If you are a bit of a shoe freak, you might want to pass on this post, because Like.com could make your life a whole lot more expensive. But from a search technology standpoint, I gotta tell you about it.

Like.com calls itself a “visual search engine,” but don’t get confused, it is not an image search like Google images. Like.com is a search engine that can “see” products and group them together based on shape, color and pattern. What does that mean? Let me try to explain.

Let’s say I am looking for a new pair of cow-pie stompin’ cowboy boots. First thing I do from the Like.com homepage is select “shoes”. From the main menu. On the next page I would pick the type of shoe. So under “Men’s Shoes” I would select “Boots.” Now I have a bunch of pictures of boots. Nothing too exciting, but stick with me, the cool part is coming.

I look for a boot that looks like boots I might want, or at least the boots have some of the characteristics of my ideal boot. When I find one, I click on “Likeness Search” button under the picture of the boot. The boot is then loaded up into a page that asks what you like about the item.

You have multiple options at this point. You can highlight an area of the boot that you think looks cool, or pick a color that you want the boots to be, or you can indicate that you like the overall shape boot. By giving Like.com your preference information it will come back with products that match better march what you like. You can also adjust the importance of color, shape and pattern to narrow your search. Really neato!

But enough about my hunt for killer cowboy boots, go ahead and try to find the accessories of your dreams. I don’t know if Like.com is going to revolutionize the way people search online - but if perfected, this technology could really help people find what they want when shopping online.

If anything, it will help me find a new pair of size 14’s.