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Google said on Monday that they have updated their image search algorithm to use the authority of a web page as a more important factor. They also said they are looking at prioritizing images from fresher content and Google looks at the placement of the image on the page. So an image that is central to the page, and higher up on the page is valued more to Google.
Google does not update their image search results and algorithms too often but Google said they did a lot of work around image search recently. Google wrote:
Over the last year, we’ve overhauled the Google Images algorithm to rank results that have both great images and great content on the page. For starters, the authority of a web page is now a more important signal in the ranking. If you’re doing a search for DIY shelving, the site behind the image is now more likely to be a site related to DIY projects. We also prioritize fresher content, so you’re more likely to visit a site that has been updated recently.Also, it wasn’t long ago that if you visited an image’s web page, it might be hard to find the specific image you were looking for when you got there. We now prioritize sites where the image is central to the page, and higher up on the page. So if you’re looking to buy a specific pair of shoes, a product page dedicated to that pair of shoes will be prioritized above, say, a category page showing a range of shoe styles.
Google officially also showed the images in refinement bubbles as a new feature in Image Search.
Have you seen changes in how Google ranks your images? Did your image search traffic change much?
Forum discussion at Twitter.
