Unlock Image & Video Insights with Google Search Console Multimodal Search

Understanding where your website traffic comes from is crucial for growth. For years, Google Search Console (GSC) has been the go-to tool for webmasters and SEO professionals to monitor search performance. However, with the rise of visual content, traffic from images and videos has become increasingly significant.

Recognizing this shift, Google introduced new multimodal search filters to Search Console performance reports in late September 2026. This update allows site owners to see traffic from image and video results separately from regular web results, providing a clearer picture of their visual content’s impact. This guide will walk you through leveraging these new features to boost your website’s visibility through digital marketing and SEO efforts.

What is Multimodal Search?

Multimodal search refers to queries that involve more than one mode of input or output. Traditionally, search was text-based. But today, users can search using images (Google Lens), voice, or even video. The results Google delivers can also be multimodal, featuring not just text links but also prominent image carousels, video snippets, and rich results.

For your website, this means traffic isn’t just coming from someone typing a query and clicking a blue link. It’s also coming from users discovering your images in Google Images, or watching your videos directly in search results. The new Google Search Console multimodal search report helps you quantify these previously aggregated traffic sources.

Accessing the New Multimodal Search Filters in GSC

Finding these new insights in Google Search Console is straightforward. If you’re already familiar with the Performance report, you’ll find the new filters integrated seamlessly:

1. Log in to Google Search Console: Access your property.
2. Navigate to the Performance Report: This is typically found in the left-hand navigation menu under ‘Performance’.
3. Apply the ‘Search type’ filter: At the top of the performance report, you’ll see a row of filters (e.g., ‘Search type’, ‘Date’, ‘Query’). Click on the ‘Search type’ filter.
4. Select ‘Image’ or ‘Video’: You will now see options for ‘Web’, ‘Image’, and ‘Video’. Select either ‘Image’ or ‘Video’ to filter your data. You can also compare them by adding multiple filters.

Once applied, the report will display clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position specifically for your chosen search type, helping you understand your visual content’s performance.

Interpreting Your Multimodal Data

After applying the filters, you’ll see familiar metrics like Clicks, Impressions, Click-Through Rate (CTR), and Average Position, but now segmented for image or video search. Here’s what to look for:

• High Impressions, Low Clicks: This could mean your images or videos are appearing frequently but aren’t compelling enough to earn clicks. Review your thumbnails, titles, and descriptions.
• Low Impressions: Your visual content might not be discoverable. Check your optimization efforts or consider creating more relevant content.
• High CTR: This is a positive sign, indicating your visual assets are engaging and relevant to search queries. Analyze what’s working well.
• Top Queries: See which queries lead users to your images or videos. This can inform your content strategy.

Optimizing for Image Search Traffic

If your image traffic is low, or you want to improve it, focus on these areas:

• Descriptive Alt Text: This is crucial for accessibility and SEO. Describe the image content accurately, including relevant keywords.
• Contextual File Names: Use descriptive, keyword-rich file names (e.g., blue-widget-product-shot.jpg instead of IMG_001.jpg).
• High-Quality Images: Use clear, well-composed images that are relevant to your content.
• Responsive Images: Ensure your images display correctly and load quickly on all devices.
• Image Sitemaps: Submit an image sitemap to help Google discover all your images.
• Page Speed: Large image files can slow down your site. Optimize image sizes without sacrificing quality.

Optimizing for Video Search Traffic

Video content has immense potential for engagement. To improve your video traffic:

• Video Structured Data: Google updated its video structured data documentation concurrently with the GSC report rollout. Implementing VideoObject schema can significantly improve how your videos appear in search results, including rich snippets.
• Compelling Thumbnails: A strong, relevant thumbnail is critical for attracting clicks from video carousels.
• Clear Titles and Descriptions: Use keywords naturally in your video titles and descriptions to help Google understand the content.
• Video Transcripts: Provide transcripts to make your video content accessible and searchable.
• Page Speed: Ensure the page hosting your video loads quickly, as slow loading can deter users.
• Dedicated Video Pages: Consider creating dedicated landing pages for your important videos to provide more context and improve SEO.

Common Mistakes in Multimodal Optimization

Even with the new reports, some common pitfalls can hinder your visual content’s performance:

• Generic Alt Text or File Names: Using vague descriptions like “image.jpg” or “photo” misses a significant SEO opportunity.
• Ignoring Page Speed: Large, unoptimized images and videos can drastically slow down your site, leading to higher bounce rates and lower rankings.
• Missing Structured Data: Failing to implement appropriate schema markup for videos can prevent them from appearing in rich results.
• Low-Quality Visuals: Blurry or irrelevant images and videos provide a poor user experience and are unlikely to rank well.
• Lack of Context: Images and videos should always be relevant to the surrounding text content on the page.

When to Get Expert Help

While the new Google Search Console multimodal search filters offer valuable insights, interpreting the data and implementing effective optimization strategies can be complex. If you’re struggling to improve your image or video traffic, or if you’re an agency looking for scalable solutions, consider partnering with experts.

A global technology and digital marketing partner like Instalogic can provide comprehensive digital marketing and SEO services, including technical SEO audits, content optimization, and structured data implementation. We also offer white-label development and offshore delivery for agencies needing long-term technical support.

Final Thoughts

The new Google Search Console multimodal search report is a significant step forward in understanding your website’s visual performance. By actively monitoring your image and video traffic and implementing targeted optimization strategies, you can unlock new avenues for visibility and engagement. Don’t let valuable traffic slip away; use these new insights to refine your content strategy and strengthen your online presence.