Google launched a revamp of their Google Images search this week. The service has been a remarkable catalog of the web’s visual information since 2001 and now indexes over 10 billion images.
But as of now, it’s even cooler.
In a nutshell, Google tweaked the display of its image search results, creating a denser tiled layout, instant scrolling of the results pages (very slick) and removed the annoying framed presentation of the source image with a light-box-style hover image.
So whether you’re searching for a city, neighborhood or even a product, searching Google Images gives you a broad, vibrant and instant peek at how the world sees what you’re looking for.
It’s pretty amazing.
But naturally, this got us thinking about real estate search.
It’s time to put away the map
In a guest editorial yesterday over on Property Portal Watch, Niki Scevak from Homethinking.com argues that the main reason Google has failed to have much of an impact in the real estate vertical thus far is that its real estate search play has been mistakenly tied to its Maps product.
The map, Scevak asserts, is a poor visual metaphor for showcasing listings. He writes, “Google will never be successful in real estate until they recognize that Maps are a poor cousin to other types of user interface designs for real estate.”
I agree with Niki. Maps provide great context to a search but relative location is not what home buyers are looking for immediately. Location is important, of course, but people are first and foremost interested in the home itself. What it looks like.
Unfortunately, if you perform a real estate search on most portals or real estate brokerage web sites, you are presented with pins dropped on a map and tiny, blurry thumbnails.
Not really ideal.
Who’s going to build the Google Image Search for real estate?
Zillow has done a pretty amazing job on its iPad app. Click on its gallery view and you’ll see a truly unique interface that simulates a stack of photos you can paw through using the iPad’s multi-touch screen.
It’s a novel approach. And as Brian hinted at yesterday, the mobile app arena is a wide-open search sandbox in which to experiment and test new ideas.
But despite mobile’s inherent advantages (multi-touch and location awareness to name just two) I do think we can bring some innovation back to the browser.
Perhaps we can take some cues from the Wine Industry about how to better merchandise product online. I’m thinking it’s time we lead with our best foot forward. Give users what they really want.
Big bold photographs.
Something like this perhaps?
We have the ability today to create truly immersive visual search experiences on the web. But we’re still stuck with search and search results metaphors (list views, map views, etc.) that seem increasingly archaic.
The new Google Images looks great. Real estate search is overdue for a refresh too.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Joel Burslem, Mike Bowler Sr, Brian Boero, Ryan & Stephen, My REALTY and others. My REALTY said: Google Images refreshed; real estate search still seems stale: Google launched a revamp of their Google Images sea… http://bit.ly/aP9gG5 [...]
Like the MLS, why use Google for your property search? Most agents don’t use the canned MLS search, opting instead to use a vendor to render a better user experience. Why not do the same with Google?
Google is like a treasure chest of information. The MLS data, most of which is loaded in Google via vendors like ListHub, only adds to the possibilities. Vendors simply need to come along and start leveraging all that data.
Two companies have started to do this; RealBird and Go Smart Solutions, LLC. Gabe at RealBird has started to create a really interesting product leveraging Google. Go Smart Solutions, LLC has created a free WordPress plugin under their RealShout division that services up listing data with photos instead of the map with all the pins.
I wrote about this in my column over at NewsGeni.us a few months back http://bit.ly/9AxbmS.
You don’t have to wait on Google. There are some great solutions out there now using Google.
There are many different ways that consumers interact with well built real estate sites. Among those coming in through the homepage, searching first by location, then filtering down by price and speecs seems very popular. Maps do this well, if they’re designed in a way that provides immediate feedback on the impact of changes to criteria.
However, once someone has narrowed down their search to what meets their criteria, they need a different interface to process that information.
And, clearly, when they’re interested in a specific property, they’re interested in going deep to find out more info.
Full-screen high resolution photo tours are one of the features we’ve found works well both for consumers and for agents (price and usability) at that level.
I expect to see more from Google. They are a bit hamstrung by a lack of a full data set, although many companies seem willing to turn Google into a competitor by giving them the content they need fuel their search functionality.
I completely agree. Most real estate search sites open with a map. Not only is that not what buyers want to see first, but when you have dozens of pins in a small map area, it provides little useful information.
