Google Lens and Reverse Image Search

What is Google Lens?

Google Lens is an app that allows your phone to interact with the real world. By using artificial intelligence (AI) and Google’s vast database of information from across the internet, Google Lens lets you run a search based on an image.

First launched in 2017, Google Lens has evolved to be much cleverer and more effective than its original iteration. Making use of reverse image search, you can find where to buy an item, learn more information about a landmark, translate text, or quickly copy written information onto your phone.

Google lens can be used on your phone, a tablet, or a desktop computer.

Google Lens features

So what are some practical uses for Google Lens?

Identify objects

Is there a plant growing in your garden you don’t know the name of? Do you want to find out what breed a dog is? Or maybe you’ve seen an unusual object in an old building. Snap a photo of it with Google Lens, and Google will run a reverse image search to help you identify the item and find out more information about it.

Purchase items

If you’re at a café and love the décor, you can take a photo of any item you fancy and find out where you can buy something similar online. Or maybe you’ve seen a photo of a celebrity wearing a beautiful outfit that you’d love for yourself: run the image through Google Lens and see where you can buy it.

Find out more information

If you’re on holiday and admiring some fascinating architecture, or are itching to know more about a beautiful piece of artwork, Google Lens can run a search that will bring up numerous websites on the topic.

Listen to text

If you’re visually impaired, or a font is difficult to read, take a photo with Google Lens to hear it read out loud.

Translate text

When you’re on your travels and need to translate something that’s written down, there’s no need to get out a dictionary or type something into Google Translate. Snap a picture with Google Lens and it does all the hard work for you, providing you with a quick translation. It will even transpose the translated text over the original text using augmented reality features.

Copy text from an image

Don’t spend ages typing up a written document. Run it through Google Lens and the text will be automatically copied into digital text that you can save and edit as required.

Combine images, text and speech for more complex questions

Google Lens can now also be incorporated into Google Gemini. Drop an image into the AI chatbot and either get a response based only on the image, or ask an accompanying question. This is particularly helpful if you’re snapping an image and have a specific question that isn’t answered by Lens alone.

If you’ve inherited a plant, for example, you can take an photo with Google Lens to find out what it is, then also add questions about how to look after it and where best in your home to put it. Or if you have a new dress that you’re not sure to style, ask about accessories you could wear with it.

Discover new foods

When you go to an international restaurant, you might stick to the same meal every time simply because you’re not sure what other items on the menu are. Snap a photo of the menu, though, or a picture of the food, and Google Lens will show you a picture and tell you exactly what to expect from that particular meal.

You might also come across an image of a type of food you love the look of. Using Google Lens, you can search for nearby locations that serve or sell it.

Get maths help

Stuck on a sum? Simple or complicated, Google Lens has a homework feature that will help you work out the answer.

How to use Google Lens

So now you know some of the many functions of Google Lens, how do you go about using it.

Google Lens is, first and foremost, an Android app. However, there are also ways to use Google Lens – or a more basic reverse image search – on iPhones, iPads, and computers.

Google Lens on Android

Many Android phones have Google Lens built in. However, if yours doesn’t, just open the Play Store and install the app. You can gain access either directly through the app, or via your phone’s camera.

Close to the shutter button on your phone, you will see the Google Lens icon. Select this to switch to Google Lens.

At the bottom of your screen, you will see a slider with various options for different types of search. This includes Translate for text-based functions such as extracting text from an image or translating between languages, Homework for maths problems, and Search for most other functions, such as learning where to buy an item. Select the option you need by scrolling from side to side, aim your camera at the relevant object, and then tap the shutter button. You can alternatively take an image first and select the appropriate option after.

There will also be an Add to your search option where you can speak or type additional instructions or questions to help fine-tune your search.

If a photo has a lot going on, Google Lens will try and focus on the most relevant part of your photo by placing a white frame around it. However, it doesn’t always get the selection right and you can adjust the size and position of the frame using your fingers. You may also see small white dots on top of other items in your image. Click on these to get results based on that part of the photo instead.

You can also use Google Lens on images already stored on your phone. Simply pull them through via the Google Lens app, or open Photos, select a relevant image, and tap the Google Lens icon.

An alternative method for using Google Lens on your Android phone is to open the Google Chrome app and select the camera icon on the search bar. This will open Lens and allow you to search in the same way as described above.

Google Lens on iPhone or iPad

Although it is possible to use Google Lens on an iPhone or iPad, you won’t have as many options as Android users.

To use Google Lens on iPhone or an iPad, ensure you have Google Photos and/or Google Chrome installed. Open Google Photos, select a photo, and then tap the Google Lens icon to see your options.

Google Lens on Desktop

Desktop, again, has limited options for Google Lens, but is still a useful tool.

Go to Google Image Search and select the camera icon from the search bar. You then have the option to upload an image from your computer, drag and drop, or paste the URL of the image you’re interested in.

Once searched, you’ll see a few options, including Search, Text and Translate. Use your mouse or touchpad to adjust the size of the frame if Google hasn’t got it quite right.

Another option is to use reverse image search directly from a website. Right click an image and select either Search image with Google Lens or Visual Search. Be aware that this option doesn’t allow you to adjust the frame size.

Google Lens and SEO: how to optimise

Like Search, Discovery, Ads, Google Shopping, and more, Google Lens is an opportunity to direct more traffic to your website.

So, as a business owner, how do you optimise for Google Lens searches?

Well, the short answer is, you don’t. Not specifically.

When asked about the topic, John Mueller of Google said that, while website owners can’t do anything specifically to optimise for Google Lens, good general SEO will help.

“If you’re doing everything right, if your content is findable in search, if you have images on your content, and those images are relevant, then we can guide people to those images or to your content.”

So, if you’re already following good SEO practices, then your website is likely to be picked up anyway. Here are some particular areas to focus on to help your appear in Google Lens searches.

Get your basic SEO right

Before you do anything else, you should make sure you have the basics of SEO right. Because without the basics, you don’t have the appropriate foundations to continue improving your results in search. Ensure content is appropriate, website speed doesn’t lag, users can find the information they need, and your site works on mobile as well as desktop.