Search news
Google adds visual-search reporting: a reason to review your project images.
Google's September announcement adds reporting for searches made with images. Here is our practical take for businesses with visual work to show.
The useful bit
The new reporting offers another way to investigate discovery. Our view: use genuine, well-explained project images and check whether the traffic is relevant before drawing commercial conclusions.
What Google announced
On 24 September 2026, Google announced web multimodal search reporting in Search Console. It covers searches involving images, including Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads and Chrome's image-search feature. Google said the rollout was global and that sites receiving this traffic would see the relevant metrics. The announcement describes a reporting change, not a guaranteed increase in website visibility.
Our take for trades and local businesses
A customer's starting point may be something they have seen rather than a phrase they know how to type. For a joiner or landscaper, photographs can help explain the kind of work available. That is a practical reason to maintain an accurate project library. It does not establish that visual search will be a major source of enquiries for your particular business.
What we would review first
Check that photographs genuinely represent your work, have appropriate permission and sit beside useful descriptions. Explain the job, your role and the relevant service. Give readers a clear next step when they arrive through a project page. These are owt's recommendations for making the content useful, rather than claims that a particular image treatment will secure placement.
What to measure
Review any available visual-search data alongside the pages people visit and the enquiries those pages support. A rise in discovery can include readers who want inspiration rather than a local contractor. Establish whether the interest matches your services and coverage. We would use the data to inform content decisions, not replace the broader review of search, enquiries and won work.
Sources & further reading
Checked 29 October 2026. The announcement is summarised above. The recommendations are owt's interpretation for service businesses. Platform features can change.
Put it to work
A useful next step for your business.
Show up for the right jobs, in the right places, with a website that turns interest into enquiries.