Search Console Social Media Reports Are Here: How to Track Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube on Google

What is the Search Console social media report?

The Search Console social media report is a set of platform property reports that show clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position for your Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube content on Google Search, Discover and Google News. Google announced platform properties on 7 July 2026 and opened them to everyone on 29 July 2026.

In short, you can now track how Google surfaces your social accounts, not just your website. You don't even need a website to use it. In this guide I walk you through what changed, when it changed, how to set it up and how to read the numbers without fooling yourself. If Search Console is new to you, start with my Google Search Console guide first.

When did Google announce it, and in which steps?

The feature did not arrive in one go. It took shape in three steps. First, on 8 December 2025, Google shared a Search Central Blog post about an experiment. It added social channel data to the Search Console Insights report for a limited set of sites.

Second, on 7 July 2026, Moshe Samet, Product Manager Lead for Search Console, published the platform properties announcement. That post introduced a new property type for social and video accounts. Google rolled it out gradually over the following weeks.

Third, on 29 July 2026, Daniel Waisberg and Lizzi Sassman from the Search Relations team confirmed in a follow-up post that platform properties had become available globally. On the same day, Google also published a new guide on analysing social and video performance.

• 8 December 2025: Insights experiment with social channels, limited sites.
• 7 July 2026: Platform properties announced, gradual rollout.
• 29 July 2026: Global availability plus an analysis guide.

How does the December experiment differ from platform properties?

The two sound similar, however they work in different ways. In the December experiment, Search Console detected social channels linked to your website on its own. It then prompted you to add them inside the Insights report. In other words, Google took the initiative, and only website owners saw the data.

With the July 2026 version, you add each account yourself and verify ownership yourself. Each account also becomes its own property. The table below sums up the differences.

So don't assume the old Insights cards match today's reports one to one. Filtering, export and comparison mode only arrived with the new property type, and they change what you can learn from the data.

Which social platforms does it support?

Google's help page on platform properties lists four supported platforms:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• X
• YouTube

Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Threads are not on the list today. Therefore you can't use this report to measure how Google surfaces content from those networks. The list may grow later, but the official source names only these four for now.

The help page stresses another detail: every account or channel needs its own property. For example, if your brand runs both an Instagram and a TikTok account, you create two platform properties. If you manage two profiles on the same platform, you repeat the process for each one. As a result, each account keeps its data in a separate report.

For agencies and teams that manage several brands, this structure brings order. That said, the number of properties can grow quickly. I recommend you plan naming conventions and user access from day one.

How do you add a platform property in Search Console?

Setup takes a few minutes. The steps from the help page look like this:

1. Open the Search Console welcome screen, or open the property selector in the sidebar and click "Add property".
2. In the list of supported platforms, click "Add" next to the platform you want.
3. Follow the prompts, sign in to the account and authorise the connection.
4. Once Google confirms ownership, you see a confirmation message. Then click "Go to property" to finish.
5. Repeat the same steps for every other account you run.

Empty charts right after setup are normal. Google states that data takes a few days to appear in the reports. For a new property, the charts also only cover the days since data collection started.

Never share account passwords with an agency or an outside contractor to complete verification. Let the real account owner verify, then grant your team user access inside Search Console. That way you protect the account and you can remove access whenever you need to.

What happens if the verification link breaks?

For security, Google checks ownership on a regular basis. If an external login expires, for instance, the connection drops. Access to the property then pauses until you verify again. This does not mean you lose data.

According to the help page, once you re-verify you return to the same report. You don't have to wait for data to build up again. So there is no reason to panic. Still, if you rely on the report every week, keep an eye on the connection status.

In practice, these situations can affect the connection:

• A password change on the social account, or a forced logout of all sessions.
• Ownership of the account moving to another person or company.
• Someone revoking the authorisation on the platform side.
• Restrictions on the account, or the account going offline.

If you had account security issues, fix the account through official channels first. For Instagram access problems, my article on an Instagram account that keeps getting disabled may help.

Which metrics does the Performance report show?

