Google’s new ‘multisearch’ feature and the future of SEO

Earlier this month, Google began rolling out an all-new feature known as multisearch. Whilst this innovative search tool is currently only available as a beta feature in the United States, it’s already sparked plenty of conversation within the worldwide SEO community. 

What is multisearch?

Multisearch is a way of combining both image and text together to create a search. Aimed at making our lives easier, you can now effectively show Google exactly what it is you’re looking for, without having to rely on entering the right words. By taking a photo through Google Lens, and typing a few additional words to go with it, Google will use that information to provide you with a set of results. 

Perhaps you’re looking to find a very specific item of clothing? Simple, just snap a photo of the item and add some text such as a colour, size or price. Or, if you want to get even more advanced, you can take a photo of your dining chairs and add the words “dining table” to find a matching table! 

Google itself said: “with multisearch in Lens, you can go beyond the search box and ask questions about what you see.” 

How can you prepare for multisearch? 

Google is constantly updating the way it allows us to search, meaning digital marketers must be willing to update their strategies too. Just as voice search introduced new realms to SEO, multisearch will also change the way users arrive at your site and potentially convert. 

Although this feature isn’t yet available for a large majority of us, it’s likely to quickly grow in popularity and use. For this reason, it’s worth spending some time to think about how your SEO tactics may need tweaking in the future.

Here are some SEO elements to start thinking about:

• Short-tail keywords — multisearch is centred around ease, speed and user experience. It only requires a few broad keywords to be entered (rather than long-tail queries). Understanding where in the buyer’s journey your audience are when they reach your site, will be crucial for ensuring you target the right keywords.  

• Image SEO — as this feature focuses on image search, you’ll need to consider your image optimisation too. Make sure you’re using high-quality images that really help users to understand exactly what your product or service offers. Plus, ensuring your image title, description and alt text accurately describe the image will help Google determine if it’s relevant for the query. 

• Regularly reviewing metadata —  keeping your metadata optimised and focused on the keywords used by your audience will remain as important as ever. Google will need to make a judgement as to whether your page meets the search intent of the multisearch user. 

What does multisearch tell us about the future of SEO?

Whilst multisearch looks like a fun new feature to use, it can also help us to understand how Google views the future of online searches. Giving users simplicity and highly-relevant results is something that Google constantly strives for. 

With the introduction of this new tool, focusing on search intent will definitely remain a priority. If users are searching by just a few simple words, it’ll be even more important to establish whether their query is transactional or informational. 

Plus, just like voice search, this feature also centres around providing a more natural, human-like approach. Users may soon be able to search and enquire about products the way they do in a real-life shop environment! 

We’re not saying traditional search will ever disappear, but with an ever-evolving technological world, here at Distinctly, we like to stay ahead of the trends and ensure our clients do, too.