diff --git a/src/plugins/search/markdown-to-txt.js b/src/plugins/search/markdown-to-txt.js
index 4068c071b..da99c809a 100644
--- a/src/plugins/search/markdown-to-txt.js
+++ b/src/plugins/search/markdown-to-txt.js
@@ -154,8 +154,8 @@ const markdownToTxtRenderer = {
     return this.parser?.parseInline(token.tokens) || '';
   },
 
-  strong({ text }) {
-    return text;
+  strong({ tokens }) {
+    return this.parser?.parseInline(tokens) || '';
   },
 
   em({ tokens }) {
diff --git a/test/unit/search-markdown-to-txt.test.js b/test/unit/search-markdown-to-txt.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..449b729ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/search-markdown-to-txt.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+import { markdownToTxt } from '../../src/plugins/search/markdown-to-txt.js';
+
+describe('search markdown to text', () => {
+  test.each([
+    ['**a *formatted* word**', 'a formatted word'],
+    ['**a `code` word**', 'a code word'],
+    ['**[link](https://example.org)**', 'link https://example.org'],
+    ['**plain bold text**', 'plain bold text'],
+  ])('extracts nested inline content from %s', (markdown, expected) => {
+    expect(markdownToTxt(markdown)).toBe(expected);
+  });
+});