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Google Images gets a revamp with a focus on shopping

Photos of products will now show information on pricing, availability and reviews.

Richard Nieva Former senior reporter
Richard Nieva was a senior reporter for CNET News, focusing on Google and Yahoo. He previously worked for PandoDaily and Fortune Magazine, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, on CNNMoney.com and on CJR.org.
Richard Nieva
2 min read
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Google Images is getting an update.

Google

Google Images is getting a new look. The search giant on Tuesday said it's launching a redesign of its search engine for photos. 

With the update, when you search for something and click on a photo, the picture stays enlarged in a pane on the right side of the screen while you scroll down to browse more photos. You'll also be able to view previous photos you've enlarged by hitting the back button. Photos will also have more information about their source pages, so you can avoid clicking on sketchy links.

The redesign will also put an emphasis on shopping. If you click on an image of a product, it will show you information on brand, price, reviews and availability. 

Google Images was first launched in 2001 -- a response to Google noticing that people were searching like crazy for pictures of Jennifer Lopez in her famous green Grammy's dress the year before. The photo search tool rarely gets big updates, but Google previewed some of Thursday's changes in September during an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Google search

The update comes as Google makes a bigger push in online shopping. In May, the company announced it's revamping Google Shopping to include the options to buy products from physical stores or directly on the Google site itself. The company also said it would let people buy products through YouTube videos. 

But the emphasis on shopping has also caused Google problems in the past. Two years ago, the European Commission fined Google $2.7 billion for favoring its own shopping services in its search results over those of rivals. For the Google Images update, however, all of the new shopping information is the result of organic search, not paid advertisements, a Google spokeswoman said.