a series of links and text descriptions, Google will return results with a product page that looks like a digital storefront. In doing so, Google will making online searching and shopping more visually appealing by emulating the product display features you see on Amazon. Bill Ready, Google’s president of commerce and payments, wrote: 

Starting today, we’re making it easier to browse for clothing, shoes and accessories on mobile right from your Search results. For example, when you search for “cropped jackets,” we’ll show you a visual feed of jackets in various colors and styles, alongside other helpful information like local shops, style guides and videos. From there, you can easily filter your search by style, department, brand and more – and when you find something you like, you can check out ratings, reviews and even compare prices to get the best deal.  

He also noted that: 

• Soon, users of Apple iOS will see a new button in the Google app to make all the images on a page searchable through Google Lens. “Now, finding this lamp or that shirt (and ones like it) is just a tap away,” he wrote. 
• Google Lens is coming to Chrome on desktops. Added Ready, “Soon, you will be able to select images, video and text content on a website with Lens to quickly see search results in the same tab — without leaving the page you’re on.” 

Google also announced something else that highlights the importance of visual content. A new Things to Know feature in Google Search will make it easier to explore new topics. Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan wrote, “Let’s say you want to decorate your apartment, and you’re interested in learning more about creating acrylic paintings. If you search for ‘acrylic painting,’ Google understands how people typically explore this topic, and shows the aspects people are likely to look at first. For example, we can identify more than 350 topics related to acrylic painting, and help you find the right path to take.” The example cited made it clear that visual content would pop in those results: 

This news matters for a few reasons: 

• Google is responding to the ascendance of Amazon as a product search tool. Most product searches begin on Amazon. Amazon will be an important destination for searching and shopping during the 2021 holiday shopping season, according to a recently conducted Channel Advisor consumer survey.  
• Google is also keeping pace with the age of Instagram, where visual content is increasingly important. There are more than 3 billion images shared on the internet daily, and marketers say that more than 70 percent of their published articles contain visual content.  

What Businesses Should Do 

• Do an SEO audit to understand how well your business incorporates visual content – ranging from your website to your socials. When people use features such as Things to Know, you want your content to stand apart in the search results. To do that, your content needs to include strong images that complement your text.  
• If you use Google’s advertising products, consider options that are designed with visual appeal in mind. For example, Discovery Campaigns consist of formats are designed to create engagement through richer, more visually appealing ad units. Per Google, the ad units include “Visually rich ads rendered natively across Google properties at scale” to help people learn more about products. 

Contact Investis Digital 

Our paid and organic search teams help clients create visual content that pops. Contact us to learn more.