And while the map based search is one reason Google hasn’t had a huge impact on real estate (yet), I think another is that it discounts the value of the real estate agent. Sites like Google (and Zillow) are empowering buyers, but distancing them from their best source of knowledge…their real estate agent.
We’ve taken a different approach at Sliced Simple (http://www.slicedsimple.com). We’re empowering buyers, focusing on what they truly care about (such as pictures), AND keeping them tightly connected with their agent. We think that’s the best experience for the home buyer: a better search plus the knowledge and guidance of a professional.
I also expect to see more from Google, but I think we’ll see even more out of the many new startups in the space.
[...] Revamped Google images and the potential it has for real estate (via 1000Watt): “Google launched a revamp of their Google Images search this week. The service [...]
Joel, to use your own words…”first and foremost interested in the home itself”. Everyone in brokerage-land neglects this point. To steal another famous phrase…”it’s all about the home stupid”. It’s time for huge pictures and descriptions that entice buyers, and real neighborhood profiles, that are organically created by brokerage.
Again in your words…”give people what they really want”. Why has that really simple yet incredibly important concept been neglected buy the industry. Buyers and sellers get nothing that they need and want from realtors…only what realtors want them to have…which is really useless information.
Don’t make people call because you purposely left out information and are to lazy to provide it. Get them to call because you wow’d them and they love the home and can’t wait to see it. Only a realtor doesn’t get that point.
It’s all about marketing. Realtors feel that what they do is good enough, but it’s not even close. The industry needs to stop thinking like realtor’s and start thinking like real marketing professionals.
Give people what they really want!
On another note…today I happened to be in nothern New Jersey and found myself walking past the same Weichert office and I’m bothered by what I saw once again: It’s been one of the hottest summers ever and tomorrow it’s approaching 100…and what I saw were a few homes in their outdated storefront display, that still had snow on the ground. This is what’s wrong with the industry.
Doesn’t anyone care or have pride anymore?
Great post Joel
The new interface for Google images is much easier to navigate. You can see tons of photos all at once rather than scrolling through pages and pages. I fully agree that they have yet to make significant progress with real estate photos.
What are you all drinking? Consumers in my area love the map features. In fact, the top 5 IDX search sites for consumers use maps. I participated in a study with 13 other realtors. We interviewed 100 home buyers who were actively looking for homes. Next to good pictures was a fantastic map feature. Those two were the top features.
I like it when my competition stops spending the money for the map features because I know those customers will start migrating to the sites like the ones I use.
A map is a map….at best it’s a tool and not even major tool for selling homes. Maybe it’s good for narrowing down a few choices, but to make it front and center is something I don’t get. Joel’s showing the need for “better” tools…large HD pictures that make your listings stand out, and maybe even a description that’s a turn on rather than a turn off. Maybe it’s time to make the home presentation look sexy. If Kohler can make a faucet or a jacuzzi look sexy, then why can’t realtors make a home look sexy. You’re all worried about getting viewers to the product, but neglecting the importance of the home when someone accidentally stumbles across it. Yes its important to get someone to your listing, but its more important that once a potential buyer finds it, that you help them to fall in love with it and keep them coming back to it time and time again It’s all about marketing and the art of making your home stand out from the crowd.
Yeah, great idea steven. Buyers use maps to search locations.
I like your sexy idea. So does HUD. They’ll fine you if you add kids, sexy decor, a sexy ad and so forth. Ask an agent what it is like to get a $100,000 fine. I know 8 of them who have.
I agree with you. Go ahead and do it. You see Kohler doesn’t have HUD and other parts of the government down their backs.
KCRE, a map is a map, but it’s not a marketing draw, and consumers won’t search out a site or return to a site because it has a map. It’s a nice tool and yes its needed somewhere on a site but they’re a dime a dozen.
As for making a home look and sound sexy so buyers are drawn to it: there is no law against doing that. Sexy doesn’t mean using humanoids in ads, though that’s not illegal. Using people in ads is somethin that’s done every day in real estate…just look at the Sunday real estate section of every major paper in te country and on every website of every major new home community…and you’ll see people.
Sorry but There are no laws
Sorry, put my iPhone down before I was done and it published on it’s own.
Just wanted to conclude by saying that there’s no laws precluding creativity and innovation…only ones imagination can stop you from that.
We’ve started to see it get tapped into a number of listings and it looks fantastic.