How the September 2026 Spam Update and New Image‑Search Data Affect Your SEO

Google began rolling out the September 2026 spam update on Sept 24, with a rollout window of up to two weeks. The update applies globally and to all languages, according to Google’s Search Status Dashboard.

At the same time, Search Console introduced a new multimodal filter in the Performance report that isolates traffic from image‑based searches – covering Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome’s right‑click “Search this image” feature. The filter is global, sits under the Web search type, and provides page‑level metrics by country and device, but not the specific query or image used.

Why the longer rollout matters for your rankings

If you notice traffic changes, compare the dates against the rollout period rather than assuming the update is already complete. Because the rollout can stretch over two weeks, early data may look normal while later days reveal a shift.

Google’s own guidance for spam updates points you to its spam policies. The rollout length gives you a window to react before the full impact settles.

• Monitor daily Search Console data for sudden drops or spikes during the two‑week window;
• Check the “spam policies” page Google links to for any new violations to watch for;
• Prioritise fixing broken pages or error‑code responses that could trigger de‑indexing, as John Mueller has highlighted;
• Run a quick URL‑test in Search Console for any pages you suspect might be returning an unexpected status code.

What the new image‑search filter lets you see

The multimodal filter gives you a page‑level view of how many clicks come from image‑based queries. You can break the data down by country and device, which is useful for sites that rely heavily on product photography.

Because query data isn’t provided, you won’t know the exact search terms or images that led users to your page. Instead, treat the metric as a signal of visual discovery interest and combine it with your existing text‑search reports.

• Identify product pages that receive image‑search clicks but little text‑search traffic;
• Compare performance across devices – mobile vs desktop – to see where visual discovery is strongest;
• Use the data to inform image optimisation (alt text, file size, structured data) without relying on query‑level insight;
• Cross‑check image‑search clicks against your inventory to spot products that attract visual interest but may be under‑described in text.

Immediate steps for businesses

Here’s a concise action plan that aligns with both the spam update and the new image‑search reporting.

• Audit pages that return error responses and fix or redirect them before Googlebot crawls them again;
• Review Google’s spam policy checklist and ensure your site doesn’t host thin, duplicated, or automatically generated content;
• Enable the multimodal filter in Search Console and review the image‑search performance data for key product pages;
• If a page shows strong image‑search clicks but weak text clicks, improve the surrounding copy and add relevant schema (e.g., Product, ImageObject);
• Document any changes and monitor the performance report regularly to see if the spam update or image‑search traffic shifts;
• Set up an alert in Search Console for any sudden drop in impressions that coincides with the rollout window;
• Run a site‑wide crawl (using your preferred crawler) to surface 4xx/5xx responses and address them promptly.

What to do now

Log into Search Console, activate the multimodal filter, and export the first set of data. Simultaneously, run a site‑wide crawl for error pages and compare the findings against Google’s spam policy. Keep an eye on the data as the rollout progresses and adjust your fixes as needed.

Because the rollout is still ongoing, treat any early fluctuations as provisional. Re‑evaluate your traffic trends after the two‑week window closes, then decide whether additional clean‑up or content enhancements are required.

Sources

• Search Engine Journal — Google Spam Update, Image Search Data In GSC – SEO Pulse