Reverse image search with Google: Search by image

When you search for something with a search engine like Google, hundreds of thousands of results appear within a few mil­lisec­onds. These are then sub­di­vid­ed into search results, including under “Images” which lists pho­tographs that are assigned to the search term. So, how exactly does the reverse image search function work? Have you ever stood in front of a building and wondered, “What kind of building is this?”. If so, then Google’s reverse image search could def­i­nite­ly come in handy for you. Google’s memory draws on its available pool of images and compares them with your search image.

Another example of a situation when you might use this function is if you have a pho­to­graph as a file and want to check whether it’s used on other websites. Our guide will explain how to use different devices and operating systems to perform a Google reverse image search.

Google’s reverse image search tries to identify dis­tinc­tive features in an image. It uses outlines, struc­tures, lettering, logos, colors, and com­bi­na­tions of these different features to identify certain objects in an image. The search results display in­di­vid­ual or multiple iden­ti­fied objects, similar images, or websites that contain either your search image or similar images.

To get the search results, you must input the pho­to­graph that you want to search for into Google. It works best in a browser on a PC, but you can also try to use “Google Lens” on mobile devices that have a camera. The principle is the same: Google compares the pho­to­graph that you input with all available image databases.

You’re probably already familiar with Google’s direct image search. By entering text, you can display specific images as search results. You can also use Google search operators to perform a refined and detailed search with the input field. If the location of the PC, cell phone, or tablet that you are using is known, local search results will appear first.

It’s highly likely that if you’re using a PC to perform the reverse image search, you’ll use an existing image from the PC’s hard drive. To do this, enter the following URL in Chrome, Firefox, or Safari:

In the results, you get the pixel di­men­sions of the uploaded image as well as search results in text form and search results as “similar images”. If a known object is embedded in an en­vi­ron­ment, like the Berlin TV Tower in the example above, “Berlin TV Tower” may not nec­es­sar­i­ly appear in the results of the reverse image search. Here there are clearly other objects in the pho­to­graph which have led to the search result “met­ro­pol­i­tan area” coming up. As such, this search result may lead back to similar photos on websites that feature the topic “met­ro­pol­i­tan area”.

Google also ex­trap­o­lates the contents of an image from the as­so­ci­at­ed text in­for­ma­tion, the al­ter­na­tive text (or alt text for short), and from the in­for­ma­tion that is in the context of an image on a website. This is important for the selection of image details from an image SEO point of view, as well as when it comes to selecting images for and designing image galleries for websites.

In the search bar, Google au­to­mat­i­cal­ly rec­om­mends a search term alongside the image you have used for the search (e.g. met­ro­pol­i­tan area), which may not nec­es­sar­i­ly match your search intent. Most of the time, this search term describes what can be seen in the pho­to­graph. As pre­vi­ous­ly mentioned, Google’s “ex­pe­ri­ence” with similar pho­tographs on other websites plays a role here and is thus not always precise. You can change the rec­om­mend­ed search term by restart­ing the search. Simply press the Enter key or search icon to obtain more suitable search results.

After tapping on the symbol (1), “Google Lens” opens and accesses the camera of the iOS device. The app marks rec­og­nized objects with a blue point sur­round­ed by a white outline. Tap on the shutter release button (2) to start the search process. As you can see with this example, the Berlin TV Tower is rec­og­nized and quickly appears as a search result. When you swipe the search result up, other similar in­for­ma­tion and search results are displayed.

When using the app for the first time, you must give it per­mis­sion to access your camera. The standard view will appear through the camera viewfind­er, along with outlines that must be “aimed at” the object that you want to search for. Simply tap the shutter (2) to start the search. A rec­og­nized object, which was pre­vi­ous­ly marked with a blue point sur­round­ed by a white outline, will be displayed as a search result. You can swipe up the page with the search results to see more and similar in­for­ma­tion.