Multisearch is becoming multilingual…
Multisearch is a tool from Google that allows its users to search using both images and text. Initially introduced in April as a Beta version only available in the US, it is now available globally in English. In their ‘Search On 2022’ Event, Google announced an expansion of the tool to incorporate more than 70 global languages over the next few months.
Multisearch uses Google Lens to search for things that can be difficult to textualise. For example, if you had a photo of a pair of shoes, you could search Google using that photo and type ‘grey’ to limit the search results to just those where the shoes are available in grey.
At this year’s Google I/O conference, the company introduced a new feature called ‘Multisearch near me’ which will allow users to find things locally. This feature could, for example, be used to find a food dish that would be available at a restaurant near your location. This should be dropping this autumn but will only be available in the US initially.
Although Google’s Multisearch does not have a direct impact on SEO yet, here are a few tips that can be implemented on your website to ensure it’s aligned with users’ queries through both traditional search and Multisearch:
- Using alt tags that includes your keywords. Say you own a washing machine rental company and have a website with photos of washing machines, you could have keywords such as ‘rental washing machines’ or ‘hire washing machines’ for your alt tag.
- Giving a conversational tone to your content. Like voice search, Google’s aim was to give a natural and human-like approach to Multisearch.
Besides these latest updates for Multisearch, Google’s iOS app will now be displaying all their search features as shortcuts under the search bar. Tools such as translating text with your camera or humming to search for a song will also be coming to Android soon.
With ongoing developments in technology and the way we use handheld devices, the way we search on Google – or any search engine – is changing, whether it’s on the commute to work or at home. With this in mind, it’s vital that we react to how consumers are using technology and embrace the new capabilities available to us in order to improve campaign performance.
Sources:
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/28/23373804/google-multisearch-more-languages-visual-search
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/google-announces-search-on-2022-search-insights-event/631580/
https://www.rockstarmarketing.co.uk/how-does-google-multisearch-affect-seo/
