If you’ve ever wondered how your social media content is actually performing in Search and Discover results, Google might have just released your new favourite tool, Platform Properties.
What is Google’s Platform Properties?
Until now, if your social media content appeared in a Google Search result, you had no way to track its performance. However, Google’s latest tool changes that. Platform Properties is a social media tracking tool that sits within Google Search Console and is designed to help you monitor how your posts perform in Google Search and Discover, providing you with the following key metrics:
- Search Queries: The exact keywords and phrases people type into Google before landing on your social posts.
- Impressions: How many times your social posts have appeared in Google Search results.
- Clicks: How many times a searcher clicked on your social post or video from Google.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of people who saw your social post on Google and actually clicked it.
- Top-Performing Posts: A breakdown showing which specific social videos or profile links bring in the most search traffic.
This feature has recently launched, and currently only supports Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube. Facebook, LinkedIn and Threads are not yet supported by Platform Properties; however, Google plans to roll this feature out to more platforms soon.
Why your social posts are now ranking on Google
Search results don’t look like they used to. Historically, when you searched for a term, Google would show a list of website links ranked by Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) factors like keywords, content quality and site authority. Today, search results have expanded to include YouTube Shorts, TikToks, and Instagram Reels alongside traditional web pages. This means your social media content now works together with your overall SEO strategy to help new customers discover your business through Google.
Why this matters for your marketing strategy
Understanding how your social content performs in Google Search is an important part of your marketing strategy. According to IAB Australia (Interactive Advertising Bureau) 2026 Internet Advertising Revenue Report, social video is the fastest-growing advertising segment in Australia, growing by 29.4% every year. Meanwhile, Google Search spend jumped 13.9% in 2026 to $2.16 billion. With social content and search spend growing fast, having visibility into exactly how audiences find and click on your content gives a much richer picture of your brand’s digital footprint.
While having access to data is an advantage and means you don’t need to spend money on fancy reporting software, raw numbers alone don’t build audiences. To drive real business growth and build a truly unified digital presence, it’s important to create and follow a structured content strategy.
Do I need to prepare anything?
The Platform Properties feature won’t start tracking your supported social accounts automatically. Follow these simple steps from Google Search Console to connect them:
- Open Google Search Console.
- Navigate to ‘Add property’ (located within the property drop-down in the top left corner).
- Select which platform type you wish to add (such as Instagram or YouTube).
- Verify your brand’s official YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and X accounts.
Once your accounts are connected, remember to check your performance reports regularly to see the exact keywords bringing potential customers to your social pages. Use these insights to guide your social media strategy and content creation.
If LEP Digital manages your supported social platforms, you don’t need to worry about connecting your accounts, as we’ll manage the transition on your behalf.
