Visual Search Engines
If you’ve been going through your Apache server logs or Google Analytics account recently, you’ve probably noticed some new activity from bots originating from emerging visual search engines like Pagebull and Snap.
Screenshot of Pagebull results page of search for “content developer”
In addition to Snap and Pagebull, Browster offers a variation on the visual search theme by adding the power of an instant visual preview to Google search results via the Browster browser plug in.
Screenshot of the Browster – how it works page.
First impressions are that all of these early leaders in the visual search race have something to offer. Pagebull’s use of screen real estate along with easy access to information about sites from Alexa and the ability to immediately share sites via del.icio.us, digg, reddit and furl is effective. Browster’s integration with Google search results is a potent combination while Snap’s list of partners is impressive and their branding may be most appealing among the group. Snap also recently launched Snap Preview Anywhere which allows a site owner to use visual preview for links on their site. While this has generated some debate, it’s power to impact the user experience is clear.
Screenshot of Snap results page of search for “dvd release dates”
While testing some of these services it appeared that some in the group didn’t process any javascript in their visual preview, meaning that if your site uses swfobject to display any Flash based design elements or if you’re remixing rss content via tools like feed2js your site design may end up looking less than it’s best in these previews. It would be nice for the site owner to have some kind of mechanism (an optional line of code that could be embedded in the site HTML?) to override the default visual preview and designate their own screen shot that will be displayed in the search results.
An even more attractive feature might be the ability to designate your own video clip for the visual preview rather than simply a still.
Imagine the possibilities.
The only major downside that initially comes to mind with these new visual search tools is that they may increase the odds that users are exposed to images they may prefer to avoid. Techniques to minimize that risk will likely evolve along with the tools, so that tradeoff would seem manageable. And if users are troubled by that risk, they can always choose to play it safe and stick with a text based search engine.
While next generation search services like these that return a visual representation of their search results as opposed to simply a text description are only beginning to appear, their potential to disrupt the way we currently think about search looms large. And what will this new visual dimension in search mean for content developers? Will SEO morph to not only mean emphasis on pagerank and relevance but now also include a new visual optimization component? Could a movement build around designs and techniques that might, for better or worse, borrow from banner and text ads that inspire the prospective user to click through?
As the search marketplace figures all that out, these new visual search tools should at a minimum provide fresh incentive for content developers to be sure our work is packaged in a visually clean and inviting environment.
Update: The visual search engines talked about here that return visual representations of sites in their search results shouldn’t be confused with search engines such as Like which allow the user to choose an image and find things that look similar. Or as Like puts it, you search by appearance.
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