How to Add Your Social Media Profiles to Google Search Console (and Why You’d Want To)

If you run a service-based business, you’ve probably wondered whether your social media actually does anything for you in Google. Here’s the good news. Google has been indexing and showing social media posts in search for a few years now, and you can finally see the data behind it.

This is a quick, practical walk-through for business owners, not marketers. I’ll show you how to add your social profiles to Google Search Console, what data you get once they’re connected, and how to actually use that information rather than just looking at it.

What are platform properties in Google Search Console?

Platform property: a new type of property in Google Search Console that lets you connect a social or video profile, like Instagram or YouTube, and see how your content on that platform performs in Google search.

Here’s the part most people miss. Your social posts have been showing up in Google for years, usually for long-tail keywords, the really specific searches people do when they know exactly what they want. That part isn’t new. What is new is that Google Search Console has added the ability to add your profiles, so you can finally see which posts are getting found and for what.

It rolled out globally in 2026 and currently covers Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube. There’s no Facebook yet, so don’t go hunting for it.

How to add your social media profiles to Google Search Console

It’s genuinely easy to set up. You don’t need a developer, and you don’t need to touch any code.

1. Log in to Google Search Console at search.google.com/search-console.
2. Click the property selector in the top left, then choose “Add property”.
3. Select the platform property option and pick your platform (Instagram, TikTok, X or YouTube).
4. Enter your profile handle or URL and follow the prompts to confirm the profile is yours.
5. Give it a little time. Google needs to gather your data before the reports fill out, so it won’t all be there the second you connect it.

Once it’s connected, you’ll see the platform listed as its own property, sitting alongside your website.

What data does it actually show you?

This is where it gets useful. Once your profile is connected, you get a proper Performance report for your social content in Google search. You’ll see:

• Impressions: how often your posts showed up in Google search results.
• Clicks: how often people clicked through to them.
• Search queries: the actual words and phrases people typed to find your posts.
• Top posts: which of your posts are pulling the most weight in search.

So to answer the question I get asked most: it shows both impressions and the actual keywords. The query data is the bit worth your attention, because it tells you what people genuinely wanted when they landed on your content, not just how many of them saw it.

Why you should care about this information

Here’s my honest take after 20+ years doing SEO every day. This update doesn’t mean social media is suddenly a magic ranking factor, and it’s not a reason to throw more hours at posting. What it gives you is data, and data is only useful if you do something with it.

The smart move is to look at the search queries bringing people to your social posts and take them straight back into the SEO on your own website. Say you’re a physio and a Reel about exercises for a frozen shoulder keeps turning up for people searching that exact phrase. That’s a strong signal that the same phrase is worth a proper page or blog post on your site, where you control the experience and where the enquiries actually come from.

That’s the difference between chasing every shiny new feature and using it to get found online in a way that pays you back. Your website is still your most valuable piece of real estate. This just hands you another honest signal about what your future customers are searching for, straight from Google.

Give it a go this week

If you’ve got ten minutes, log in to Google Search Console and add your profiles. Have a look at the queries that come up, note the ones that match what your ideal customers actually search for, and then use them where it counts, on your own website.

If you found this useful, follow along for more practical SEO you can actually do yourself.

Karen Dauncey

Karen Dauncey has been working in SEO since 2003. She specialises in helping businesses get found online through Google using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) She is the founder and creator of The SEO School an online SEO Course to help teach business owners how to do their own SEO. She regularly delivers educational programs for both Local, State and Federal Government and is an advisor for the ASBAS Digital Solutions Program. Karen’s passion and commitment to help small business owners get found online is the driving force behind her online school, making SEO advice accessible to all with free resources and online courses.

Karen's wealth of SEO knowledge and practical digital marketing experience comes from running her own SEO and Google Ads agency, Blue Cherry Online Marketing since 2008. Karen has optimised over 1000 websites, managed millions of dollars' worth of spend on Google Ads and has a solid understanding of the constantly shifting industry of digital marketing and SEO. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. She was recently recognised as an SEO Expert for the popular course creation platform, Kajabi as well as appearing on ABC Radio
for her expert opinion on the ACCC's investigation into search engines.

Karen has attended search engine conferences in London, Stockholm, Adelaide and Sydney, and was also invited to attend a pilot Business Coaching Course at Google’s Head Office. She has a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK.

She is also the co-owner of the Digital Experts Directory, an online directory for female serviced-based businesses to promote their business (with a great backlink for SEO).

To keep up to date with the latest in SEO, join her Facebook group The SEO School Community or follow her on Facebook or LinkedIn.