Google Search is not one single results experience.
People may find your site through:
- Traditional Web results.
- Image Search.
- Video Search.
- News Search.
Google Search Console’s Performance report lets you use the Search type filter to examine these search experiences separately. Google’s current documentation lists Web, Image, Video, and News as supported search types in the Search results Performance report.
That distinction matters.
A website can perform very differently in Image Search than it does in normal Web Search.
If you look only at the default view, you may miss useful information about how specific content formats are being discovered.
The correct approach is:
Select One Search Type → Analyze Its Pages and Queries → Compare Trends Within That Type → Add Context → Decide Whether Action Is Needed
Web Search Is the Default
When you open Search Console’s Search performance reporting, Web is normally the default search type.
This covers the traditional Google Search experience and related Web results.
For many small websites, Web Search will produce the majority of performance data.
Start there.
Understand your normal search baseline before investigating specialized formats.
How to Change Search Type
Google’s current instructions explain that you can use the Search type filter near the top of the Performance report to select a different search experience.
For example:
Search type → Image
Then Apply.
Now the Performance data reflects the selected Image Search context.
Google specifically provides this process when explaining how website owners can examine performance in Image Search.
Why Image Search Can Be Different
Imagine you publish:
How to Create a Digital Product Checklist
The article includes:
- Checklist diagram.
- Workflow graphic.
- Featured image.
- Screenshots.
The page may receive modest normal Web traffic but stronger Image Search visibility.
That could happen because people search visually for:
- Checklist examples.
- Workflow diagrams.
- Templates.
- Product mockups.
Image performance can reveal a search pathway that normal content analysis might overlook.
Important: Pages Are Not Image URLs
When analyzing Image Search, Google says the Pages tab reports the page users land on after clicking an image result—not necessarily the exact URL of the image file itself.
That distinction is important.
If:
example.com/article-a/
receives Image Search clicks, that tells you the page is benefiting from image discovery.
It does not necessarily mean the table is listing:
example.com/uploads/image123.jpg
Do not misinterpret the page dimension.
Use Image Search to Identify Visual Opportunities
Filter to Image.
Then examine:
Pages
Which pages attract Image Search activity?
Queries
What searches are associated with the selected search type?
Countries
Where does the activity occur?
Devices
Does mobile behave differently?
If a page receives substantial Image Search impressions, review:
- Image relevance.
- Image quality.
- ALT text.
- Page context.
- Descriptive surrounding text.
- Page speed.
- Mobile usability.
Do not keyword-stuff image metadata.
The image should genuinely help the page.
Video Search
If your website contains meaningful video content, the Video search type can help isolate performance associated with Google’s video-search experience.
This can be particularly useful for websites that publish:
- Tutorials.
- Demonstrations.
- Courses.
- Interviews.
- Product walkthroughs.
If Video Search traffic is important, compare:
- Pages receiving visibility.
- Queries.
- Devices.
- Countries.
- Changes over time.
Do not assume your YouTube analytics and your website’s Search Console Video Search data measure the same thing.
They serve different systems.
News Search
The News search type inside the Search results Performance report relates to the News tab in Google Search.
Google separately provides a Google News Performance report for traffic from news.google.com and the Google News apps. Google explicitly notes that the Google News report does not include the Search News tab; that Search-tab activity is represented through the Search results Performance report with Search type = News.
This distinction matters for publishers.
Two reports containing the word “News” may measure different surfaces.
Do Not Assume Every Site Will Have Meaningful Data in Every Type
A small tutorial website may have:
Strong Web activity.
Some Image activity.
Little Video activity.
No meaningful News activity.
That is normal.
Do not try to force every site into every search type.
The data should reflect the type of content you actually publish.
Compare Search Types Carefully
You might ask:
“Should I compare Web and Image traffic?”
You can compare them for strategic context.
But avoid pretending they are identical environments.
A click from Image Search may involve different user intent from a click on a traditional Web result.
Instead of asking:
“Which search type has the better CTR?”
ask:
What role does each search type play for my content?
