Here’s a Google feature bloggers will love: Image search. We don’t think Image Search is as popular a feature as its bigger brother, the Google Web Search (the most used search engine in the world!). It’s quite ironic, since it’s staring you in the face everytime you do a Google search. Here’s a list of people we think would find the feature cool:

• Bloggers and webmasters looking for images to spice up their blogs or sites
• Starstruck fans looking for star paparazzi shots
• Voyeurs looking for, well, you know what
• Vain people looking for sites where their photos are posted

The list goes on, but we think the first reason is perhaps the most reasonable one. Blogs do look bland if they’re text-only.

Using Google Image Search

To use the feature, you can simply click on the “Image search” link on the Google page you’re currently browsing. If you’ve keyed in search terms already, you’ll be presented with results for that search instead of text/website results. You may also directly access the site at images.google.com.

Options

A basic search usually works more than 50% of the time. But if you want to narrow down the results, you can use the advanced search feature, which lets you make your query more specific as follows:

• Boolean search – You can use Boolean operators such as AND, OR, NOT and search by exact phrase.
• Size – You can limit your search according to size, by specifying “small,” “medium,” or “large.” Seems quite simplistic though, but more convenient and intuitive than having to specify the exact filesize or image resolution.
• Coloration – Here you can select among “greyscale,” “full color,” “black and white,” or “any colors,” depending on your requirements.
• Domain – Just like the “site:” Google operator, you can limit your search to within a particular domain or website. This is very useful if you know a certain image is hosted by a certain domain, but forgot just where exactly to find it.

You can also use more advanced options, such as “filetype:” to specify an extension, such as .JPG or .GIF, for instance.

Once you find your desired image among the thumbnails displayed by Google, you can click on the link, and you will be directed to the source website, with a frame above containing the thumbnail and a direct link to the image—sometimes the image gets buried deep within a site’s content that you’d rather just get the image itself only.

A word of caution: Google advises, and we repeat, that images found by the search may be copyrighted. In this case, if you only intend to use the images for personal consumption (i.e., as wallpapers), it’s all right to download and view. But if you intend to use images on your site or blog, it’s good to consult with the source’s license statement. And of course, it’s best to get in touch with the owner of the originating site for permission.