Google

T HE S EARCH
Image Search
Elements
Google’s Not Just For Text Anymore
The World Wide Web doesn’t
work on words alone, and
Google’s developers knew it,
which is why a few years ago
the site began integrating a powerful
image search component. Now when
you need an image in a hurry and you
have no idea where to start looking,
you can turn to Google and find it in
just seconds, no matter how obscure
the subject—because with Image
Search, you can use keywords to sift
through more than 1 billion Webbased
images.
As with word searches, the Google
Image Search engine offers a straightforward
process for finding online
images. And that, in a nutshell, is the
beauty of Google. You don’t need to
be a Web surfing aficionado or pureblooded
geek in order to use Image
Search, and you certainly don’t need
to be a computer expert to value its
simplicity, either.
Almost Effortless
Google’s Image Search uses a clean
and intuitive interface that helps novice
and advanced computer users alike
perform searches with ease. To find an
image using this interface, all you have
to do is type the name of your search
subjects, and then click Search Images.
In a flash, you’ll see a page loaded with
small thumbnail images that lead to the
Web sites or graphic libraries where the
images reside.
Immediately after you perform a
search, you’ll see a blue bar near the
top of the screen that displays the
number of results Google located
using your keywords. You’ll also see a
number that tells you exactly how
much time the search consumed. Just
below these numbers, Google lists
a Show option where
you can click Large,
Medium, or Small;
click a size and Google
filters your results to
match certain image
size dimensions.
Google Image Search
displays your results as
thumbnail images.
You can click these
thumbnails to see larger
versions of the images.
Google displays 20 thumbnail images
after most image searches. Below
each thumbnail you’ll see information
related to the image, including the image’s
file name, the image size in pixels,
and the original image’s file size.
Google also lists the image’s URL so
you have an idea of where the picture
originates. Some of the best parts of
Image Search’s results are what you
don’t see, such as duplicate images,
icons, advertisements, or buttons that
might be on the same site as the image.
If you click a thumbnail, Google
displays a new page with a split
screen. The top frame shows the
image thumbnail, and if you click this
small image, Google shows you the
full-size image. The top frame also includes
a URL that leads directly to the
original image; in contrast, the larger
bottom frame displays the Web site
showing the image in its original context.
If you prefer, you can remove the
top frame by clicking Remove Frame,
a command that lets the bottom
frame fill your screen. If you’d rather
go back to your Image Search results,
simply click Image Results.
The engine’s guts. As Google works
to find and display your results, you
won’t see all of the search engine’s
electronic gears grinding. There’s a lot
going on behind the scenes to make
Image Search happen.
Image searches aren’t easy to perform
because search engines are traditionally
constructed to work with
text. Because most images on the Web
don’t have text in them, Image Search
Reference Series / Guide To Using Google 35