Multimodal Search & Image SEO: What Changed in 2026

Google Search Is Becoming More Visual: What Multimodal Search Means for SEO in 2026

Google Search is changing again — and this time, the way people search is becoming increasingly visual.

People are no longer limited to typing a few keywords into a search box. They can search using photographs, screenshots, their phone camera, images on a webpage and combinations of visual and written information.

On 24 September 2026, Google introduced multimodal search performance reporting in Google Search Console, giving website owners and SEO professionals greater visibility into how websites are being discovered through visual search experiences.

For Australian businesses, this is another reminder that modern SEO is no longer only about keywords and traditional blue-link rankings.

Website structure, useful content, images, professional web design and development, technical SEO, local signals and overall user experience increasingly work together to help search engines understand what a business offers.

What Is Multimodal Search?

Multimodal search allows someone to search using more than one type of information or input.

Instead of only entering a text query, a person may use an image, camera, screenshot or visual object as the starting point for a search.

Google’s multimodal search reporting currently includes search experiences such as:

• Google Lens
• Circle to Search on Android
• Images uploaded directly to Google Search
• Chrome’s Search this image functionality

For example, someone looking for a particular timber flooring style may not know the product name, colour or technical terminology.

Instead of trying to describe it with keywords, they could photograph the flooring and use Google to identify similar styles, products, suppliers or businesses.

The search begins with what the user can see, rather than what they know how to type.

Google Search Console Now Reports Multimodal Search

Google has added a new multimodal search type filter to Search Console performance reporting.

This means eligible websites can begin analysing how their content performs when users discover it through visual and multimodal search experiences.

If a website is already receiving this type of search traffic, the information can appear within Search Console’s performance reports.

This is significant because visual search has historically been more difficult for website owners to measure separately.

Google is now providing more direct insight into how websites are surfaced when users search with images.

You can read Google’s official announcement on the Google Search Central Blog.

For businesses running WordPress, ongoing monitoring of Search Console, Analytics, site performance and technical health should also form part of a broader WordPress maintenance and management strategy.

Why Does Multimodal Search Matter for SEO?

The introduction of multimodal reporting does not mean businesses need an entirely new SEO strategy.

It means the search environment continues to expand.

Traditional organic search, Google Images, local search, video, AI Overviews, AI Mode and visual search are increasingly part of the same broader discovery ecosystem.

The goal remains consistent:

Make it easy for users and search engines to understand what your business does, what each page is about and why your content may be useful for a particular search.

This requires more than repeating keywords.

Technical website quality, useful written content, clear page structure, relevant images, internal linking and accurate business information all contribute to how a website can be understood.

At GK Web Agency, this is why SEO, website development, Local SEO and paid search are considered connected parts of a broader digital strategy rather than isolated services.

Does AI Search Mean Traditional SEO Is Dead?

No.

Google’s own guidance is clear that established SEO best practices continue to apply to generative AI search experiences such as AI Overviews and AI Mode.

Google does not require a special AI version of a website, special AI structured data or a separate optimisation technique simply to become eligible for these search experiences.

Pages still need strong SEO foundations, including:

• Crawlable and indexable website content
• Useful, original and reliable information
• Clear internal linking
• A logical website structure
• Good page experience
• Important information available as text
• Relevant, high-quality images and video where appropriate
• Accurate structured data
• Up-to-date business information

Google also states that there is no requirement to create special AI files such as llms.txt for visibility within Google Search.

In other words, businesses should be cautious about replacing sound SEO strategy with the latest so-called AI SEO shortcut.

A properly structured SEO-friendly website remains the foundation for both traditional and emerging search experiences.

Image SEO Is Becoming More Important

Images have always been part of search optimisation, but they are often treated as a design element rather than searchable website content.

A common website workflow still looks like this:

Upload an image called IMG_4837.jpg, insert it into the page and move on.

That misses useful opportunities to provide context.

Google recommends using descriptive image filenames, relevant surrounding text and useful alternative text to help its systems understand images.

Use Descriptive Image Filenames

An image filename can provide Google with a small amount of information about what an image represents.

Instead of:

IMG_4837.jpg

a more descriptive filename could be:

timber-floor-installation-sydney.jpg

The filename should be short, accurate and relevant to the actual image.

Avoid forcing multiple unrelated keywords into filenames.

Write Useful ALT Text

ALT text helps describe images for people who cannot see them and also provides search engines with additional information about image content.

Good ALT text should explain what the image actually shows.

For example:

alt="Timber flooring installation in a Sydney living room"

is significantly more useful than:

alt="flooring timber floors Sydney flooring company best timber floors"

ALT text should be descriptive rather than used as a place to stuff SEO keywords.

Place Images Near Relevant Content

The surrounding content of an image also provides context.

An image showing a completed website project has clearer meaning when it appears beside information describing that website design and development project.

