How to Track Google Lens Traffic in Search Console

GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE GUIDE

Someone points Google Lens at a product. Another person circles an object on an Android screen. A third uploads an image to find out what they’re looking at. Could one of your pages appear in those searches?

Google Search Console now has a way to check. If you publish tutorials, product photos, screenshots, or recipes, this is a useful report to add to your monthly review.

What does this filter actually measure?

Google describes multimodal search reporting as covering searches that use an image, including Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome’s “Search this image” feature.

That means the number in the report is not a separate Google Lens traffic total. Call it multimodal search traffic when you record or discuss the results. It tells you whether your pages are getting visibility from the group of visual search experiences Google includes.

Google introduced this reporting on September 24, 2026, and said it was rolling out globally. The filter appears in performance reporting when applicable data is available for a site.

Read Google’s announcement of multimodal Search performance reporting.

How to check your multimodal search performance

1. Open Search Console. Select the property for the website you want to review.
2. Open Performance → Search results. Find the search type filter above the chart.
3. Select Multimodal. The report will now show eligible activity for that search type.
4. Choose a date range. Start with a broad range to establish a baseline. For later audits, compare the latest complete month with the one before it.
5. Check clicks and impressions. Look for a real trend rather than reacting to a single day’s movement.
6. Open the Pages tab. Note which URLs receive impressions or clicks. Export the report if you want to keep a monthly record.

Google specifically identifies the multimodal search type filter and the Export option in its announcement. Search Console’s Performance report lets you adjust dates and inspect page-level results.

Which pages should you inspect first?

Start with the pages the report identifies. A tutorial might have a screenshot that no longer matches the tool. A product comparison might need clearer original photos showing the difference between two items. A recipe might need a useful photo of a step readers regularly get wrong.

If several pages have impressions but few clicks, examine what a visual searcher would expect to find after opening each page. Make the answer easy to locate. This is a content judgment, not proof that a particular image change will increase traffic.

For a broader view of your site’s other search visibility signals, read our guide to tracking AI search visibility in Search Console.

What if you see no data?

First, check that you’re looking at the right property and give the rollout time to reach your account. Widen the date range, too. Google says sites will see metrics when they receive traffic from the qualifying searches.

Zero data is not a diagnosis. It does not, by itself, show that your images are broken, your site is penalized, or every visual needs replacing. Record that the report is empty, review one page where a visual genuinely helps the reader, and check again next month.

Multimodal search versus Google Images

Search Console also offers an Image search type for Google Images. The new Multimodal filter measures the image-led experiences Google listed in its announcement. Check each filter separately; don’t add their totals together and call the result “Google Lens traffic.”

The decision to make after each audit

Don’t start by redesigning every image-heavy post. Start with one of three decisions:

• A page has growing impressions: Check whether it answers a visual searcher’s likely question clearly.
• A page has falling activity: Compare dates, review the page, and look for outdated or unclear visuals before assuming a cause.
• The report is empty: Keep your baseline and improve one page for readers where you already see a clear need.

What to do now: Open the filter, save this month’s numbers, and choose one page to inspect. Repeat the same check next month. That’s enough to turn a new Search Console feature into a useful habit.