Joelle shows how image optimization can improve the overall customer experience and play a key role in discoverability, product evaluation, and purchase decisions for online shoppers. At the same time, accepting that image recognition technology is not yet perfect, she also shares actionable tactics to better optimize for visual search to help those shoppers find that perfect style they just can’t put into words. See blog post on Bookmark This: http://bit.ly/2KBz1Jk - Presented at MozCon 2019.

1. Joelle Irvine, Director, Marketing & Growth
@joelleirvine | @bookmarkcontent
GET THE LOOK:
Improve the shopper experience
with visual search optimization
-
MozCon 2019

2. THOSE
SHOES,
THOUGH.
Image Source: Browns Shoes #MozCon #ShoesofMozCon @joelleirvine

3. FIRST INSTINCT,
GOOGLE IT!
#MozCon @joelleirvine

4. Men’s dress shoe pattern
SEARCH #1
#MozCon #ShoesofMozCon @joelleirvine

5. GOOGLE SAYS
#MozCon #ShoesofMozCon @joelleirvine

6. SEARCH #2
“women's black patent leather
brogue shoes with black and
white platform sole”
#MozCon #ShoesofMozCon @joelleirvine

7. GOOGLE SAYS
#MozCon @joelleirvine

8. GOOGLE IMAGES
#MozCon @joelleirvine

9. GOOGLE SHOPPING
#MozCon @joelleirvine

10. IT’S LIKE
Image source: Palico #MozCon @joelleirvine

11. WHAT ABOUT
VISUAL SEARCH?
🙌
#MozCon #ShoesofMozCon @joelleirvine

12. CONTEXT

13. IMAGE vs.
VISUAL
SEARCH
Enter text queries and
search engine returns
image results.
Provide an image and
search engine returns
similar image results.
Image Search Visual Search
#MozCon @joelleirvine

14. WAIT WHAT?
Visual Search
in Google Photos
Visual Search results
via Google Lens
Take a pic & search
Pinterest Lens
Visual Search results
via Pinterest Lens
#MozCon @joelleirvine

15. of consumers place more
importance on visuals than on
text information when shopping
online for clothing or furniture.
- The Intent Lab
85%
#MozCon @joelleirvine

16. USER EXPECTATIONS
ARE GROWING
Source: ViSenze, 2018
of millennials would like to
be able to search by image
62% of millennials would like to
be able to click to purchase
directly from content.
58%
#MozCon @joelleirvine

17. WHAT’S
NEW?

18. SO, YOU
HAVE THIS
CHAIR. . .
Image source: Pinterest Engineering blog #MozCon @joelleirvine

19. AND YOU’RE
TRYING TO
MAKE IT
WORK. #MozCon @joelleirvine

20. STANDARD
VISUAL SEARCH
RESULTS via
PINTEREST LENS
Image source: Pinterest Engineering blog #MozCon @joelleirvine

21. PINTEREST HYBRID SEARCH
Hybrid search results of “bookshelves”, “walls”, and “clocks” + Image of the Chair
Image source: Pinterest Engineering blog #MozCon @joelleirvine

22. PINTEREST
‘COMPLETE THE LOOK’
#MozCon @joelleirvine

23. PINTEREST
ENGINEERING BLOG
#MozCon @joelleirvine

24. GOOGLE LENS
Google Lens Filters Translate filter Shopping filter
#MozCon @joelleirvine

25. AR IN GOOGLE SEARCH
AR in Google Search results
#MozCon @joelleirvine
Results from April 2019

26. THE OPPORTUNITY
FOR BRANDS

27. VISIBILITY FOR LESSER
KNOWN BRANDS
of all Pinterest searches
are non-branded.1
97% 70%of weekly Pinners discover
new products on Pinterest.2
Source: 1. Pinterest internal data 2017; 2. GfK, Path to purchase study, Dec 2017. #MozCon @joelleirvine

28. LEVERAGE EXISTING
PLATFORMS & PARTNERSHIPS
Levi’s & Pinterest ASOS & ViSenze
#MozCon @joelleirvine

29. WHY PINTEREST?
600 million visual searches every month on Pinterest!
Pinterest
33%
more than
Facebook
Friends and family 41%
Social media platforms 35%
Pinterest 60%
Search engines 48%
Where do Pinners get ideas for what to buy?1
71%
more than
Snapchat
Facebook Snapchat Twitter
200%
more than
Twitter
Pinterest
Proportionately, Pinterest drives more referral
traffic to shopping sites than social platforms do2
Source: 1. GfK, Path to purchase study, Dec 2017; 2. Pinterest, Online interaction study, Dec 2017. #MozCon @joelleirvine

