Google Lens SEO is about helping your product and content images get found when shoppers search with a photo instead of words. Since 24 September 2026, Google Search Console can show how much of a site’s Google traffic comes from these image searches: Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search and Chrome’s “Search this image”. Brands Win, a Singapore-based agency for consumer brands, explains what the new report shows and the image checks worth making before 11.11 and 12.12.

Checked against Google Search Central and Merchant Center Help, 13 October 2026.

What changed: the “multimodal” search type in Search Console

On 24 September 2026, Google’s Search Central Blog announced web multimodal Search performance reporting in Search Console. Google says the data “includes searches with Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and the Chrome right-click ‘Search this image’ feature.”

The new data appears “in the report for performance on Search results as well as in the report for Generative AI features”. Google says it is “rolling out globally starting today”.

The Search Console Help page for the Performance report (read 13 October 2026) now splits web traffic into two search types:

• Web: text-based: “Includes search traffic originating from text queries entered into the standard Google search bar.”
• Web: multimodal: “Includes search traffic when users search using images (such as with a smartphone camera).”

To find it, open the Performance report and use the new multimodal search type filter. Google’s post adds: “Click ‘Export’ to download the data and analyze it in your other tools.”

Google says you will see these metrics “if your site is receiving traffic from these queries”, so some sites will see little or none.

Why Google Lens SEO matters for Singapore consumer brands

Someone spots a bag on a friend, a lamp in a café or a serum in creator content, points their phone at it and looks for where to buy.

There are two routes in: your website, and Merchant Center. Google’s Free listings for products help page (read 13 October 2026) says “the products that you sell can appear at no cost on Google Search, Google Maps, Gemini, YouTube, the Shopping tab, Google Images and Google Lens.”

Google also notes that turning on free listings “doesn’t guarantee that your products will be shown to customers”. What you can control is whether your images and product data are clear, accurate and easy for Google to read.

You own your Search Console, Merchant Center and website, so every check below happens inside your own accounts.

How to read the multimodal data

Filter by web multimodal, then look at the Pages tab to see which URLs earn impressions and clicks from image searches. Switch to web text-based and compare the same pages.

A few patterns are worth noting:

• Product and category pages with multimodal clicks: these are pages where shoppers’ photos already match your products. Protect their images.
• Impressions with few clicks: check whether the page shows the photographed product clearly near the top, or whether a lifestyle shot or banner gets in the way.

The same filter works in the Generative AI features report. How AI answers use your content is a separate topic, covered in our guide to SEO vs AEO vs GEO.

The report is new, so treat early figures with care.

Image SEO checklist from Google’s own guidance

Google’s image SEO best practices (last updated 2 March 2026) are the starting point:

1. Use real HTML image elements. Google finds images in the src attribute of an img element, and “Google doesn’t index CSS images”.
2. Use supported formats. Google Search supports BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG and AVIF. For responsive images using srcset or picture, always include a fallback URL in src.
3. Use descriptive filenames. Google’s example: my-new-black-kitten.jpg is better than IMG00023.JPG.
4. Write helpful alt text. Google calls alt text “the most important attribute when it comes to providing more metadata for an image”. Avoid keyword stuffing, which Google says “may cause your site to be seen as spam”.
5. Place images near relevant text.
6. Use sharp, fast images. Google says “High-quality photos appeal to users more than blurry, unclear images”.
7. Submit an image sitemap. An image sitemap (last updated 10 December 2025) helps Google find images. If a CDN hosts your images, Google encourages you to verify the CDN’s domain in Search Console.
8. Set a preferred image. Use og:image or a schema.org image property, and avoid a generic image such as your logo or an image with text.
9. Add structured data with an image. For product pages, Google’s merchant listing structured data guide (last updated 8 September 2026) covers Product markup, including the product image.

WordPress and WooCommerce: where these settings live

WooCommerce’s guide to Adding Product Images and Galleries (updated 9 October 2026) says “The Product image and Product gallery boxes appear on the right-hand side of the product editor.”

For each hero product:

• Rename before upload. Swap camera names such as “IMG_” for short, descriptive filenames that name the product and colour.
• Add alt text to every product image. Describe what is in the photo, not a list of keywords.
• Size and compress for mobile. Large images slow product pages.
• Keep the main image clean. Use a clear shot of the product as the product image, and put lifestyle shots in the gallery.

Image sitemaps, og:image tags and Product structured data are usually handled by your SEO plugin, if it supports them, or by your theme. Check the output on a live product page.

If your shop needs a rebuild to get this right, see our WooCommerce ecommerce websites and wider web design work, alongside our SEO services.

Merchant Center image rules before 31 January 2027

Google’s Merchant Center product data specification update 2026 (14 April 2026) says Google is “increasing the minimum resolution for images submitted in the image link [image_link] and additional image link [additional_image_link] attributes to 500×500 pixels across all product categories and marketing methods.”

The key dates:

• From 14 April 2026: warnings in Merchant Center for images below the new minimum.
• From 31 January 2027: enforcement starts.

To find affected products, Google says to go to the Needs attention section and look for the warning “Image too small for upcoming enforcement”. Google also says it “will also begin optimizing some images that are smaller than 500 x 500”, but it is safer to supply larger images yourself than to rely on that.

The image link [image_link] help page (read 13 October 2026) recommends “images of 1500 x 1500 pixels or above” for best performance. It also lists what to avoid on product images, including overlays and watermarks, added logos and text-based placeholders such as “Coming soon”.

Keep feed and website images consistent. Our Google Shopping team works inside your own Merchant Center account.

A practical order of work before 11.11 and 12.12

A sensible order:

1. Open the web multimodal filter in the Performance report and export the top pages.
2. Fix filenames and alt text on your hero products first.
3. Check Merchant Center’s Needs attention section for “Image too small for upcoming enforcement”.
4. Re-shoot weak hero images with a clean, well-lit view of the product. Our creative and content team can help with product photography; short-form video SEO covers video.
5. Recheck the multimodal data in four to six weeks.

At Brands Win, we sequence fixes like these through Growth System 90 so the pages that matter most come first.

FAQs: Google Lens SEO