Search by photo (Google Lens): Oeuvria gets your website's images ready to be found — here's why

What Google announced

On September 24, 2026, Google announced on its Search Central blog that Search Console now includes data on web "multimodal" search, meaning searches started from an image rather than words. They appear in the performance report for Search results and in the report for Generative AI features.

Counted searches include Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, images uploaded to Google Search and Chrome's right-click "Search this image" feature. A new "multimodal" search type filter isolates them, and the data can be exported. The rollout has been global since the announcement, but numbers only show up if your site already receives this kind of traffic.

Why it matters for a small business

A customer who takes a photo of a heat pump, a leaking faucet or a storefront, then searches, types no keyword at all. Those visits now have their own filter: you can see which of your pages they reach, or find out that they don't find you yet.

In this announcement, Google doesn't publish what share of searches these represent. So we put forward no number: the right measure is your own site's.

What helps your images get found, according to Google

Google's official guide to image SEO gives simple rules:

• Embed images with a real HTML <img> element: Google doesn't index CSS background images.
• Write alt text that truly describes the image, without keyword stuffing.
• Use short, descriptive file names (heat-pump-installation.jpg rather than IMG00023.JPG), translated if the site is bilingual.
• Place the image near text about it, on a page about the same subject.
• Keep images sharp but light, in a supported format (JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF…).
• Pick a share image (og:image) that represents the page rather than a generic logo.

How to see this data for your site

• Open Search Console, then the performance report.
• Choose the "multimodal" search type in the filters.
• Look at which pages and images get these visits, then export the data if needed.

What is multimodal search in Search Console?

It's searches made from an image: Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, an image uploaded to Google Search or Chrome's "Search this image". Since September 24, 2026, Google reports them with a dedicated filter in the performance reports.

Why don't I see any multimodal data?

Google states that numbers only appear if your site already receives traffic from these searches. An empty report can therefore mean your images aren't found through this path yet, not that the tool is broken.

How do I make my site's images easier to find?

Follow Google's recommendations: a real <img> element, descriptive alt text, a clear file name, an image placed near relevant text, and a light file in a supported format.

Our best practices, and the services that handle them

What we apply, concretely:

• Our free audit already checks whether a page's images have alt text and whether the page has a share image (og:image).
• In our on-page SEO optimizations, we follow Google's image guide: real image elements, alt text and file names tied to the page's subject, in each of the site's languages.
• The performance tracking we set up now includes the new multimodal filter, to see whether your images bring you customers.
• Continuous monitoring of Google's announcements, applied to our own site first.

On the services side: "SEO, GEO & AEO optimization" includes an opportunity audit, on-page and technical SEO optimizations and performance tracking setup; "Websites + lead capture system" covers building, or rebuilding, sites for service and construction trades.

See our SEO, GEO & AEO service

Audit my site for free

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Next step

Your customers also search with their camera, and Google now measures it. Check this filter in your Search Console, then book a time slot with us to get your site's images ready.

Source: Google Search Central, "Announcing web multimodal Search performance reporting in Search Console" (Sept. 24, 2026) (Google Search Central)

Source: Google Search Central, "Google image SEO best practices" (Google Search Central)