In July 2026, Google announced an update to Search Console that speaks to how search is changing today. Content creators and publishers will now be able to see how their social media content is performing in Google Search and Discover, regardless of whether they have their own websites. The new feature, which is called platform properties, lets you view search-related metrics for Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube in Google Search Console. If social media and video are part of your marketing mix, you’ll now get a more comprehensive view of how your content contributes to your visibility in Search. The feature is rolling out gradually over the next few weeks, so not every account will see it right now.
What Are Platform Properties and What Reports Are Available?
Platform properties are a new Search Console property type designed for creators and publishers whose primary content lives on social platforms. This feature lets you monitor how your social posts and accounts appear in Search. This means brands and businesses can finally see which search queries are driving traffic to their social content. Until now, it’s often been difficult to separate traffic generated within a platform from visitors arriving through Google Search. A TikTok video, for example, may have attracted relatively few views from users within the app while generating substantial traffic from Google, but there was never a simple way to measure that.
Google has introduced three reports within platform properties. The Performance report shows impressions, clicks and other search metrics. We can now filter the data in this report to identify which posts perform best for particular queries and compare results over time. We can also export the data in this report to analyse it with other tools. The Insights report provides a high-level overview of recent trends. It highlights your best-performing content and shows how people find your account through Google Search.
The Achievements report celebrates milestones, such as reaching a new threshold of clicks from Google over the last 28 days. While this report is more motivational than analytical, it gives creators another way to track long-term growth.
Why Social Media Metrics In Search Console Matter Now
This update highlights a certain change in search behaviour. Google is now surfacing more videos, creator content and social posts directly within search results than ever before. For many brands and businesses, visibility is no longer limited to ranking webpages. If your audience spends time on platforms like YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, those channels can now contribute more directly to your organic search presence. This update also underscores the importance of treating SEO and social media as connected channels rather than separate mediums. Strong social content increases your visibility in Google when people are searching for relevant topics.
Over the past year, Google Search has become more visual, with videos and creator content appearing more often alongside traditional web pages. For businesses, this means valuable search visibility can come from more than your website. Creating videos, publishing expert content on social platforms and building a recognised brand across multiple channels all contribute to how people discover your business online.
The Final Word
Google’s latest Search Console update makes it much easier to understand how social and video content contributes to your search visibility. As Google continues to blend websites and social content into a single search experience, businesses need a more comprehensive view of what’s driving results across every channel, and platform properties will help us do just that.
If you’d like to see which specific posts and queries are driving the most traffic, chat to our team about how social media fits into your SEO strategy.