The 10 Best Image Search Engines

Welcome to Internet Marketing Media Services. One of our main missions is to help our clients use the internet to their advantage. This article explores the best image search engines online. Finding diverse ways to find pictures may help your brand thrive. Your team could be in need of a high-res image for an email blast. Your team could need to locate the source of a particular picture. Or, it could want to try something new. No matter your need, and in no particular order, here are ten image search engine solutions.

1) TinEye

TinEye is a reverse image search engine. This means that it assists people in finding the original sources for images. It also allows people to locate the websites on which a particular image appears online. You do not even have to make a search using uploaded images. TinEye allows users to search by URLs. The three-step process is simple:

You click the arrow that appears by the search box.
You can upload any picture from your device or computer.
TinEye informs you where that image appears on the Internet.

Do you want to have the fastest possible image search results? If so, TinEye offers a Chrome extension. That extension will give you reverse image search results in mere nanoseconds. Here’s one more cool feature. You can right-click on any picture and then search for it.

2) Google Images

Odds are, you’ve used Google Images before. It’s one of the most popular image search engines on the web. And there’s a reason for that. Point-blank- it’s very easy to use. Plus, Google’s deep pockets have made Google Images one of the best resources to find basic images of all sorts. But don’t think Google is too simple for you to use. It offers many filters and in-depth searching.

Here’s an example. Say you search for “squirrel.” Google allows you to narrow down your search into specific categories. The options include illustrations, drawings, cartoons, and much more. But that’s not all. Try clicking on “Tools.” This will allow you to narrow your search with even more filters. These filters include:

Usage rights
The size of the image
The type of image
Color
The creation date of the image
The upload date of the image

Google Images’ “Tools” also allows people to find royalty-free pictures. This is very useful if you or your team is on a tight marketing budget. Like what TinEye does, there is also the Google Reverse Image Search tool. How do you do a reverse image search on Google? Go inside the search box and click the camera logo.

3) Getty Images

When it comes to finding cream-of-the-crop stock photos, Getty Images maybe your best bet. Getty gives people two search options. They can search by image or search for a specific keyword. How do you search by image? It’s exactly like the Google Reverse Image Search tool. You click on the camera logo within the search box.

One factor that gets rave reviews is Getty’s auto-suggest feature. It’s a great shortcut for narrowing down what you’re searching for. There are also plenty of search filters on Getty Images. No matter what form of the image you’re in need of, it’s likely featured on Getty. Your team must get prepared to shell out some cash for the pictures on Getty Images. This means paying for royalty-free licenses. There is no set price. Getty charges on a picture-by-picture basis. Another option is for your team to buy a set of images at a flat rate.

4) Shutterstock

Shutterstock’s considered by many to be a cheaper form of Getty Images. That’s why many turn to it for royalty-free stock photos. But don’t think you won’t find many pictures. In fact, Shutterstock’s library is as large as Getty’s. Plus, the search filters are easy-to-use and very effective. Some brands pay for Shutterstock’s images with an annual plan. Others buy pre-paid image packs on an as-needed basis.

Many IMMS clients want to know how to get the most bang for their buck with Shutterstock. We recommend their 350 image-per-month download package. This costs $169 per month. But consider the following bargain package if your team is on a tight budget. For $49, you can nab five royalty-free pictures.

5) Yahoo! Image Search

After all these years, Yahoo! continues to be one of the most popular search platforms on the Internet. If you enjoy using Google Images, you’ll feel right at home with Yahoo! Image Search. Not only are the two engines’ features similar, the layouts even look almost identical. But the difference is in the results. They’re not that different, but enough so to consider giving Yahoo! a try. Yahoo! uses a different ranking system and algorithm for images than Google does. One key advantage with Yahoo! is that their filtering tools are always right in front of you.

6) Picsearch

Are you tired of getting similar results on the more popular image search engines? Give Picsearch a shot. Their results are way more varied than Google’s or Yahoo!’s. The only common criticism is that the results are sometimes too generalized. But as long as your team doesn’t need something very specific, Picsearch is a great platform. You’ll find tons of photos that all have some relation to your keyword. Picsearch also offers a wonderful Advanced Search feature. It allows users to filter the results based on specific image sizes.

7) Bing Image Search

Like Yahoo!, Bing is one of the popular competitors in Google. And there’s a reason for its success. Unlike Google’s layout, Bing features a feed displaying popular images. (It also displays trending ones.) But don’t expect the layout to be confusing. In fact, the layout isn’t that different from Google’s. Also- the ranking system of the image results is pretty similar.

One of the coolest features Bing provides is a “People” filter. This allows users to narrow down how they want the people in the images to appear. For example, say your brand wants to use a picture of Michael Jordan in an ad campaign. But the ad layout calls for only Jordan’s face to get featured. Bing will allow you to narrow your search so that only pictures of Jordan’s face appear in the search results. Features like this will save your team a lot of time.

8) Creative Commons

Creative Commons has an opposite form of search compared to Getty or Shutterstock. In other words, the results are free to share. And the best news of all? There are tons of images available on Creative Commons. How is it able to provide so many royalty-free images? It searches for results through many popular search engines. These include Google Images and Flickr. Paid-content gets filtered out. If your team’s strapped for cash, Creative Commons could be your go-to solution.

9) Flickr

As referenced above, Flickr is another popular image search engine. But don’t expect it to be a clone of Google or Yahoo!. Why? Because Flickr’s content comes from photographers across the world. Some are amateurs and some are professionals. But don’t get discouraged by the notion of “amateur photographs.” Many areas are as beautiful and high-quality as the photographs taken by professionals. The key to using Flickr is to be aware of which images have a specific usage license. The filter makes it easy for your team to determine which pictures are free.

10) Pinterest

Think Pinterest is only a social media platform? Think again. It offers a “Visual Search Tool” that’s a piece-of-cake to use. All you do is follow a simple four-step process:

Sign in to your Pinterest account. (It’s free to join.)
Select any pin on your feed that catches your eye.
Click on the icon located at the bottom-right of the picture.
Pinterest will display many similar images for you.

The Pinterest image database is a lot larger than most people expect. This is due to many users having uploaded images for over a decade. Sure, Pinterest’s Visual Search Tool may not be as conventional as Google Images. But it sure is a lot of fun to use.

The Three Types of Image Search Engines

Image and picture search engines often get divided into three categories. The categories get centered around the types of images that people look for.

The first category is thegeneral image search engines. These are your standard search engines that many people should recognize. People use them to learn more about specific subjects. The second type is stock image search engines.

These engines feature image search websites. But they also include image databases where people can upload tons of pictures. A great example of this category is a stock photo search engine website. So, what’s the third type of image search engine? Reverse image search engines.

They are where people locate new images based on the current image that they have.