The Performance report shows the four core metrics you know from website properties, now for your platform account: total clicks, total impressions, average click-through rate and average position. You can filter the data by post, query, country, device and date.

Besides Google Search, the report also offers views for Discover and Google News. However, the help page notes that these two reports only appear when your content gets traffic from those surfaces. So if you can't see a Discover tab, nothing is broken. Your content simply hasn't shown up there yet.

The default date range is 28 days. You can switch on comparison mode to put two periods side by side, and you can use page filters to isolate specific posts. When you judge click-through rate, compare it with your own history rather than an industry average. For quick maths, try my CTR calculator.

Export matters too. With the export button you can download the table and merge it with your own reports. I use it most for comparing several accounts at once.

Why do Discover and Google News deserve a separate look?

On Google Search, the user looks for something. On Discover, Google recommends content based on interests. Because the logic differs, you should read the data separately as well. Platform properties keep this split in the report.

Discover traffic tends to come in waves. A video or post can gain heavy impressions for a few days and then fade quickly. Therefore don't report a Discover spike as lasting success. Instead, note which topic and format earned the recommendation, then plan similar content.

Google News mostly comes into play for timely, news-style content. For accounts that cover current events, this tab tells you whether your content also appears in a news context.

Both tabs only show up when there is traffic. In other words, the moment a new tab appears is a simple but valuable signal that your account has reached a new surface. My team and I log that moment and review the posts from that period one by one.

What does the Insights report tell you?

The Insights report works like a simplified summary of the Performance report. It brings together your traffic trend for the last 28 days, your top posts, the searches that lead people to you and the countries your audience comes from. For creators without a technical background, this is the easiest place to start.

One detail needs attention. According to the help page, the summary card at the top counts all clicks across Google, including web, image, video and news search. The detailed lists below it, however, focus on traffic from web search results only.

As a result, the totals in the lower cards can come out lower than the number in the summary card. Someone looking for the first time may read this as a data error. In reality the two cards measure different scopes. If you add a short note about this when you share the report, you avoid a pointless debate with your manager or client.

The Insights report also includes query groups. You see the top groups, the ones trending up and the ones trending down. For content planning, this is the most useful part, and I cover it in more detail below.

What are Achievements for?

Achievements show your account's growth on Google through milestones. For example, when your total clicks from Google Search in the last 28 days pass a new threshold, this section tells you. So it works less like a metric and more like a motivation and tracking tool.

I use this section for communication, not for decisions. If you work with a creator, for instance, the first achievement often gives you concrete proof that Google has started to notice the account. That way you can answer the question "does search actually matter for us?" with data.

On the other hand, don't treat achievements as performance targets. Google sets the thresholds as general milestones, and they don't reflect your business goals. Build real goals around what happens after the click instead: profile visits, follows, website visits or sales.

In short, Achievements make a nice feedback screen. Still, you should base strategic decisions on the post and query data in the Performance and Insights reports.

What does the Search Console social media report not measure?

The first step to reading this report correctly is knowing its limits. Google states it plainly: platform properties only show how your content performs on Google. You won't see how many times your video appeared inside TikTok, or how many people saw your post in the Instagram feed.

The report also leaves out the following:

• In-app views, likes, comments and follower growth.
• How long a user stays on the platform after the click.
• Traffic from other search engines and from AI assistants.
• Content on unsupported networks such as Facebook or LinkedIn.

In other words, the report does not replace the native analytics of each platform. It complements them. Instagram Insights tells you what happens inside the account, while Search Console tells you how people discover it on Google. Put the two side by side and you see much more clearly which door people use to find your content.

Finally, new properties show data with a delay of a few days. Don't draw conclusions from the first week.

How do Instagram Stories and videos count in the report?

The help page explains two special cases. The first one covers Instagram Stories. When a story shows up in Google Search, Search Console records an impression. When a user clicks that story in the results, it records a click. So even short-lived content can leave a trace on Google.

