The 5 Best Ways To Use Google Reverse Image Search

Searching for an image without using text has been a goal of search engines for a long time. Whether you are trying to find out whether someone is stealing your work, to determine if someone's dating profile is using a fake image, or just to figure out where you've seen a painting before, it has made a lot of previously difficult problems simple. Plus, it represents another step in moving the web away from a purely text-based construct to something more fluid. Get literate in the new way of things by getting good at searching Google with reverse images. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.

  1. On Google Chrome, right click on the image you wish to search. Then select "Search Google for image".
  2. Install the "Search By Image" extension on Firefox or Chrome. Then use the right click method, or hover over the image and click the camera icon.
  3. Drag the image onto the search bar at images.google.com and release it.
  4. Right click the image and select "Copy Image Address". Then, paste it into the "Paste Image URL" section.
  5. Upload a file from your computer using the "Upload an Image" tab.

What's The Best Reverse Image Search Tool?

The benefits that Google provides are fairly self-evident. They are easily the most popular search engine around, and they index more than just about anyone else. But some alternatives still exist that can prove useful if Google fails you.

Feature Bing TinEye ImageRaider
Save search results
Continuously monitor an image
Search by color with creative commons results
Easy royalty-free image search
Available in iOS app

Using Reverse Image Search From An iPhone Or iPad

Conclusion

There isn't a singular best way to use Google's reverse image search tool. The method you choose depends on the results you want and the information you have available. That means that the best way to use it is to have a basic familiarity with all the options, so you're never failing to use it when it is a viable option.

In Depth

Have you ever found a picture online and wondered where it came from? Tracking down the source for a photo used to be extremely difficult. Google's reverse image search shows you all the websites where a photo has been published. It can also help you to find pictures that are similar, and to see if your own photos have been used by others. Here's how to use it to find any image on the internet.

The #1 way to perform a reverse image search if you're using Google Chrome is to simply right-click on the picture. From the menu, select "Search Google for image". This opens a new tab showing search results for that photo. Scroll down to see a list of pages where it has appeared, along with other images that look similar. You can also filter your results by size. Just click small, medium, or large at the top of the page. If you select "All sizes", you can see all the results in one place and filter by size, time, and usage rights. Hovering over an image tells you the website where that version was published.

The #2 method is to install a Firefox or Chrome extension to make reverse image searches easier. The "Search By Image" extension adds "Search Google with this image" as an option on your right-click menu. It also lets you add an icon that shows up when you hover over a photo. Clicking on it takes you directly to the image results page on Google.

Clicking on it takes you directly to the image results page on Google.

To add it to Firefox, click on the menu in the top right corner and select "Add-ons". Type "Search By Image" into the search bar and hit enter. The extension will have a camera icon next to the name. Click "Install" on the right, then "Accept and Install". You'll need to restart Firefox before you can use it. To enable the camera shortcut when hovering over images, go to your extensions. Click on options next to the "Search By Image" extension, select the hover option, and click "Save".

In Chrome, go to the Chrome web store and type "search by image" into the search bar. The extension should be the first result. Click "Add to Chrome", then "Add Extension" to install it. To add the camera shortcut when hovering over photos, click the extension's icon in your toolbar and choose "Options". Select the hover option, then click "Save".

#3 is the drag and drop method. This is the easiest way to search by image if you can't add the right-click option to your browser. Go to images.google.com, and drag an image into the search bar. You can use a photo from anywhere on the web. You can also do this with images that are saved on your computer.

You can also do this with images that are saved on your computer.

#4 is the copy and paste method. Right click on the photo you want to search for and select "Copy Image address". Then, go to images.google.com and click on the camera icon. Select "Paste Image URL", then paste the image address into the search bar and click "Search by image" to see the results.

The #5 way to use Google's reverse image search is to upload a photo from your computer. This is a useful tool if you want to find out if anyone else has used your original image on a blog or other website. Go to images.google.com and click on the camera icon. Select "Upload an image", then click "Choose file". Find the photo you want to search for, then click "Open" to go to the results page.

Google's reverse image search is a very useful tool. And with a little practice, it's easy to use. Give each of these methods a try and see which one works best for you.