The problem with Google Images is that anyone can search for an image, download it, and use it without giving proper credit. This can be incredibly frustrating for professional photographers who might be trying to sell their images, only to have it stolen and used without due compensation.As a result, some photographers have gone to the extremes to block Google Images from seeing their works. Obviously this has an impact on Google as well, but the good news is that it looks like Google is working to fix that by introducing labels to image that are licenseable. This means that whenever you search for an image online that you want to license, the label will tell you which images can be licensed.
Google will allow photographers to embed licensing info through metadata or structured data for those who host images on their own website. According to the company, “When you specify license information for the images on your website, the image can display with a Licensable badge on image thumbnails in Google Images. This tells people that license information is available for the image, and provides a link to the license in the Image Viewer, which offers more detail on how someone can use the image.”
If you’re interested in adding licensing information to your images when viewed on Google Images, head on over to Google’s website for the details.