Edited on Jul 3, 2026.
Google Images has been restructured multiple times across the past decade — most consequentially in 2013, 2018, and 2020 — with each restructuring shifting the balance of value between the user, the search engine, and the website hosting the image. This is the history of how Google Images evolved from a directory of images hosted across the web toward an image-discovery surface where the visit to the source site is increasingly optional.
The 2013 redesign — where the argument started
In February 2013, Google announced a redesign of Google Images that introduced several user-facing changes: larger image previews, keyboard-driven flip-through navigation, expanded metadata display (image title, source domain, image size), and a domain link that became clickable as a navigation target. Google framed the changes as user-experience improvements and stated in test data that the changes had produced a net increase in the average click-through rate to the hosting website.
The webmaster community pushed back immediately. The redesign removed the older "load source page in background" behavior, which had inflated traffic figures for some publishers who counted background loads as page visits. Some publishers reported substantial drops in measured image-search traffic after the 2013 redesign. Others argued that the previous traffic figures had not reflected genuine user engagement and the 2013 design was structurally more honest. The substantive question — was the redesign a net win or a net loss for publishers — was difficult to answer because the publishers most affected were the ones whose previous traffic had been inflated by the technical quirks the new design eliminated.
The 2013 redesign was the moment Google Images began shifting from a directory of images you can find on the web toward an image-discovery surface where the visit to the source site is increasingly optional.
The 2018 View Image removal
In February 2018, Google removed the "View Image" button from Google Images search results. The button had allowed users to load the full-resolution version of an image directly without visiting the source page. The removal was triggered, Google said, by a settlement with Getty Images over a years-long dispute about whether the button facilitated unauthorized image use. The settlement included Google's agreement to remove the button as part of broader changes to Google Images' handling of professional and stock photography.
The removal pushed users who wanted the full-resolution image to click into the source page — restoring some of the traffic dynamic that the 2013 redesign had reduced. But the same removal also intensified the structural pressure on publishers: with thumbnails and metadata visible in the search results page and the full image available only with a click-through, many image searchers continued their search rather than visit the source page. The 2018 change was framed as a publisher win but operated as a continuation of the trajectory toward image search results that resolved the user's need without requiring source-page traffic.
The 2020 structured image data expansion
In 2020, Google launched structured data support for images, allowing publishers to mark up images with schema.org metadata that Google would then surface in search results — author, license, creator, copyright holder, original URL, and other attribution data. The change was a publisher-friendly response to longstanding complaints about attribution and image-license violations.
The structured data layer also gave publishers a real handle on how their images surfaced. Schema.org markup became the primary signal Google used to understand image attribution, and the publishers who invested in it earned better positioning and clearer credit than the publishers who didn't.
What publishers should do
Four disciplines define the work for publishers serious about image search.
Structured data on every image. Schema.org ImageObject markup with creator, copyright holder, license, original URL, caption, and content location is the structural signal that drives both attribution and search positioning. Publishers that mark up their content fully outperform publishers that don't.
Original imagery as competitive moat. The publishers who compound in image search are the ones who produce original photography, original illustration, and original data visualization. Stock photography and licensed third-party imagery does not differentiate.
Image SEO discipline. Alt text, file names, image sitemaps, accessible captions, page-level relevance signals. The 2013 image SEO playbook has not been retired — it has been extended. See EPR's full 2026 pillar: Optimizing Website Images for SEO in 2026.
License clarity and rights management. The Getty Images dispute that triggered the 2018 View Image removal was a preview of the broader rights-management disputes that have continued since. Publishers should be explicit about image licensing, attribution requirements, and rights-management on every visual asset.
Google Images has been substantially restructured multiple times. The most consequential changes were in 2013 (inline previews, removal of source-page background load), 2018 (View Image button removal), and 2020 (structured image data expansion).
Why did Google remove the View Image button?
Google removed the View Image button in February 2018 as part of a settlement with Getty Images over a long-running dispute about whether the button facilitated unauthorized image use. The settlement included broader changes to Google Images' handling of professional photography.
What is schema.org markup for images?
Schema.org provides the ImageObject type and associated properties (creator, copyright holder, license, content location, caption, and others) that publishers can use to mark up images with structured metadata. The markup drives both attribution and search positioning.
What should publishers do about Google Images?
Four disciplines: structured data on every image, original imagery as competitive moat, continued image SEO discipline, and clear license and rights management on every visual asset.
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Reported by the Everything-PR Editorial Team.
