When It Comes to Search, Pictures are More Trusted Than Text

Consumers now trust images more than text and visual search is on the rise Images are offering brands and marketers a solid way to connect and earn the trust of a growing number of skeptical consumers at a time when trust in digital media is being challengedVisual search takes several forms At its simplest it means letting users scroll through images in search results to find the best fit for their query Increasingly visual search is facilitated by the use of a mobile device39s camera function and using image recognition to deliver search resultsAccording to new research from Performics39amp160Intent Lab a partnership with Northwestern University39s Medill School of Journalism Media and Integrated Marketing Communications 59 of consumers think visual information is more important than textual information across all consumer categories Roughly 36 have conducted a visual search while close to 60 of respondents think images are more trustworthy than textOur data shows consumer trust to be at the lowest point since we established the Intent Lab and the Digital Satisfaction Index DSI in 2016 The DSI measures consumer satisfaction with digital experiences and information gleaned online and is rooted in four key factors Trust Privacy Utility and SocialThe DSI score for Trust fell eight points in October 2018 while Privacy Utility and Social remained about the same The falling levels of trust in online information helped drag down the overall DSI by 4 in just six months It39s a disturbing trend particularly for those of us trying to earn the trust and capture the attention of everyone online How bad is it Common responses from those surveyed included quotI am skeptical about anything I read onlinequot and quotI generally mistrust the information I get onlinequotamp160Nevertheless they do trust picturesEstablishing trust is a moving target but the Intent Lab research shows how images offer a solid point of connectionMobile is the preferred means of digital contact for shoppers today 53 choose mobile devices for search activity compared to 37 who opt for desktops just 10 cite tabletsPictures are particularly important in the shopping journey with a couple of key product categories overindexing for visual search including apparel and furniture where 85 said images were more important than text Shoppers preferred pictures for car buying travel and even grocery shopping Overall visual information is preferred over text by at least half of the respondents in all product categories except for electronics household goods and wine and spiritsamp160New tools that let consumers snap a photo of an item and then search for that specific or similar product are helping to fuel this popularity Pinterest introduced Pinterest Lens in early 2017 and within a year reported 600 million visual searches conducted every month Today that number is in the billions and social media platforms brands and retailers are adding the capability at a rapid clip which makes it so critical for brands to deliver on the customer39s desire to use visual searchOptimize your site to align to visual search queries such as the image name caption relevant keywords and image sizeCreate links from images to the correct landing pagesApparel and home goods brands are at the leading edge of this trend and should plan to integrate visual search in their mobile appsThere are opportunities to use images throughout the customer39s decision journey Many marketers wrongly assume that visual search is only important early on in the customer journey Our Intent Lab study proves that it39s important at all stages particularly when it comes to making final decisions and comparing options 41 of respondents said visual information was very helpful when comparing products on search engines and ecommerce sitesPerhaps most importantly do not betray the trust consumers are placing in pictures Already there are cracks showing particularly when it comes to advertising Consumers believe that visual search results are highly influenced by paid advertising that is often considered irrelevant to their intended query When ads show up first in their search results they had better be the right visual match or that trust is brokenClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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When It Comes to Search, Pictures are More Trusted Than Text

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Esteban Ribero

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When It Comes to Search, Pictures are More Trusted Than Text

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