Google on July 20 trotted out improvements to its Google Image Search that recall Microsoft's Bing images. Google also launched a new ad format called Image Search Ads in an effort to diversify revenue streams.
Google July 20 trotted out improvements to its Google
Image Search, which now indexes more than 10 billion images, and launched a new
ad format called Image Search Ads.
Though Google
claims to take inspiration for its
changes from users, some of the alterations recall the work Microsoft has done
with Bing's image search.
Like Bing, Image Search now
sports a dense, tiled layout that packs
more images on the Web page and makes them easily searchable.
Moreover, instant scrolling between pages lets searchers
sift through up to 1,000 images in one page without having to click through
links to get to their content.
Another feature Google has added that Bing employed a year ago is a simple hover pane. Users who mouse over a thumbnail
image are treated to a larger preview, more info about the image and Image
Search features such as Similar images, which shows exactly what it implies.
When users click on one of the images in the new Google
Image Search, they're whisked to a new landing page that displays a large image
in context, with the Website it's hosted on hovering behind it.
Users can click anywhere outside the image to go to the original
page and learn more about the source and context.
Of course, there are features Bing doesn't have that
Google does. Google's Image Swirl
renders image results in a nice wheel
graph that users can easily navigate.
Bing also hasn't yet gotten creative with ads on its Bing
Images.
Concurrent with Google's image upgrades are Image Search Ads, which
let
advertisers include a thumbnail image alongside their lines of text.
The ads will surface atop Image Search results pages the way text ads
appear on top of Google results.
This approach
is a break from Google's traditional model of text-only ads. This format also joins click-to-call ads as one of the
many newfangled modes of advertising Google is
trying to boost its revenue streams.
Google said the upgrades are rolling out in most local Google
interfaces worldwide over the next few days.
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