Advances of Search Engine Technology

Do we need Google Goggles?

According to Wikipedia, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines via natural or organic search results. Until recently, this search included words, phrases and sometimes images.

However, mobile users have taken this search to another level. Users will soon be able to search for items not by entering the word or phrase that connects to the webpage, but with an image of the item we are looking for. For example, if you are visiting a tourist attraction and see something new that you cannot guess, just take a photo of the item to search instantly and find all the stores in that area that sells this item. You need not even know its name. This type of searching is called, as you may have guessed, "photo based searching".

By just snapping a photo, you can use photo-based searching to find DVDs, landmarks, books, contact information for people, similar artwork, businesses, products, etc.
To make this search work, Google has created an image database which contains the images of details including name, photos, logos, etc so that every item is easily recognizable. Each image is compared with this database and within seconds, Google can, along with its collaboration with GPS and compass functionality, get you the item you are looking for.

Using live data, Google's Goggles can also search for any location if you point your mobile phone to it. You may be looking for a landmark or a business and if you just point your mobile device to the location, you can get a whole lot of information about the location. This may help ideally when travelling and we want to know more about a landmark or landscape.

Google Engineers are working to improve the results of Goggles in the areas of plants, animals, cars, food, etc. These trials are just a small probe into the powers of visual search optimization technology.

Google has taken steps to prevent privacy concerns of the users. Currently, there are two options: One which discards all images immediately. The other allows users to save them in searchable history for further use. Google may keep it separate from personal data so that it is not traceable to the original user. However, the IP address of the user and their Google account details may be retained for up to five weeks.

As mobile users take over the internet and change the face of Search Engine Optimization, we, the users have to adapt accordingly. Also, the website designers now have to consider adding more appropriate images to their websites so that a user on the opposite end of the world may be able to reach their website.

The internet is changing by leaps and bounds and web developers need to keep up with the emerging mobile technology users who are heralding new methods of communication and demanding quicker, more accurate results for their immediate use. Time is of the essence and the webpage that gets the attention of the user will always be the one that is geared to newer methods of optimization.