The parent company of the Stock Index brand, The Publishing Factory, has positioned SEARCH as the alternative to "a business controlled by the two Gs: Google and Getty." SEARCH is designed to market specialist stock collections, which often do not appear at the top of Google searches and are not represented by Getty Images.

The London, U.K.-based publisher launched printed Stock Index books almost 30 years ago, offering image libraries ad space in a print venue distributed to image researchers and users. Today, The Publishing Factory puts out U.K. and U.S. editions that list more than 350 stock houses and are distributed to over 25,000 buyers. Inclusion in the book and its online component costs $1,095 for a full-page-color customized ad. The company also publishes several similar products, including the Stock Footage Index and Creative Services Index, all with corresponding Web sites.

According to its owner, stockindexonline.com receives nearly 60,000 visitors per month. SEARCH for Specialist Stock has become the most prominent feature of the Web site that previously focused on static listings of agencies, industry news and banner advertising.

The new search engine provides access to hundreds of thousands specialty images by indexing the databases of 70 individual U.K. and U.S.-based stock agencies, listed by name in the sidebar of the page. SEARCH offers a simple keyword or phrase-based user interface, accompanied by light-box functionality and an image-research request facility. Users are directed to the represented libraries to make purchases.

The goal of the search engine is to offer smaller libraries a way to compete with multimillion-image inventories. While The Publishing Factory says its printed indices remain in demand, the company highlights that the Internet has changed the way specialty images are sought and found. Based on research into new market needs, SEARCH is the publisher's answer for boutique collections, as it offers buyers a one-stop, streamlined way to find and purchase specialty imagery.