There are new marketing trends to watch out for, and the biggest one comes from our oldest method of finding anything: search. As the way we search evolves over time, so must our marketing strategies.

As people now rely more on images and videos, search engines and social media platforms are adapting and integrating visual search technologies into their tools.

But what is it, and how can it help your brand? In this article, we will explain the following:

• What is visual search?

• How Visual Search Technology Works

• Increase Visually Driven Ecommerce Search

• 7 Strategies to Maximize Your Visibility in Visual Search

• The Future of Digital Marketing

Until the end of this blog, you will be better equipped to create shoppable content and conquer the e-commerce search space with visuals.

_{What is visual search?}

We've all been wiped out by the text-based tools of search engines and social media platforms, and visual search tools aim to wipe us out even more.

"Visual search is a technology that uses AI and image recognition to allow users to search for information based on visual content, such as images and videos.

How visual search technology works Visual search uses a combination of artificial intelligence (AI), image recognition, and machine learning to identify the item in an image. It then searches a large image repository for similar objects and returns matching results.

_{There are several visual search products, including:}

• Google Lens
• Google Lens
• Pinterest Lens
• Pinterest Lens
• Bing Visual Search
• Bing Visual Search
• Snapchat Scan
• Snapchat Scan

Like AI in digital marketing, these tools are powered by data (in this case, images) that allow them to "see" pictures and identify objects.

Although image recognition has been shaky in the past, it has already come a long way.

An update to Google Lens in 2019 allows it to better understand structure, texts and objects. On the other hand, an update of Snapchat Scan 2021 has added 2D bounding box detection, which means that it is now more effective at detecting cups, pets, cars, bottles, and more.

These updates are timely as e-commerce trends shift toward more visual shopping experiences. This means that the best visual content strategies can take advantage of these recent advances in e-commerce research_‍

_{The Rise of Visual Search Tools in E-Commerce} 

So we know that visual content and AI in digital marketing work. But why exactly are platforms and companies turning to this technology?

When you look at e-commerce research on platforms like Amazon, you realize that there is a lot of work to be done before you find a good product.

Go beyond the category of product. analysis, 10 filters, and endless keywords disrupt the customer experience. This is what makes camera research so attractive.

According to research company Data Bridge, the visual search market is expected to reach $32 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 17.50% between 2021 and 2028. Companies are already recognizing the 'importance of e-commerce strategies based on visual search and are already moving towards this.

In another study by BusinessWire's Intent Lab, more than 85% of respondents believe that visuals are more important than text, while 36% used visual search more than voice search.

E-commerce trends are increasingly visual as consumers and businesses move away from text-based search for a more streamlined shopping experience.

_{7 Ways to Up Your Visual Search Game} 

So how can you effectively use the wave of visual content as an e-commerce brand?

_{These seven tips from experts can help:}

1. Make your content fulfilling.

What makes people click on your product after using an e-commerce search tool?

Your product should be professional, aesthetically pleasing, and accurately represent what you are selling. 

"Since visual search is all about images, social media creators will make hashtags more search-friendly,” Waghela said.

"The combination of lifestyle images with the product sold will add more visual appeal and also the ability to show more of a product that the company sells."

You will also benefit from a greater presence on social media, according to Waghela:

"Making sure that these images have a greater online presence on social networks, markets, and more, they will be more search-friendly."

And since you are competing with a wide selection of attractive products, there is absolutely no reason to deviate in this area.

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2. Optimize your captions and image descriptions.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will always be an evolving marketing trend, even visual search. This is why you should also optimize elements that are not related to the image of your online store.

This sneaker store is a great example of how SEO can help you reach more people over time:

This business needed help with on-page content, captions, descriptions and and other text resources such as blogs. After an effective SEO campaign, he increased his leads by 324.1% and added $137,000 in acquisition value.

To achieve this level of results, you may need to work with a search and conversion rate optimization agency, but you can always start by creating and optimizing your own content.

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3. Image size (and file type) is important.

You want your images to load fast enough for your audience to see them. That is why it is so important to optimize the image size. The ideal image size is 200 KB, but this can vary depending on the size and height of the image.

_{There are several image compression tools that can help, such as:}

• TinyPNG

• Squoosh

​• FileOptimizer

• ImageOptim

File types are also important for websites and e-commerce platforms. Here are the most effective file types for the web:

• JPEG (.jpg)

• PNG (.png)

• GIF (.gif)

• SVG (.svg)

These are the most common file types used for images on the web. So be sure to use it when optimizing your website for SEO. This helps ensure that your images load quickly and display correctly on all devices.

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4. Don't forget alt text.

When you hear about personalized marketing, alt texts are usually not the first thing that comes to mind. However, as a backup plan, they are essential.

Alternative texts are image descriptions that help search engine crawlers understand your image content and serve as a safeguard when visual images fail to load. They also help with accessibility because they can be read aloud by screen readers for people who use assistive technology.

In search marketing, alternative texts also allow you to target specific keywords for your site and help you rank higher in search engine results.

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5. Use more descriptive image captions and metadata.

Image recognition and AI technologies in digital marketing use meta-information to qualify an image's relevance.

Adding more descriptive titles and meta descriptions to your images helps search engines index them better, making it easier for potential customers to find them.

Better metadata also helps with personalized marketing because it provides more context to images. For example, adding tags to your images allows AI algorithms to make better decisions about which images appear in different campaigns.

The meta description is enriched with the company's brand name, a keyword and a call to action (CTA). These elements create a more engaging customer experience from the start.

This and other optimizations helped this business get 360% more organic traffic and 167% more customers.

You can work with a conversion rate optimization agency to increase your organic presence by improving goal completion rates and purchases.

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6. Partnership with influencers

Influencers are one of the new marketing trends. In fact, more than 63% of Americans follow brands that influencers present in their content.

Your visual campaigns can use it to boost purchases and online presence. However, you don't need to collaborate with A-list celebrities for this because it can cost a lot.

Instead, look for someone who matches these characteristics:

• Aligns with your brand values ​​

• Provides content related to your industry

• Is relevant and engages with its audience

These influencers are also essential for a more personalized marketing strategy because they keep track of what works for your audience. You can connect with them on platforms like Shopify Collabs, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

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7. Use structured data.

Here's another technique your conversion rate optimization agency can do for you: structured data.

Basically, it is the process of making your website content easier for search engines to read, understand, or index.

Structured data helps improve ranking and visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). It also allows you to enable rich snippets so that your website appears as a separate listing with additional information in the snippet.

To include your image in structured data, it must have a valid schema type. For example, if you use Google Rich Snippets, you need to include the following code in your pages:

Your images can be understood and displayed properly by visual search only if they are properly indexed with precision data.