Search Console Multimodal Search and Platform Properties

#01What is multimodal search reporting?

Google announced web multimodal reporting in September 2026. The Performance report splits Web into Web: text-based and Web: multimodal. Multimodal covers searches started with an image: Lens, Circle to Search, uploaded images and Chrome image search. It also appears in the generative AI report.

#02What are platform properties?

Google announced platform properties in July 2026. You can add an Instagram, TikTok, X or YouTube account as a property and see how that content performs in Google Search, with Performance, Insights and Achievements reports. See Add a property.

Our view: for B2B brands, YouTube is usually the platform property worth adding first; tutorials and demos rank for many "how to" searches.

#03Reading multimodal data

#04What platform properties tell you

#05Troubleshooting

#06A multimodal audit for product and visual content

1. Filter Performance to Web: multimodal, Pages tab, last 3 months.
2. List the top 20 pages. Note their primary image.
3. Check each image: is it original, high resolution, clearly showing the product or concept? Is the surrounding text describing it accurately?
4. Compare with Web: text-based for the same pages. Pages with strong multimodal share are good candidates for more visual content.
5. Look for gaps: important product pages absent from multimodal may have generic stock imagery.
6. Check the generative AI report with Web: multimodal to see whether image-led AI answers use your pages.

Google's documentation for images recommends descriptive alt text, surrounding text and high-quality images; those are the levers you control.

#07Platform properties, practical setup

#08How marketers use platform data

• Repurpose winners. A video that ranks in Google Search for a how-to query should be embedded on the matching guide.
• Find search-friendly formats. If tutorials appear in Search and announcements don't, plan accordingly.
• Spot brand impersonation. Unexpected accounts ranking for your brand on social platforms appear in Google results; report them on the platform.
• Coordinate titles. Descriptive video titles and descriptions help both YouTube search and Google Search.

#09Edge cases

• Shared accounts across regions. One global YouTube channel serves all countries; use the Countries tab to split.
• Small accounts may show very little data.
• Rollout differences. Features for platform properties may differ by platform; Google's announcement and help pages list what's available.
• Multimodal on non-visual sites. B2B software sites may see little multimodal data. That's fine; check quarterly.

#10Questions practitioners ask

Does alt text matter for multimodal search? Google's image guidance recommends descriptive alt text and relevant surrounding text, which helps Google understand images.

Will platform property data match YouTube Analytics? No. YouTube Analytics counts views on YouTube; Search Console counts appearances and clicks in Google Search.

Should we add personal accounts of executives? Only official brand accounts that your team manages and is authorised to connect.

#11Ledgerline walkthrough: product imagery

1. The Web: multimodal Pages list showed the invoice approval page but not the newer purchase order page.
2. The purchase order page used a generic stock photo. Design replaced it with an annotated product screenshot and a descriptive caption.
3. The SEO lead annotated the change and added the page to the monthly multimodal check.

#12Troubleshooting multimodal and platform data

#13Image checklist for key pages

• Original images or screenshots, not generic stock.
• Descriptive file names and alt text.
• Captions or nearby text explaining the image.
• Images in standard formats, not blocked by robots.txt.

#14Where this fits in the monthly routine

Quarterly is enough for most B2B sites: review which pages appear in multimodal results, refresh images on key pages that don't, and check connected platform properties still have the right owners.

#15Terms used in this lesson

• Multimodal search: searches that combine text, images or video.
• Platform property: a connected profile on another platform, such as a video channel.
• Watch page: a page whose main purpose is a single video.

#16Quick checks before you move on

• Key pages use original images with descriptive alt text and captions.
• Official platform properties are connected and owned by named people.
• You know which key pages appear in multimodal results and which don't.

#17Worked example: Ledgerline's YouTube property

Ledgerline is a fictional accounts-payable software company. Details and numbers are illustrative.

Ledgerline added its YouTube channel as a platform property. Insights showed two invoice-processing tutorials getting most Search visibility. The content team embedded those videos in the related guides and planned more short tutorials.

Walkthrough

1. Open Performance > Search results and click the Search type filter.
2. Choose Web: multimodal and read clicks and impressions.
3. Use Compare to compare Web: text-based and Web: multimodal.
4. Open the Pages tab to see which pages get multimodal traffic.
5. To add a platform property, open the property selector and click Add property, then choose the platform.
6. Once added, open its Performance and Insights reports.

#18Try it yourself

Compare text-based and multimodal Web search for 3 months. List the top 10 multimodal pages and check that their images are high quality and descriptive. If your brand has a YouTube channel, add it as a platform property.

#19Quick quiz

1. What counts as multimodal search?

Answer: Searches starting with images, such as Lens, Circle to Search, uploaded images and Chrome image search.

2. Which platforms can be added?

Answer: Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube.

3. What reports do platform properties have?

Answer: Performance, Insights and Achievements.

4. Is multimodal in the generative AI report too?

Answer: Yes.

#20What should you check before the next lesson?

• You compared text-based and multimodal Web search.
• You checked your top multimodal pages' images.
• You added at least one platform property, or decided not to.

Next: Linking Search Console to GA4. Or return to the Search Console for Marketers track.

#21Common questions

Is Web: multimodal the same as Image search? No. Image is the Google Images tab. Web: multimodal is web results from searches started with an image.

Do platform properties need verification? They are added through the Add property flow, which handles connecting the account.

Why care about social content in Search Console? Social posts and videos appear in Google results and AI answers, so their search performance is part of your visibility.