More than a gimmick?
I used to think that reverse image search was a gimmick, with maybe a rare use case that might save a little time. But one of my projects from the last couple of years has led it to become a regular tool in my toolbox. If you deal with images frequently, it’s worth learning how searching with images can help save you time. Read on to learn the best times to use reverse image search and how tools like Google Image Search and Google Lens can help you.
What is reverse image search?
Everyone should be familiar with typing keywords in a search bar and hit enter to perform a search. The software uses this text to find relevant results. Search engines like google employ this approach, and it’s the same method used by most stock agencies like Shutterstock. This way of finding results through a search box has changed little since the first internet-based search engine was released in the 1990s. You enter your keywords and then this text is used to find suitable matches. More recently, new ways to search have started to appear. In 2011, Google released its reverse image search (Google Search by images). Reverse image search uses as a reference image to find similar images instead of keywords.
The different approaches to reverse image search explained
There are multiple ways reverse image search work. The fundamental difference is the way which you tell the software which image to use. There are three major ways that reverse image search typically work.
- Upload a reference image from your computer.
- Specify the image URL of an image already hosted on the internet.
- Select the image on a webpage that you have loaded.
Uploading images creates more friction in the way you need to find the image on your PC and then upload it. Most images that I use are already on the internet, so all that needs to be done is to select the image you want to use as the reference and then trigger the process to find similar content. There are some advantages to using images online, which are discussed later.
Why perform a reverse image search?
There are multiple benefits that a visual search can provide and the different stock photo companies like Shutterstock and Envato have cottoned onto this. Many are now offering their own reverse image search tools embedded within their platforms.
Find related content
I have had projects where I have found stock photos that are close to what I want, or I needed additional related images. An image based search can be a great way to find related content faster. Recently, companies such as Envato Elements have offered the ability to ‘find similar images’ or ‘find related images’. This is a pleasant feature, as it is quick to find alternative images to see if there might be a better option.
Find original source of an image
If you are interested in the exact image you have used in the query, you might try to find the original source of the image. This can work well if the image is from a website but if it’s part of a stock agency’s library, it’s not so effective. I have attempted to use this to find which companies stock a certain image, but I have yet to get this to work. Unfortunately, it appears that google doesn’t have indexed images for all the images on the different stock agency websites. So, while a result may be displayed, it rarely shows the specific image you’re searching for.
Find who is using an image
You might be interested in identifying if anyone has stolen your image or infringed on your copyright. Search results can provide you a list of websites where the image appears.
Find more information about the content of the photo
It’s not just about finding similar images. One of my ongoing projects requires a lot of images for specific locations. Sometimes the meta descriptions on images are poor, or there is no GPS coordinates within the image metadata but I need to figure out where the image was taken (It can be surprisingly difficult to get images for specific locations, if you have struggled read this post). Using a reverse image search allowed me to find the location of the image based on the results of the search.
Not always as smart as you might think
When you upload an image from your computer to use in a search, it’s not just the picture that is being used by the search engine; the metadata plays a crucial role as well. Every photograph contains additional metadata that can be used to optimise the search. I quickly realised that Google often uses the text associated with an image to help the search so if it can’t find image. If you are using Google lens directly from a website where the image is found. For some of them, the search results are also using information from the metadata associated with the image.
Tips on using different search techniques
- If a website doesn’t offer their own image search, you can still use Google reverse image search on their images. If you use Chrome, all you need to do right click on an image and select ‘search image with Google’. This then does an image search for you
- With Google Lens you can control which part of an image is used for the search which can help give different search results so if you don’t get the results you are after try refining your search by cropping the image in different ways.
- Use Google Chrome to make it easier to use Googles’ reverse image tools.
Summary
Using an image to perform a search can yield unique advantages so make sure you add it to your repertoire of search techniques. Use it to find similar content, or to find more information about a photo. If a website doesn’t have their own image searcher then use tools from companies like Google.
