Optimizing your content for Google’s MUM and multimodal searches

With the introduction of Google’s Multitask Unified Model (MUM), search optimization has become a bit more complex, but also more valuable. MUM combines information from multiple languages, data sources and situations to provide comprehensive answers. This means that content no longer just needs to be textually strong, but also visually appealing and contextually well connected. Searches in which users combine text, images, audio and even video require a new SEO approach.

What makes MUM different from previous updates?

MUM goes far beyond Google updates like BERT. Whereas BERT focused primarily on understanding context within texts, MUM combines and interprets information from different media. As a result, Google, for example, fully answers a search query consisting of a picture and a specific text question.

For your SEO, this means focusing not only on words and search intent, but also on how your brand and content are similar in multiple forms. (1)

Multimodal optimization in practice

Optimizing for MUM means making your content strategy broader. It involves creating a search landscape in which different forms of content complement each other. This search landscape consists of several elements:

• Text: Write in-depth, contextual articles that fully answer questions
• Images: Create images that are optimized with descriptive file names, alt texts and relevant captions
• Video: Create a video with transcripts, chapter layouts and clear metadata

The more signals and context you provide with your texts, the better MUM can make connections between your various pieces of content.

Focus on entities and semantic relationships

MUM works best when information is clearly and logically structured. So make sure your content revolves around recognizable topics, such as people, places, products or organizations, and always make it clear what it is about. The more understandable and structured your information is, the easier MUM will interpret and use it.

In addition, it’s smart to use your internal link structure to make text connections visible. By linking related topics together, you help MUM understand the context of your texts.

Language and multilingualism

One of the powerful features of MUM is that the system interprets information in multiple languages. If your target audience is international, a content strategy in multiple languages increases your reach. In doing so, make sure to translate key terms consistently and take cultural backgrounds into account when giving examples, talking about currency and when using cultural references. Also use hreflang tags, to help Google display the correct language version

This will make your content visible in other languages and markets, even when users search in a foreign language. (2)

Structured data as a foundation

Structured data is crucial to helping MUM understand what your content is about. This goes beyond standard outlines like FAQ or HowTo. Also consider product markup with specific features and pricing. Use VideoObject and ImageObject markup for richer media. Article markup is also important to make data such as author, publication date and headline clear.

With structured data, you increase the chances that your content will be recognized and reused in multimodal search results. (3)

AI and user context

Because MUM is AI-driven, the system will increasingly use contextual cues from the user. That means personalization will play a bigger role in what content is displayed. By consistently linking your brand to specific themes, you’ll build topical authority that comes back in different contexts.

How a retailer gained 40% more visibility with multimodal content

A mid-sized fashion retailer noticed that their blogs were ranking well, but their product pages were barely visible in searches with images or mixed intent. By optimizing all content, Google got stronger context signals.

Because the fashion retailer’s brand name, main products and relevant themes were consistently reflected in multiple content forms, MUM made connections between their written content, their videos and their visual material.

Within three months, visibility in Google Images increased by 40%, and product pages were displayed more frequently in searches in which users searched for photos to find similar clothing.

Summary

Optimizing your content for Google’s MUM requires a good SEO approach. Don’t just create strong textual content, but also create visual, video and audio content that relates to each other. By focusing on cohesive pieces of text and structured data, you increase your chances of remaining visible in the AI-driven search results of the future. MUM looks at the big picture. Make sure you do the same in your SEO strategy.

FAQ about MUM and multimodal SEO

MUM is a very new phenomenon, so you probably have a lot of questions about it. That’s why I answer the most common questions:

1. How does MUM affect my SEO strategy?

MUM looks not just at text, but at everything you publish: images, videos and all the extra context. The more consistent your content, the better Google understands what your brand stands for.

2. How do I make my images suitable for MUM?

Give your images clear file names, descriptive alt text, short captions and, if possible, ImageObject-structured data to provide additional context.

3. Does video optimization really affect my findability?

Video optimization certainly has a big impact. Videos with transcripts, chapters and title descriptions provide additional context signals that MUM uses to link searches to your content.

4. Should I offer all my content in multiple languages?

Not always. But if you have an international audience, multilingual content helps MUM to show your pages in other countries and languages as well. Don’t forget to add a hreflang tag.

5. Is structured data mandatory for MUM?

Using structured data is not mandatory, but it is very useful. Structured data helps Google understand your content faster and more accurately, especially with multimodal results.

6. How do I measure whether my MUM optimization is working?

There are several ways you can measure MUM optimization. These are the key factors in which growth should be:

• Visibility in Google Images
• CTR from rich results
• Ranking of video results
• Longer session duration due to richer content
• Increase in pages receiving ranking support from internal links

7. Is MUM a temporary trend or permanent change?

MUM is a structural step in Google’s AI search strategy. Multimodal optimization is not hype, but the basis for future findability.