Image search patterns in Google Webmaster Tools

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

I'm seeing a pattern with my image search results, as reported by Google Webmaster Tools, that might hint at what's going on overall.

For the majority of keywords that have received fewer impressions during the past month the corresponding % loss in clicks is greater. Not on all keywords but on the majority of them. Example: Keyword abc received 22% less impressions but 31% fewer clicks. keyword def received 12% less impressions but 29% fewer clicks. etc.

This, to me, suggests that Google is not returning my images as often when they feel it's unlikely that they will get attention AND they are getting better at guessing. Otherwise the % drops would be in proportion. The keywords I am improving on follow the same pattern, most of the ones I am receiving more impressions for the corresponding % increase in clicks is greater.

If what is noticeable in image search, which is much less pronounced (in my tools account) for web searches, means my content simply drops out when unlikely to get clicked I'm not even sure where to start in addressing that, or even if I should. Is this personalized search at work?

[lucy24]

Well, that's the Ultimate Question isn't it. Would you rather have a whole bunch of high-ranked pages (or pictures) with a low ctr, or just a few but with a near-100% ctr?

When I see my Pet Search Phrase up there on page 1, I get all warm and fuzzy-- but at the same time I know perfectly well that the people who entered this search term aren't looking for information that's on my page. And they know it too, as evidenced by the near-nonexistent ctr. And this, in turn, leads to people (I mean actual humans, not just us) losing confidence in the search engine.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

hey, I'm an actual human! hehe, but I see what you mean.

I also may have forgotten to take something else into consideration, positioning. If ALL of your images have been downgraded they will all appear lower in the serps. While a certain % of them will fall out of the top 3 pages many of them won't BUT they also won't get clicked on. Under that scenario it's possible, and even likely, that a lowered impression number will have an even lower CTR.

The question is - what to look for if a majority of your images have been downgraded... or maybe the question is - PANDA! DID YOU DO THIS?!

[Andem]

I actually found that traffic from image searches was extremely low-quality and a waste of time. Some days I would get thousands of drive-by visitors and the next day, the result would change from a hit to my page to a page by someone *hotlinking my image*! I do use a form of hotlink protection and the image just shows up as my logo with a note about hotlinking.. Google doesn't seem to mind that.

Overall, though I've decided to disallow the Google-image bot alltogether and image traffic is very slowly dying. This has really helped my overall bounce rate! The remaining traffic that I do get from G-image has to deal with my break-out-of-frames-script. That also seems to slightly help the bounce rate.

I haven't seen any changes with Panda and image ranking.. unfortunately.

[lucy24]

I actually found that traffic from image searches was extremely low-quality and a waste of time. Some days I would get thousands of drive-by visitors and the next day, the result would change from a hit to my page to a page by someone *hotlinking my image*!

Same here. According to gwt, my top two search terms are {female name} and {female name}. They happen to be ::cough, cough:: rats that are now among the dear departed. (At one time I got a fair number of queries for "petite girls" for the same reason. Six ounces is definitely petite, but probably not in the sense they were hoping.) Some people pick up the image containing the name itself. And search term #3 yields a bunch of images from an e-text. These, too, occasionally show up as hotlinks. But not for long, since they're all rewritten to a calculatedly garish picture instead.

Overall, though I've decided to disallow the Google-image bot alltogether and image traffic is very slowly dying.

Ooh, tempting. I wouldn't mind seeing my "impressions" counter plummet if it meant the remaining people were really looking for me. But does it do any good if the images have already been indexed? Do they creep further down g###'s list just by virtue of being older?

[Andem]

>> Do they creep further down g###'s list just by virtue of being older?

Not in my experience. New and old images both rank(ed) high. The traffic just wastes my resources and I can live without such low-quality, high-bounce impressions.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

I find that image search converts very well on one site while it detracts on another, it's very demographic/subject based. On some subjects people demand pictures, on others they don't need them so if they click it's curiosity at best.

[lucy24]

I find that image search converts very well on one site while it detracts on another, it's very demographic/subject based. On some subjects people demand pictures, on others they don't need them so if they click it's curiosity at best.

I don't think anyone would disagree with that. If you've got maps or educational images, you'd better not block them, or you'd lose the people who want to see what a warble-fly larva looks like up close. But if their sole intention is finding stuff to hotlink ...

>> Do they creep further down g###'s list just by virtue of being older?

Not in my experience. New and old images both rank(ed) high. The traffic just wastes my resources and I can live without such low-quality, high-bounce impressions.

Well, that's what I meant. If they've already been indexed, does it do any good to block the imagebot? Or do you also need to apply the Removal Tool to all their separate directories? (Fortunately they are in directories,* not just lying around loose, but still...)


* I wish I had known about removing directories before I manually removed 20-odd individual files. Sigh.

[Andem]

lucy, I started blocking images via robots.txt around 2 months ago and the traffic is very slowly dying. I actually am not 100% certain now whether it was because I blocked Google Image or because of ranking changes.