Keep Filters Consistent
Suppose you compare:
Web Search — Last 28 Days
with:
Image Search — Last 3 Months
That is not a clean comparison.
Keep the date range consistent.
Also review:
- Country.
- Device.
- Page filters.
A changing filter can produce a changing number even when underlying performance is stable.
Review Pages Within Each Search Type
For Web Search:
What content performs?
Then Image Search:
What content performs?
The top pages may differ.
A tutorial containing strong diagrams may perform well in Images.
A detailed text guide may dominate Web.
A page with embedded video may surface differently in Video.
That tells you something useful about content format.
Review Queries Within Each Search Type
Search intent can also change.
A page may receive Web impressions for:
“how to create a lead magnet”
but Image Search impressions for:
“lead magnet checklist example.”
That can reveal what searchers expect from the visual format.
Do not add every query to the article.
Use the information to understand the audience.
Remember Query Limitations
Search Console does not display every query.
Some queries are anonymized to protect privacy, and Search Console also applies data truncation to the tables. Google’s current documentation warns that filtering can affect visible totals because anonymized query data may be omitted from the table.
Therefore:
Visible rows are useful evidence.
They are not a perfect list of every search.
Compare Date Ranges Inside the Same Search Type
Suppose Image Search impressions increased substantially.
Before celebrating, compare equivalent periods.
For example:
Image Search — Last 28 Days
versus:
Image Search — Previous 28 Days
Then investigate:
- Which pages changed?
- Which queries changed?
- Did a new image begin appearing?
- Did seasonal interest change?
- Did a new article launch?
The Search Console date-range comparison process can help keep those comparisons consistent.
Search Appearance Is Not the Same as Search Type
This distinction can be confusing.
Search Type
Describes the broad Search experience:
- Web.
- Image.
- Video.
- News.
Search Appearance
Describes how supported result types or enhanced search features appear within relevant Search reporting.
Those are different dimensions.
My guide to Search Console Search Appearance explains that separate analysis.
Use Search Console Insights for Broader Context
Search Console Insights can provide a simplified view of content and traffic trends.
Google’s current documentation notes that Insights may also identify additional traffic sources beyond normal Web Search, potentially including Image, Video, News, and Discover.
If Insights reveals a growing additional source, the detailed Performance report can help you investigate further.
See how to use the Search Console Insights report without treating every trend as an SEO emergency.
A Practical Search-Type Audit
Create a simple table:
| Search Type | Clicks | Impressions | Top Pages | Top Queries | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web | — | — | — | — | — |
| Image | — | — | — | — | — |
| Video | — | — | — | — | — |
| News | — | — | — | — | — |
Use the same date range.
Do not worry if several rows have little data.
That itself is useful information.
When Image Search Deserves More Attention
Consider deeper Image Search analysis when:
- Your website relies heavily on visual tutorials.
- You publish original diagrams.
- You sell design products.
- Product images are important.
- Image traffic is growing.
- High-value pages receive image impressions.
Then optimize the quality and usefulness of visual content, not merely filenames and ALT text.
When Video Search Deserves More Attention
Pay closer attention when:
- Video is embedded on major pages.
- Tutorials depend on demonstrations.
- Video results generate meaningful impressions.
- You intentionally produce search-oriented videos.
Again, let evidence determine the priority.
Do Not Chase a Search Type Because It Exists
A reporting option is not a business requirement.
If News Search produces no meaningful activity and you are not a news publisher, you do not need a News SEO project.
If Video Search is irrelevant to your content model, do not manufacture videos merely to fill the report.
Follow the audience.
Conclusion
Google Search Console’s Search type filter helps you separate different Google Search experiences instead of treating all discovery as one identical traffic source.
Use it to examine:
- Web.
- Image.
- Video.
- News.
Keep the date range consistent.
Review pages and queries within each type.
Understand the reporting limitations.
Then decide whether the results reveal a real content opportunity.
For your next Search Console review, switch from Web to Image.
Look at the Pages tab.
If several important articles receive meaningful Image Search impressions, investigate what makes their visual content useful.
If almost nothing appears, that is also useful.
You now know where your search visibility is—and is not—coming from.