NEW YORK, June 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Shutterstock, the leading global provider of stock images and footage by subscription, is investing aggressively in search technology with a series of innovations in the first half of 2010.

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Offering more than 11 million images and 180,000 footage clips, with search supported in 10 languages, Shutterstock helps busy professionals quickly find the right royalty-free content for any project.

Shutterstock's recent search enhancements include:

- Saved Search and Search Alerts, features that empower image buyers to track topics of interest easily and automatically. Customers can receive free e-mail notifications when new images match a saved search. - People Search, which identifies images based on the number of people in a photograph, as well as their gender, age, and ethnicity. - An improved Similar Images Search, which recommends other images based on qualities such as keywords, image colors and models. - A Real-Time Search engine, which indexes new images within seconds, rather than hours. Image and footage buyers will see fresh content faster, including up-to-the-minute editorial images.

Additionally, Shutterstock continues to refine its proprietary Most Popular results algorithm, which weighs keyword relevance, image download frequency, and other customer behavior. The search engine produces more accurate results than competing stock sites, and is especially precise with searches involving multiple words.

Search improvements benefit artists as well. Shutterstock crowdsources the talents of photographers, illustrators and videographers around the world who earn money when customers download their content. Real-Time Search means approved images and footage will appear on Shutterstock faster, and a Newest First search results page will always display fresher and more varied content.

About Shutterstock(R)

Founded in 2003, Shutterstock is an innovative global e-commerce company and a leading provider of stock photos, illustrations, and footage. Shutterstock provides royalty-free content to creative professionals worldwide, specializing in subscription products that are simple and user-friendly. For more information, visit shutterstock.com.

Press contacts Lena Keolian | +44-20-7388-9988 | keolian@spreckley.co.uk

SOURCE: Shutterstock

CONTACT: Lena Keolian, +44-20-7388-9988, keolian@spreckley.co.uk