The second case covers videos that play on Google. When your video appears in search results or Discover, that counts as an impression. When a user clicks it, Search Console adds a click, even if the video opens inside Google's own viewer rather than on the platform.

This detail changes how you read the numbers. For example, you may see high clicks in Search Console and no matching jump in your platform stats. That happens because part of those clicks can end as a view on Google that never reaches the platform.

That's why you should never add the two sources together into one "traffic" number. Report Search Console clicks as interest on Google and platform views as consumption inside the account, each on its own line.

How do you spot trending posts with the 24-hour filter?

Google's guide to analysing social and video content, published on 29 July, highlights the 24-hour filter as one of the most practical features. It lets you spot sudden traffic spikes from Google Search to your recent posts.

The guide gives a simple example. A new video suddenly starts to pull in traffic for a specific search term. Once you notice it, you can cross-promote that content on your other platforms, or plan a follow-up on the same topic. In practice, you move a signal from Google straight into your social calendar.

I suggest a short routine for this filter:

1. For a few days after you publish, open the 24-hour view every morning.
2. Note the post whose impressions rise fastest and the query behind it.
3. Use that query naturally in captions and titles on your other accounts.
4. If you have a website, plan an in-depth page or article on the same topic.

Topics that rise fast often tie in with current events. Consequently, moving quickly often pays off more than preparing perfect content a week later.

How do you turn query groups into content ideas?

The query groups in the Insights report cluster individual searches by meaning. You get separate lists for top groups, groups trending up and groups trending down. Google's guide suggests you use these themes as data-driven inspiration for your next video topic, caption or hashtag strategy.

In practice, work in three passes. First, take the rising groups and write down which question each one answers. Next, look at the falling groups; your content on those topics may have aged, or competitors may now offer something fresher. Finally, turn the top groups into a series.

To split an exported query list into word patterns, use my search terms n-gram analyzer. Recurring two and three word phrases then become easy to see. To use those phrases naturally in your captions, see my guide on how to write an Instagram caption and the hashtag generator.

Remember: a query group shows you demand, but you still write the content. Use search-driven titles without losing the voice of your account.

How do you compare platforms in one sheet?

Because every account is its own property, Search Console has no single combined screen. Google's guide offers a workaround: export the performance data from several properties and merge it in one spreadsheet. Then you can compare how your YouTube, Instagram, X and TikTok content performs on Google side by side.

For the comparison I recommend three measures: average clicks per post, click-through rate and the variety of queries that bring traffic. Query variety in particular shows which platform gets found for a wider range of topics on Google.

The guide also points to Search Console annotations. When you rewrite a YouTube title or a TikTok caption, you can add a note to the chart. A few weeks later, you can then judge the effect of that change based on dates rather than guesswork.

Comparison mode and page filters help as well. For example, you can filter your playlists separately, or compare search traffic for short-form and full-length videos. The guide mentions both of these uses as examples.

How does this relate to a Google Search profile?

Google also offers creators a feature called a "Search profile". According to the 29 July post, if you already set up your Search profile, you should have access to your data for the same platform in Search Console. In other words, verified accounts from the profile appear as properties automatically.

There is an important limit, though. Google's Search profile help page says the feature is currently only available in the United States. To create a profile, you also need at least 10,000 followers or subscribers on one supported platform, and you must be 18 or older.

So for most brands and creators outside the US, the right path is to add the platform property directly in Search Console. The platform properties help page mentions no follower threshold for that.

It's still worth keeping an eye on Search profiles. If Google opens them to more countries, accounts that publish for an international audience could strengthen how their brand appears on Google.

How is this report different from native platform analytics?

YouTube Studio, Instagram Insights and TikTok analytics tell you what happens inside the account: views, watch time, follower changes and engagement. Search Console instead shows the step before someone reaches your content. You see which search led them there and on which Google surface.

The difference becomes obvious with query data. Native stats may say that traffic came from "Google" or an "external" source, but they rarely show the exact words. Search Console gives you the query, the country and the device together. As a result, you understand which question your content answers for searchers.

