Google can now tell you how your instagram performs on search. Here’s what to do with that.

On 7 July 2026, Google announced a new feature in Search Console called platform properties. For the first time, you can see which search terms are sending people to your Instagram, TikTok, X, or YouTube content, directly from Google.

This matters more than it sounds like it does. Most founders think of Google and Instagram as two separate worlds. One is search, one is social. Platform properties is proof that Google has been quietly connecting the two for a while, and now it's giving you a way to see it.

What it actually does

Platform properties is a new property type inside Search Console, sitting alongside your website property. Once you verify an eligible Instagram, TikTok, X, or YouTube account, you get access to two reports.

The Performance report shows total clicks, impressions, and related metrics for your platform content, filterable by post and by search query. You can see exactly which of your posts are showing up in Google, and what people typed to find them.

The Insights report gives you a higher-level view: your recent traffic trends, your top-performing posts, and how people are discovering your account through Google.

Crucially, this works even if you don't have a website at all. Google has said this feature is aimed as much at creators as it is at businesses.

Why this is bigger than it looks

For years, the assumption in SEO was simple: if it's not on your website, Google doesn't see it. Platform properties confirms that assumption was already out of date.

We wrote about this back when we looked at why Instagram posts were showing up in Google search results. At the time, it was something we'd noticed happening quietly. Now Google is building an entire reporting layer around it.

If you're a founder-led business in hospitality, lifestyle, or any sector where Instagram carries as much weight as your website, this is the clearest signal yet that your captions, your alt text and your keywords on social matter for search, not just for engagement.

What to actually do with it

Platform properties is rolling out gradually over the coming weeks, so you may not see it in your account yet. When it lands, here's where we'd start.

Check which posts are already appearing in Google Search before you plan anything new. This tells you what Google already thinks you're relevant for, which is often not what you'd guess.

Look at the actual search terms next to those posts. If people are finding your restaurant through a search term you'd never have written as a hashtag, that's a gap in your caption strategy, not a fluke.

Treat your Instagram bio and captions the way you'd treat a page title and meta description. They're being read the same way by Google now, whether you intended that or not.

The bigger shift

This isn't really a Search Console update. It's Google formally acknowledging that a business's presence isn't confined to its website anymore, and that your social content is part of your search footprint whether you planned for that or not.

If your Instagram has been treated as a separate channel from your SEO strategy, this is the moment to stop doing that.

Want a proper look at how your social content is showing up on Google, and what to do about it? Get in touch and we’ll walk you through it.