Likewise, a photo of a completed flooring installation makes more sense when placed within a relevant flooring service or project page.

Images, headings and written content should support the same subject rather than existing independently.

Original Business Photography Can Be a Valuable Search Asset

For many local and service-based businesses, original photography remains underused.

Useful website images can include:

• Completed projects
• Products
• Services being performed
• Team members
• Business premises
• Equipment
• Project locations
• Before-and-after examples where appropriate
• Real examples of previous work

Original photography can provide context that generic stock photography often cannot.

For a builder, flooring company, restaurant, professional service provider, trades business or ecommerce store, these images help explain what the business actually provides.

As visual search develops further, building a high-quality library of genuine business photography is increasingly worthwhile.

This is particularly relevant for industry-focused websites where images can reinforce the actual service, product or customer experience. GK Web Agency develops websites for a range of business sectors through its industry-specific website design services.

Image Quality and Website Speed Need to Work Together

Improving visual content does not mean uploading enormous image files.

Large, poorly optimised images can increase page size, slow down mobile performance and create a worse user experience.

A properly developed website should balance image quality with performance.

This may include:

• Using appropriate image dimensions
• Compressing images before delivery
• Using modern formats such as WebP or AVIF where suitable
• Serving responsive image sizes
• Using lazy loading appropriately
• Configuring browser and server caching
• Using CDN delivery where appropriate
• Avoiding oversized source images

Visual SEO should support website performance rather than compromise it.

Website speed, responsive development and technical performance are built into our approach to WordPress website design and development, while existing WordPress sites can also benefit from ongoing speed optimisation, maintenance and technical support.

Can Google Discover Your Website Images?

Image optimisation will have limited value if search engines cannot properly discover the images.

Google recommends using standard HTML image elements so its crawlers can locate and process important images.

Website owners should also review whether:

• Important images are accessible to Googlebot
• Images are delivered using crawlable URLs
• Robots.txt is not unintentionally blocking image resources
• Important imagery is included within normal HTML where appropriate
• Image URLs remain reasonably consistent
• An image sitemap may be useful for large or image-heavy websites

This is particularly relevant for websites using complex JavaScript implementations, unusual galleries or custom image delivery systems.

These issues often form part of a broader website technical review, particularly when an older website has been modified repeatedly or uses a large number of third-party plugins and scripts.

Structured Data Still Has a Role

Structured data helps search engines understand particular types of website information and can make pages eligible for certain enhanced search features.

Depending on the website, useful structured data may include:

• Organisation
• LocalBusiness
• Product
• Article
• Breadcrumb
• Other supported structured data relevant to the page

However, structured data must accurately represent information that exists on the visible page.

Google does not require a special schema type specifically for AI Overviews or AI Mode.

Structured data should therefore remain part of a broader SEO and online presence strategy rather than being treated as an AI ranking shortcut.

What Does Visual Search Mean for Local Businesses?

Multimodal search may be particularly interesting for local businesses because users do not always know the exact words needed to describe what they want.

Imagine someone seeing:

• A flooring style they like
• A particular landscape design
• A restaurant meal
• A piece of furniture
• A building finish
• A fashion product
• A home renovation feature
• A product they want to identify

Instead of finding the right keywords, they can show the object or image to Google.

Google can then attempt to understand what it is and provide relevant information, products, websites and businesses.

This gives visual content another role within a broader digital presence strategy.

Multimodal Search Does Not Replace Local SEO

Visual search should not be treated as a replacement for established local SEO practices.

For local businesses, visibility can still depend on a combination of factors such as:

• A properly optimised Google Business Profile
• Accurate business information
• Relevant service pages
• Location-specific content where appropriate
• Customer reviews
• Useful website content
• Technical SEO
• Internal linking
• Website performance
• Business authority and reputation

For example, a Brisbane business may benefit from combining strong service pages with genuinely useful location signals and a dedicated Brisbane web design, SEO and Google Ads strategy.

Businesses operating in multiple Australian markets should take the same approach: create useful location content where there is a genuine service presence rather than producing dozens of near-duplicate pages.

AI Search Is Still Built on Strong SEO Foundations

One of the biggest misconceptions around AI search is that businesses need to completely rewrite their websites for artificial intelligence.

Google’s guidance for generative AI search continues to focus on familiar SEO fundamentals.

This includes creating unique, valuable content, ensuring pages can be crawled, building a clear site structure, using internal links effectively and providing a good experience for visitors.

Google’s AI search systems can also use what Google describes as query fan-out.

This involves exploring multiple related searches and subtopics to gather supporting information for a user’s question.

For website owners, this reinforces the value of comprehensive subject coverage.

A strong service page should explain the service clearly, answer genuine customer questions and connect naturally to relevant supporting information across the website.

That is also why internal linking between website development, SEO, Local SEO, industry pages and relevant blog content is important: it helps users navigate related subjects while giving search engines clearer context about the relationship between pages.

