SEO expert urges brands to check the new Search Console report this week as Google increasingly treats social media posts like searchable web content
Brands can now see exactly how their Instagram posts, TikToks, YouTube videos and content on X perform across Google Search, Discover and Google News, following the global launch of a major new Search Console feature.
Google confirmed on 29 July that its new “Platform Properties” reporting is now available globally, having first announced the feature earlier in the month. The update allows brands, publishers and creators to connect supported social accounts directly to Search Console and measure how their posts are being discovered outside the social platforms themselves. Thomas Phillips, Founder of DTC SEO Agency, says the update closes one of the biggest measurement gaps in cross-platform marketing.
“For years, brands have known that their TikToks, Reels and YouTube videos can appear in Google, but they have had very little visibility over which posts were appearing, what people searched for and whether anybody actually clicked. That blind spot has now started to disappear.
Social teams have traditionally measured success through views, likes and engagement inside each app. Google is now giving brands a completely different data set, showing whether that same content continues to attract attention when somebody searches for a product, question or topic days or even months later.”
What brands can now measure
Platform Properties currently supports Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube accounts.
Once an account has been verified, brands can access data including:
- Total clicks from Google
- Search impressions
- Average click-through rate
- Average position in Search
- The individual posts driving traffic
- The search queries people use to discover the content
- Traffic trends across Google Search, Discover and Google News
- Top-performing and recently growing content
Google states that Discover and Google News reports will only appear where the connected content has received traffic from those surfaces. It may also take several days for data to begin appearing after an account is connected.
The reporting does not replace the analytics supplied by each social network. Instead, it measures how the content performs across Google’s own products.
Phillips explains:
“A TikTok might have modest engagement inside TikTok but continue appearing for valuable searches on Google. Equally, a Reel that performed brilliantly on Instagram might generate almost no visibility in Search.Until now, many brands would never have known the difference.
This could completely change which posts businesses choose to recreate, update, pin or turn into longer website content.”
What brands should check this week
Thomas Phillips, Founder of DTC SEO Agency recommends that marketing teams connect every eligible account separately and begin by looking for five things.
1. Which social posts receive the most Google impressions
High impressions suggest that Google sees the post as relevant to an established search demand, even where click numbers remain relatively low.
“This is where brands may uncover content that is already ranking but needs a stronger title, caption or visual hook to earn more clicks,” says Phillips.
2. Which searches are triggering the content
Brands should compare the queries appearing in Search Console with the topic or wording they originally intended to target.
“The most useful finding may be that customers are discovering the post for a completely different reason than the brand expected.
That can reveal new questions, pain points and product terminology that should feed into future social posts, landing pages and digital PR activity.”
3. Whether older posts are returning to life
Google’s new guidance encourages users to identify older videos and posts that are regaining Search traction.
Phillips says this could help brands spot recurring seasonal demand, resurfacing trends or subjects that deserve an updated follow-up.
“Social content does not always disappear after 48 hours. Some posts can have a much longer search lifespan than their creators realise.”
4. Which format works best in Search
Google says marketers can use filters and comparison tools to contrast short-form and long-form video, individual posts and playlists, as well as content performance across different platforms.
“A brand may discover that short videos drive reach inside social apps, while longer YouTube videos earn more sustained Search traffic,” says Phillips.
“That should affect where budgets and production time are spent.”
5. Whether edits improve performance
Brands can use Search Console annotations to record changes such as rewritten YouTube titles or updated TikTok captions, then compare performance over time.
“This gives teams a more disciplined way to test social SEO rather than repeatedly changing captions based on instinct.”
Social content is becoming part of search strategy
Thomas Phillips says the update is another sign that SEO, social media and content marketing can no longer operate as separate disciplines.
“Google is making it very clear that searchable content does not need to live on a traditional website.
For many younger customers, a product demonstration on TikTok or a tutorial on YouTube may be more useful than a conventional blog post. Google wants to surface that content, and it is now giving creators the data to understand how that discovery happens.
The businesses that benefit most will be those that stop treating social posts as temporary campaign assets and start treating them as content that could rank, resurface and generate demand over a much longer period.”
However, Thomas Phillips, Founder of DTC SEO Agency warns brands not to abandon their owned websites in favour of social platforms.
“You still do not own your Instagram, TikTok or YouTube audience. Algorithms change, accounts can lose reach and platforms can disappear.
The smarter strategy is to use this data to understand which social topics resonate in Search, then build those insights into content and landing pages that the business controls.”
How to add a social account to Search Console
To create a Platform Property, users should:
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Open Google Search Console.
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Select the property dropdown.
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Choose “Add property”.
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Select Instagram, TikTok, X or YouTube.
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Follow the verification process.
- Repeat the process for every separate account or channel.
Google says ownership will be checked periodically. Where an external login expires or the connection is lost, access to the property will pause until the account is verified again.
Thomas Phillips, Founder of DTC SEO Agency, concludes:
“This is not simply another analytics dashboard for marketers to glance at once a month. It gives brands the opportunity to identify which social posts Google considers useful, which customer searches those posts are answering and where valuable content is already gaining visibility without a dedicated web page.
Every business publishing regularly on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or X should connect its accounts this week. The first report could expose successful content the marketing team did not even realise it had.”
