Tags & Supertags

[vpics]

This morning I came across the search for one of my rubbish pictures. The client had searched for "coffee bags". It didn't get zoomed, alright, because it didn't have any coffee bags on show. But it was viewed nevertheless. However, neither the words "coffee" nor "bags" were used as tags, the word "bags", however is in the caption, "coffee" isn't. Keyworded are just combined tags  "coffee cups" and "rubbish bags". 

 

We try to get everything right so we can get a great CTR, but we are let down by the search engine that seems to extract keywords out of combined tags that were never meant to be together.

 

 

 

 

[Matt Ashmore]

29 minutes ago, vpics said:

This morning I came across the search for one of my rubbish pictures. The client had searched for "coffee bags". It didn't get zoomed, alright, because it didn't have any coffee bags on show. But it was viewed nevertheless. However, neither the words "coffee" nor "bags" were used as tags, the word "bags", however is in the caption, "coffee" isn't. Keyworded are just combined tags  "coffee cups" and "rubbish bags". 

 

We try to get everything right so we can get a great CTR, but we are let down by the search engine that seems to extract keywords out of combined tags that were never meant to be together.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I've had this gripe in the past.

 

I have an image of a father and son playing "crazy golf" and it has "crazy golf" as a tag... but keeps being zoomed with just a search for "golf".

Another example is an image of a family sitting on a bench on the banks of The River Thames. Tags included "Mum", "Dad" and "river bank".. but this image got viewed many times with the search "bank of Mum and Dad".

[Trevor Chriss]

Me too, it seems almost any word in tags or description can be found. I guess you can prevent an irrelevant view, assuming the words need to be there in the first place

 

[vpics]

Oh, so frustrating. 

Is this something that Alamy will fix or do we have to live with it?

[John Mitchell]

3 hours ago, vpics said:

Oh, so frustrating. 

Is this something that Alamy will fix or do we have to live with it?

 

It's tough to see how Alamy could change this without potentially causing more problems. The same thing used to happen before supertags. My guess is that we'll have to live with irrelevant search results like these. Perhaps they aren't as harmful as we might think.

 

 

[vpics]

6 minutes ago, LawrensonPhoto said:

You presume they are coffee cups, but they could contain just about anything, so why don't you use the word 'plastic cup' as the keyword 

 

I could, but there was a big story about coffee cup tax the other day because they cause so much litter.

I don't think I've added litter yet ... 

[wiskerke]

That must have been a thorough search: your image is on page 8 for coffee bags.

So I wouldn't fret over it too much. The change that such a search will happen again is very slim.

 

There are quite a bit of searches for coffee cups though. And you're right: a lot seem to be related to the disposable ones.

 

From AoA (%coffee cup%), but missing in your keywords:

disposable
plastic / paper
recycling
to go
takeaway
takeout
empty
used
discarded
pile

 

 

Maybe something like big; huge; full.

I would check a word like towering in AoA first before using it in my caption. Expensive real estate that.

Maybe check %rubbish% or %disposable% or %recycl% to get some more ideas for keywords.

 

wim

 

[vpics]

Wim - thanks for your suggestions. Will incorporate. 

 

2 hours ago, LawrensonPhoto said:

Now that the caption has more significance, would

'A Row of City of Westminster recycling bins overflowing with bags filled with plastic cups, bottles and  paper waste items'

be ok?

Just asking from a noob point of view.

 

Thanks. Not too sure if they were actually recycling bins. 

[wiskerke]

8 minutes ago, vpics said:

Wim - thanks for your suggestions. Will incorporate. 

 

Thanks. Not too sure if they were actually recycling bins. 

 

I think the not recycling part was the thing in the discussion.

 

wim

[John Crellin]

I've said it before but it's worth repeating (I think!):

 

Google does just the same - often gives me search results without the things I type in above better fits.

 

I can only assume - and this is very depressing - Google, and by extension,  Alamy are delivering what their clients en mass want! 

 

It seems massively condescending - but "we're going to show you what we know you want rather than what you asked for" is the new "service"!

 

John Crellin

[Rick Lewis]

I have totally given up trying to figure out how the search engine works.  Obviously, the terms in the caption are quite meaningful, but, just how much?  Perhaps it's due to your rank, who knows.  Or, perhaps the logarithm picked up the tag "rubbish bags" and noticed that bags was repeated, giving it even more weight.

 

There is another thread with similar complaints and the response from Alamy wast to continue to caption, tag and supper tag as we tell you.  I think at this point that's all we can do.

 

@vpics I can totally sympathize with you, as my CTR has pretty much bottomed out these last few months due to totally irrelevant searches with my images showing up.

 

Rick