30. CAPITALIZE ON
IMPULSE BUYING
say Pinterest inspires them to
shop when they aren’t actually
looking for anything.72%
Source: GfK, Path to purchase study, Nov. 2018. #MozCon @joelleirvine

31. ONLINE EXPERIENCE IN-STORE
Alibaba & Guess partnership Amazon blended Reality Patent
Image sources (left to right): cbinsights.com, alistdaily.com and Pinterest Business
Pincodes
#MozCon @joelleirvine

32. INCREASE
REVENUE
By 2021, eCommerce brands
with voice and visual search
optimization will increase
profits by up to 30%.
- Gartner
#MozCon @joelleirvine

33. VISUAL SEARCH
ISN’T PERFECT
Auto-select the
wrong focal point
Categorize people
instead of products
Display items that
are out of stock
#MozCon @joelleirvine

34. HOW TO
OPTIMIZE

35. STANDARD IMAGE
OPTIMIZATION
Image Search Visual Search
• Image size
• Responsiveness
• File names
• Keywords
• Alt tags
• Title tags
• Meta descriptions
• Captions
• URLs
#MozCon @joelleirvine

36. IMAGE SITEMAPPING
Example sitemap entry Image tag definitions
Image source: Google Webmasters #MozCon @joelleirvine

37. IMAGE PRODUCT DATA
#MozCon @joelleirvine

38. SYNC DATA WITH
PLATFORMS
Google Shopping ads ‘Shop by brand’ on Pinterest
NEW
#MozCon @joelleirvine

39. STRUCTURED DATA
Consider what’s important:
1. Product
2. Offer
3. Image Gallery
4. Person
#MozCon @joelleirvine

40. ENABLE RICH PINS
Pinterest Rich Pin
Image source: Pinterest Developers
Pinterest feed w/ Rich PinsPinterest feed w/o Rich Pins
#MozCon @joelleirvine

41. BEYOND THE
TECHNICAL
Product images should:
1. Be on brand
2. Be clutter-free
3. Have a clear focal point in the foreground
4. Provide context
5. Use original or customized stock photography
6. Include multiple angles
7. Add value – if not, remove!
#MozCon @joelleirvine

42. BEYOND THE
TECHNICAL
Product images should:
1. Be on brand
2. Be clutter-free
3. Have a clear focal point in the foreground
4. Be in context
5. Use original or customized stock photography
6. Include multiple angles
7. Add value – if not, remove!
#MozCon @joelleirvine

43. BEYOND THE
TECHNICAL
Product images should:
1. Be on brand
2. Be clutter-free
3. Have a clear focal point in the foreground
4. Provide context
5. Use original or customized stock photography
6. Include multiple angles
7. Add value – if not, remove!
Image source: Everlane
bag
bag
shirt
shirt
#MozCon @joelleirvine

44. BEYOND THE
TECHNICAL
Product images should:
1. Be on brand
2. Be clutter-free
3. Have a clear focal point in the foreground
4. Provide context
5. Use original or customized stock photography
6. Include multiple angles
7. Add value – if not, remove!
#MozCon @joelleirvine

45. BEYOND THE
TECHNICAL
Product images should:
1. Be on brand
2. Be clutter-free
3. Have a clear focal point in the foreground
4. Provide context
5. Use original or customized stock photography
6. Include multiple angles
7. Add value – if not, remove!
#MozCon @joelleirvine

46. BEYOND THE
TECHNICAL
Product images should:
1. Be on brand
2. Be clutter-free
3. Have a clear focal point in the foreground
4. Provide context
5. Use original or customized stock photography
6. Include multiple angles
7. Add value – if not, remove!
#MozCon @joelleirvine

47. BEYOND THE
TECHNICAL
Product images should:
1. Be on brand
2. Be clutter-free
3. Have a clear focal point in the foreground
4. Provide context
5. Use customized stock photography
6. Include multiple angles
7. Add value – if not, remove!
Image source: Frank and Oak #MozCon @joelleirvine

48. TRACK TOPICS & TRENDS
Source: Pinterest Business
#MozCon @joelleirvine

49. SO WHAT’S NEXT?
#MozCon #ShoesofMozCon @joelleirvine

50. THANK YOU
Joelle Irvine
Director, Marketing & Growth
@joelleirvine | @BookmarkContent
bookmarkcontent.com