You Do Not Need to Write for Robots

Content should still be written primarily for people.

Google has specifically cautioned against unnecessarily rewriting website content simply to target AI systems.

Modern search systems can understand concepts, synonyms and relationships between topics without every possible keyword variation being forced into a page.

A better strategy is to create content that demonstrates real knowledge of a subject and answers the questions potential customers are genuinely likely to have.

This is particularly important as generic AI-generated content becomes easier for anyone to produce.

Businesses with genuine expertise, original information, real examples, quality imagery and useful insights have more opportunities to differentiate their websites from commodity content.

You can learn more about how GK Web Agency approaches websites, SEO and digital marketing on our Why Choose GK Web Agency page.

What Businesses Should Review Now

There is no reason to rebuild an entire website simply because Google introduced multimodal search reporting.

However, it is a good opportunity to review how visual content and SEO are being managed across your website.

Consider checking whether:

• Important service pages contain relevant imagery
• Image filenames are descriptive
• ALT text accurately describes important images
• Images are positioned beside relevant content
• Original photography is being used where practical
• Images are properly compressed
• Mobile performance remains strong
• Important images are crawlable
• Internal links connect related content logically
• Structured data accurately reflects visible page content
• Google Business Profile information is current
• Google Search Console is configured and monitored
• Multimodal search performance is beginning to appear in Search Console

If your website has accumulated outdated plugins, slow page templates, image performance issues or other technical problems, ongoing WordPress support and maintenance can also help address the underlying website issues that affect search visibility and user experience.

SEO, Google Ads and the Website Should Work Together

Organic search is only one part of how potential customers discover a business online.

For many Australian businesses, the strongest digital strategy combines long-term organic visibility with paid search, a high-performing website and accurate conversion tracking.

SEO can help build sustainable search visibility, while Google Ads management can place a business in front of people actively searching for relevant products or services.

However, sending either organic or paid traffic to a slow, confusing or poorly structured website limits the value of both channels.

This is why website development, SEO, Local SEO, analytics and Google Ads should support the same business objective: attracting relevant visitors and converting more of them into genuine enquiries, bookings or sales.

SEO in 2026 Is About Being Understood

SEO is becoming broader, but the underlying objective has not fundamentally changed.

A business website should make it easy for people and search engines to understand:

• Who the business is
• What services or products it provides
• Where it operates
• What individual pages are about
• How different topics and services relate to each other
• Why its information may be useful

Keywords remain useful, but they are only one part of this process.

Modern search visibility increasingly involves the relationship between:

Content + Technical SEO + Images + Local SEO + Website Experience + Authority.

Google’s new multimodal Search Console reporting gives website owners another way to understand how this search environment is evolving.

Frequently Asked Questions About Multimodal Search and SEO

What is Google multimodal search?

Google multimodal search allows people to search using visual information such as photographs, screenshots or images rather than relying entirely on typed keywords. Google experiences including Lens and Circle to Search can use visual information to help users discover relevant content.

Can I see multimodal search traffic in Google Search Console?

Yes. Google began rolling out multimodal search reporting globally on 24 September 2026. Websites receiving eligible traffic may see a multimodal search type filter within Search Console performance reporting.

Does Google Lens SEO require special markup?

There is no special Google Lens SEO markup required. Businesses should continue following Google’s image and general SEO best practices, including crawlable images, descriptive filenames, appropriate ALT text, relevant surrounding content and high-quality landing pages.

Do I need special AI SEO schema for Google AI Overviews?

No. Google states that there is no special schema.org structured data required specifically for AI Overviews or AI Mode. Existing SEO and structured data best practices continue to apply.

Does Google require an llms.txt file for AI Search?

No. Google states that llms.txt and similar AI-specific files are not required for Google Search and do not provide a special ranking or visibility benefit within Google’s generative AI search experiences.

Is image SEO important for local businesses?

Yes. Relevant images can help provide additional context about products, services, completed work, locations and business activities. As visual search becomes easier for users, properly managed business imagery can form a useful part of a broader local SEO strategy.

Will visual search replace traditional Google Search?

Visual search should be viewed as an additional way for people to discover information rather than a replacement for text-based search. Businesses should optimise for a broader search environment while continuing to maintain strong traditional SEO fundamentals.

Is Your Website Ready for Modern Search?

Search is evolving across traditional Google results, local search, images, AI-powered experiences and visual discovery.

A modern website needs more than attractive design. It needs the technical structure, content, performance and search optimisation required to help both users and search engines understand the business behind it.

At GK Web Agency, we combine website design and development, SEO, Local SEO, Google Ads management and WordPress support to help Australian businesses strengthen their online visibility and generate more qualified enquiries.

Whether you need a new website, stronger Google visibility, improved technical SEO or better performance from paid search, the most effective strategy starts by making sure every part of your digital presence works together.

Be seen. Build trust. Grow.