• Native analytics: views, engagement and follower behaviour inside the app.
• Search Console: impressions, clicks, queries, countries and devices on Google.
• Web analytics: what users do on your website after they leave the social account.

Read all three together and you see the full user journey. However, never add the numbers up, since each one measures a different moment. In my reports I keep them under three separate headings and only compare trends side by side.

How should brands with a website use this data?

If you run a website, this report fills a gap. For brand searches, people sometimes click your Instagram or YouTube account instead of your site. Now you can see those clicks per account.

For example, if clicks on a brand query fall in your site property while clicks on the same query rise in your Instagram property, the demand has not disappeared. It has simply moved to another door. Without that picture, you can easily misread a traffic drop. I cover this in detail in my post on diagnosing traffic drops in Search Console.

I also wrote about why Instagram ranks above your website on Google. Search Console social media data now lets you make that diagnosis with numbers instead of guesses.

Finally, measure the traffic that flows from your social accounts to your site. To move users who find your profile on Google onward to your website, see my guide on driving website traffic from social media.

Which accounts benefit most from this data?

Not every account gets the same value from this report. Accounts whose content answers a question benefit most. Recipes, tutorials, product reviews, software tips and local guides often match popular Google searches. For these accounts, query data turns directly into a content plan.

The second group includes businesses that people search for by brand name. If your social accounts also appear for brand searches, you can now see how many clicks each one earns. That tells you which profile deserves the most care.

The third group covers teams and agencies that run several accounts. Thanks to export and comparison, they can report each account's contribution on Google separately.

On the other hand, accounts that focus on entertainment or daily updates with weak search intent may see limited data. The report still helps, but keep expectations modest. To understand your account's search potential, collect a few weeks of data first.

What should you do in the first 30 days?

With a new report, it's tempting to look at everything at once. A simple order works better in the first month. Here is the flow I recommend:

1. Day one: add every active account as its own platform property and set up team access.
2. Week one: wait for data; meanwhile, write a summary of your current native stats.
3. In week two, note your top posts and query groups in the Insights report.
4. Week three: export performance data and compare accounts in one sheet.
5. By the end of week four, apply at least three content or title changes and mark them with annotations.

This order stops you from making rushed decisions based on early data. Also, by the end of week four you have a measurable baseline. In the following months, you compare against that baseline.

For small teams, a fifteen-minute check each week is enough. What matters is that you look regularly and move the signal into your content calendar. At the end of each month, also write a short note on what you changed and what happened next.

Which Search Console social media mistakes come up most?

A new report brings new ways to misread data. These are the mistakes I see most often, both in accounts I work on and in industry discussions:

• Adding Search Console clicks to native views to create a single traffic number.
• Treating the gap between the Insights summary card and the lists below it as a bug.
• Seeing empty charts in the first days and concluding that the report doesn't work.
• Hunting for a settings error because the Discover or News tab doesn't show.
• Sharing account passwords with an outsider to complete verification.
• Forgetting to reconnect after verification lapses and flying blind for weeks.

All of these share one root cause: drawing conclusions without knowing what the report measures. So before you share it with your team, prepare a short definition note that covers metric scope, the 28-day default and the data delay. That way everyone reads it the same way.

There is also an expectation mistake. This report does not improve your rankings; it only measures your visibility. Growth still comes from content quality and consistency.

How do my team and I use this report for clients?

My team and I have added platform properties to the monthly reporting for the social accounts we manage. First, we connect each account as a separate property and leave ownership with the account holder. Then we report Google clicks on a separate line from native platform stats.

For content planning, we use query groups and 24-hour spikes. For example, if a topic gains interest on Google, we cover it on other channels too, and we update titles and captions to match those searches. We mark changes with annotations and measure their effect a few weeks later.

If you want your social accounts to grow both inside the platforms and on Google, we set up this measurement as part of our social media management service. If you'd like to balance your website and social accounts in brand search, we also help through SEO consulting. In short, the goal is not to watch a new report but to turn the demand it reveals into growth.