Google Image Search
Encyclopedia
Google Images is a search
service created by Google
that allows users to search the Web
for image
content. The feature was introduced in July 2001. The keywords
for the image search are based on the filename of the image, the link text pointing to the image, and text adjacent to the image. When searching for an image, a thumbnail
of each matching image is displayed. When the user clicks on a thumbnail, the image is displayed in a box over the website that it came from. The user can then close the box and browse the website, or view the full-sized image.
In early 2007 Google implemented an updated user interface
for the image search, where information about the image, such as resolution and URL
, was hidden until the user moved the mouse over the thumbnail. This was discontinued after a few weeks.
On July 20, 2010, Google updated the user interface
again, hiding image details until mouse over, like before. This feature can be disabled by pressing "Ctrl + End" on one's keyboard and clicking "Switch to basic version".
On October 27, 2009, Google Images added a feature to its image search that can be used to find similar images.
In 2001, 250 million images were indexed. In 2005, this grew to 1 billion. By 2010, the index reached 10 billion images. The service gets over one billion page view
s a day, as of July 2010. Google introduced a sort by subject feature for a visual category scheme overview of a search query in May 2011.
In October of 2011, Google Images began to allow for reverse image searches directly in the image search-bar (that is, without a third-party add on, such as the one previously available for Mozilla Firefox). This feature allows users to search by dragging and dropping an image into the search-bar, uploading an image, selecting a URL, or 'right-clicking' on an image.
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
service created by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
that allows users to search the Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
for image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
content. The feature was introduced in July 2001. The keywords
Keyword (Internet search)
An index term, subject term, subject heading, or descriptor, in information retrieval, is a term that captures the essence of the topic of a document. Index terms make up a controlled vocabulary for use in bibliographic records. They are an integral part of bibliographic control, which is the...
for the image search are based on the filename of the image, the link text pointing to the image, and text adjacent to the image. When searching for an image, a thumbnail
Thumbnail
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of pictures, used to help in recognizing and organizing them, serving the same role for images as a normal text index does for words...
of each matching image is displayed. When the user clicks on a thumbnail, the image is displayed in a box over the website that it came from. The user can then close the box and browse the website, or view the full-sized image.
In early 2007 Google implemented an updated user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
for the image search, where information about the image, such as resolution and URL
Uniform Resource Locator
In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
, was hidden until the user moved the mouse over the thumbnail. This was discontinued after a few weeks.
On July 20, 2010, Google updated the user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
again, hiding image details until mouse over, like before. This feature can be disabled by pressing "Ctrl + End" on one's keyboard and clicking "Switch to basic version".
On October 27, 2009, Google Images added a feature to its image search that can be used to find similar images.
In 2001, 250 million images were indexed. In 2005, this grew to 1 billion. By 2010, the index reached 10 billion images. The service gets over one billion page view
Page view
A page view or page impression is a request to load a single HTML file of an Internet site. On the World Wide Web a 'page' request would result from a web surfer clicking on a link on another 'page' pointing to the 'page' in question. This should be contrasted with a hit, which refers to a...
s a day, as of July 2010. Google introduced a sort by subject feature for a visual category scheme overview of a search query in May 2011.
In October of 2011, Google Images began to allow for reverse image searches directly in the image search-bar (that is, without a third-party add on, such as the one previously available for Mozilla Firefox). This feature allows users to search by dragging and dropping an image into the search-bar, uploading an image, selecting a URL, or 'right-clicking' on an image.
See also
- GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
- Google searchGoogle searchGoogle or Google Web Search is a web search engine owned by Google Inc. Google Search is the most-used search engine on the World Wide Web, receiving several hundred million queries each day through its various services....
- List of Google products
- Google Image LabelerGoogle Image LabelerGoogle Image Labeler was a feature, in the form of a game, of Google Image Search that allowed the user to label random images to help improve the quality of Google's image search results...
- PicsearchPicsearchPicsearch is a Swedish company which develops and provides image search services for large websites. The image search services developed and provided by Picsearch power several major Internet companies, such as Lycos. Other Picsearch customers include regional search portals in Germany, Turkey and...
- Yahoo Image Search
- Bing ImagesBing ImagesBing Images is an image search service and part of Microsoft's Bing search engine. It allows users to search the web for image content and enables the user to quickly search and display most relevant photos and images of interest.-Features:Bing Images provides the following features:*Infinite...
- Image searchImage searchImage meta search is a type of search engine specialised on finding pictures, images, animations etc. Like the text search, image search is an information retrieval system designed to help to find information on the Internet and it allows the user to look for images etc...