Transcript Slide 1

Image Search
SMX West 2009 Case Study
Image Search Facts
Image Search Volume
• comScore numbers say that 7+% of all
searches take place in image search
engines.
• Other industry figures have suggested the
total image search volume is about 15% of
all search
• Difference is a lot of image search queries
take place within web search
Original Eye Tracking Study
Source: Enquiro
Research
Blended Search Eye Tracking
Source: Enquiro
Research
VisualDX Health
Case Study
VisualDx Health
Pictures of Skin Diseases
Images Tell a Story
Quick Tip
• Don’t look at this site just after lunch …
Basic Site Value Proposition
• The images themselves
• Learn about what disease you may have
• Be better informed when you go to the
doctor
• Ask better questions
The Problem
May 2007 Basic Stats
Total Visits
43,597
Visits Per Day
1,406
Image Search Visits
49 (1.5 per day)
Image Search as a % of 0.11%
Total Visits
Image Search not a factor in site traffic
3 Optimization Steps
Eliminated URL Parameters
• Site used parameters on URLs
• Typical URL:
http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/poiso
nIvyDermatitis.htm?st=Male_1244,1249,1
271, 1248,23517,1247,1246
• Parameters identify which images to show
• This one is for adult, male, poison ivy
Example Image Set
Example Image Set 2
The same HTML page with different parameters
URL Parameters (cont’d)
• The underlying page:
/adult/poisonIvyDermatitis.htm
was referenced on site with many different
sets of parameters
• Purpose was to show different image sets
based on Male/Female/Child selections
• Led to massive duplicate content
Resolution
• Moved image identification process to
cookies
• Parameters no longer needed
• Each HTML page represented by one URL
• Dupe Content Eliminated
Added Alt Attributes
• Before: <img
src=“/images/dx/webAdult/acneVulgaris_9
28_sm.jpg”>
• After: <img
src=“/images/dx/webAdult/acneVulgaris_9
28_sm.jpg” alt=“Picture of Acne (Acne
Vulgaris) on the forehead”>
Enabled Enhanced Image Search
Improvement – Stage 1
Oct 2007 Basic Stats
Total Visits
146,930
Visits Per Day
4,740
Image Search Visits
6,079 (200 per day)
Image Search as a % of 4.14%
Total Visits
Image Search now IS a factor in site traffic
What We Saw Next
On December 3rd, the site was not restricted by
Google SafeSearch
SafeSearch Policies
• You can get them here:
http://www.google.com/safesearch_help.html
• Key facts:
– Google filters pornography and explicit images
– VisualDx Health does have some explicit pictures
– Google provides an appeal process
– Appeal URL is in Google Webmaster Help:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Webmast
ers/thread?tid=5cb68076e74823d1&hl=en
Tailoring the Message
•
•
•
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State the problem clearly
Be direct
Don’t complain
Keep the message as short as you
possibly can
• Be sure you are OK with someone looking
at your site
• We sent our request in on December 12th
Improvement – Stage 2
Jan 2008 Basic Stats
Total Visits
388,935
Visits Per Day
12,546
Image Search Visits
95,684 (3000+ per day)
Image Search as a % of 24.60%
Total Visits
Image Search now is a BIG factor in site traffic
Image Visits
Image Visits
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
Image Visits
40,000
20,000
0
May
07
Jun Jul 07 Aug
07
07
Sep
07
Oct
07
Nov
07
Dec
07
Jan
08
Image Visits as % of Total Visits
Image as % of Total
30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
Image as % of Total
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
May Jun
07 07
Jul
07
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan
07 07 07 07 07 08
Thank You!
Eric Enge
President
Stone Temple Consulting
[email protected]
(508) 485-7751