Google has launched two new products, as part of the Google Labs concept, both still experimental and in testing. The first feature is known as “Similar Image” and the Second is a new Timeline to the current Google News Database.

Similar image is a unique system which allows the user to search for images which are similar in photographic composition based on the image itself and not the title or text of the image. It allows the user to sort through image results more efficiently by simply clicking on the “Similar Image” link. This allows the user to be displayed more contextually relevant images which are based on the picture composition itself and not on the title and description. Effectively the technology is able to visualise the image subject, understanding  the context and composition.

“Image search is an inherently hard problem to solve because it is a visual problem and explains why people say an image is worth a thousand words because it is so difficult to describe,” said Ms Malpani.


This new technology could potentially have a wide implication within the SEO community if successfully tested. Imagine if Google was able to spider a website and use this technology to read images and understand the exact context of a web site, this potentially would be the one step closer to Google being able to understand how to index a website based on a “human” interpretation of the site and its content. Although this will be a long time in the future the possibilities are extremely exciting.


Google News Timeline is another tool which has been designed to provide Google users with more relevant results. It’s the brainchild of the original Apple Macintosh development team. Timeline will display a historical timeline of news articles by date, week, month and year and will include Videos, Images and articles. The search can also be refined by publication type, including magazine, newspaper, blog, movies and music. The new features potentially provide a very valuable wealth of information which will be free to access.


Article Writen by Creative SEO, Search Engine Marketing Agency.

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