10 Aug GOOGLE ADDS MORE CONTEXT TO IMAGES
Google Adds More Context to Images
- Google has created a new way for site owners to drive traffic using image search results.
- The new feature surfaces quick facts about the context of the image.
- The information is pulled from Google Knowledge Graph and displayed below the image.
Driving Traffic via Image Search
- The update will help searchers explore topics in detail. This includes visiting the webpage where the feature image was published.
- The feature is designed to make images more appealing. It works a lot like adding Meta tags to image search results. The only difference is the fact that appearing below the image comes from multiple sources.
- The results are sourced from all web pages on the internet. On the other side, the corresponding facts come from Google Knowledge Graph.
- Google shared an example that showed the searcher can see where the image is hosted and additional information taken from other sources on the web.
- The downside is that the site owners have little control over the information displayed below the images. The upside is that Google gives the end-user more information about the image that can possible lead to more clicks. The best part about this feature is that it requires no input from the site owners.
- Google enhances the snippets automatically.
- The search engine uses deep learning to understand what is in the image. Then it combines this understanding with the text from the source page. This information is matched to topics on Knowledge Graph before surfacing in Google Images.
Additional Avenues for Traffic
- Webpages that get included into the image search snippets have one more opportunity to have links included in search results.
- Wikipedia is not the only source of information for Google Knowledge Graph. The Knowledge Graph draws information from hundreds of sources to compile billions of facts. In total, the Knowledge Graph has about 500 billion facts and five billion entities.
- A site owner can claim a Knowledge Panel on the Knowledge Graph to submit information. This feature is not open to everyone. It is an extra advantage to sites that can claim a knowledge panel.
- Businesses can benefit from claiming a knowledge panel. Local businesses have the most to gain, especially businesses that feature a lot of images on its web pages. Such businesses have a high chance of surfacing underneath an image alongside a link.
- This feature will be appearing in images of people, places, and things at first.
Bottom Line
- Google Knowledge Graph provides a new way to boost traffic.
- Images are now as effective as SEO strategies, Keywords, and high-quality, relevant, and up-to-date content.
- Features’ sources can also appear in rankings.
- Local businesses can gain the most from the image search feature.
