How to Search Google Images

Google calls its Google Image Search engine "the most comprehensive image search on the Web." It certainly is handy for finding images of specific objects, like "money" or "antique chair" or "Queen Anne Houses" or "angry face" or even esoteric concepts such as "happiness" or "music" or "love." The images are drawn from independent websites that opt in to have their image files specially indexed by Google, often to improve SEO (search engine optimization).

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer that can display images
• Internet access
• Web browser

1. 

   Go to the Google Image Search page at http://images.google.com/ in your browser. Type in your search term and click Search Images. The example shows a search for parrot.

2. 

   The next screen will give you thumbnails of your search results. Click on the image to see a larger version of the image. Note that not all results are pictures of actual parrots. Rather, when you search Google images for "parrot," Google finds images with file names containing the word "parrot."

3. 
   Yahoo search results for parrot

   Click on one of the search engines listed at the top for a whole new set of results. These include Yahoo, Ask, AllTheWeb, Live, PicSearch, Creatas, FreeFoto, WebShots, NASA, Flickr, deviantART, Photobucket, Vi.sualize.us, and Zooomr.

4. 
   Safe Search Preferences for Google

   Go back to the main Google Image Search page and note the link to Preferences. Click on the link if you'd like to change your Global Preferences with Google. You would use this, for example, if you wanted to change your preferences for the language or for viewing sexual content when you search Google images or using the Google search engines.

5. 

   Still on the main Google Image Search page, note the link to Advanced Image Search. Click on the link if you'd like to add boolean commands to search terms and filter the results for types of content, size of images, file types, coloration, domain, and for SafeSearch options.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also search Google images from any Google search page by clicking on the link to Images at the top.
• Respect intellectual property laws. Some images on the Web are part of Creative Commons and can be copied and used elsewhere under certain limited conditions, specified by each copyright owner. Others you cannot copy and use on your own website or Web page without being guilty of copyright infringement.

Resources

• Google Image Search
• Creative Commons