Visual search is changing the face of eCommerce. An average human brain processes images more easily than descriptive information. Recent research by HubSpot shows that 32% of sellers believe product photographs are the most crucial content for their eCommerce store. Also, social media posts that include multiple images have a 150% chance of increasing their CTR.
And speaking of images, well, you need to step into the buyer’s shoes! How likely are you to buy a product with just a description of it and not even a single photograph paired along? Buyers generally look for a visually attractive eCommerce listing that provides them the experience of a brick and mortar store. Visual search-friendly eStore with exceptional product images is what makes an impact.
Customers tend to focus more on the images rather than reading about the product before making a purchase. This calls for highly efficient photographs that are visually attractive as well as optimized. Businesses can always hire product image editing service providers to help save the extra hours on editing and retouching pictures, and focus on the core tasks instead.
Recent studies suggest that 27% of online searches in the United States have been made on Google images. Visual search is slowly taking over the conventional “word” search. In response to the increasing popularity of visual search, online retailers are advised to take advantage of it and make their eStores more findable.
Here are some tips on how you can optimize your product images to make them more visual search friendly:
Alt Tags At Work
Acting as a description of your images for the search engine, alt tags help your image connect to the right customer. An SEO optimized alt tag can help your images rank higher in the search results, leading to improved visibility of your eCommerce store.
Using Versatile Images
Aim for image dimensions suitable for cross-device compatibility. 96% of web searches are made from a smartphone, so make sure your images are adaptable. Product image editing is what comes into play here. Optimizing your images according to different devices can help your online store rank better in the SERP.
Consider Adding Image Badges
Image badges act like labels to your product categorizing your image into different groups. Google image search highly prefers images with badges attached to them as it enables the search engine to sort different images into suitable categories.
Employ High-Quality Images
Having high-quality images is very important when your products have to compete in a fiercely competitive market. Images are a source for instant information and having them right should be the focal point of every eCommerce store. Editing images and making them upload ready can take up a lot of time and money. Opting for product image editing services can be very beneficial for businesses planning to make their images stand out of the crowd.
Add An Image Sitemap
An image sitemap summarizes your webpage with the help of images. Adding features like this can help you have an edge as it makes buyers understand your products visually and in a better way.
Use Not Just One But Multiple Images
Your online store can only offer a rather virtual depiction of the actual product, so make sure you add multiple images of a single product to help your customers make a quick and informed purchase decision.
Manage Image Size And Formats
Choosing the right size and format influences the traffic on your eCommerce store. Decide on whether the image has to be vector or raster and zero in on the appropriate file size because the file size affects the page loading speed. Be careful while choosing the format that can best represent your product.
Test Your eStore Regularly
It is important to have a clear picture of your performance. If your eCommerce store is not performing well, it is time for you to run structured data tests. Tools like Google Analytics can help analyze your business growth.
Visual appearance and color are among the biggest factors affecting the customers’ purchase decisions. While shopping offline as well, we rarely look for the description of the product. The visual search aims at providing such an experience to shoppers online.
Before you choose to opt for a visual search-friendly eCommerce store, make sure you have an ample amount of good quality images. Product image editing and optimization should be at the top of your to-do list.
After the popularity of voice search, visual search is also set to take over marketplaces. It is important to adapt to consumer’s preferences. You can make way for new opportunities and increase traffic by making your eStore visual search-friendly.