We have no clue how Google decides the ranking of pictures in Google Images but they are probably giving more preference to fresh content in image search results.
For instance, a search for "Google" on Google Images shows the following three pictures within the top 10 positions on the first page of results.
If you observe these pictures carefully, two of them were published just few hours ago and they are about Google playing the spoiler in the Microsoft - Yahoo! deal. The third picture (from NY Times) was published 3 days ago and already made it to the front page in the organic rankings for a competitive term like "Google".
And this is not just a one-off case. If you search for Microsoft on Google Images, 5 of the top 10 search results feature news images that were released in the last 2-3 days.
The second observation is that images from news sources have a better chance of appearing at higher positions in Google Images.
Also read: How to Get Your Pictures on Google Images
Find this article at: http://www.labnol.org/internet/search/google-images-prefers-showing-fresh-pictures-in-search-results/2210/
web: http://www.labnol.org/ email: amit@labnol.org
Reader Comments
I have found the same thing recently as well, as even some of the images from my site have shown up in a few searches I have done. I like that the algorithm is much less understood than the main web counterpart. It makes it less susceptible to manipulation.
Written by Ken Hanscom on 02.04.08
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This Google Game could be one of the option for Google to pick right images on top.
But here what I observed it to get more points on board both the players may give wrong information.
For example If image is Taj Mahal, then the player may give matching words like white, tiles, etc. So In this context we can say Google Labeler is one of the reason to pick very bad results.
Written by Dutt on 02.04.08
I think it has to do with the recent changes in algorithm by google.. Nowadays, even the web search ranks the newer content in higher ranking…
Written by Robin on 02.05.08