Technology

Google Launches Search Console Tool for Creators to Track Social Content Performance

Published on July 8, 2026

Google has introduced platform properties, a new Search Console property type that lets site owners and creators, including those without a website, see how their Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube posts perform in Google Search and Discover.

According to a blog post, platform properties let users track which search terms drive traffic to their social and video content and see how audiences interact with individual posts, addressing a gap for creators who publish primarily on social platforms rather than owned websites.

Google Launches Search Console Tool for Creators to Track Social Content Performance

Source: Google

Once added in Search Console, a platform property offers three reports. The performance report shows total clicks, impressions, and related metrics, filterable by post and query, with an option to export the underlying data. The insights report gives a high-level view of recent traffic trends and top-performing posts, along with how audiences are discovering the account through Google. An achievements feature tracks growth milestones, such as reaching a new threshold for clicks from Search over a rolling 28-day period.

Source: Google

To set one up, users open Search Console, go to the verification page or the property selector’s “Add property” option, choose one of the four supported platforms, and complete an on-screen verification to authorize the connection. Google said platform properties will roll out gradually over the coming weeks and is soliciting feedback through Search Console and the Google Search Central Community.

The launch builds on an experiment Google introduced in December, which added social channel data to the existing Search Console Insights report for a limited set of sites. That earlier version surfaced metrics including total reach, content performance, top search queries, and audience location for social channels that Search Console had automatically associated with a given website. Platform properties extend that experiment into a dedicated, creator-accessible property type that does not require an associated website at all.

The move fits a broader pattern of Google surfacing off-platform social activity inside its own products. The company has also begun displaying a “Social Media Updates” carousel within some Google Business Profiles, pulling in recent posts from connected Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Pinterest accounts to display alongside a business’s core listing information. Separately, Google rolled out a Creator Search tool inside the Google Ads Creator Partnerships Beta in January, letting advertisers find and filter YouTube creators by subscriber count, average views, and location directly within the ads platform.

Google’s continued investment in social content visibility comes as younger users increasingly search on social platforms instead of Google itself. A Forbes Advisor and Talker Research study found 45% of Gen Z are more likely to use social media for searches than traditional search engines, a trend Bernstein Research has tied to a generational shift from “Googling” to “searching.”