Let’s talk about your last Instagram or TikTok post…
You probably spent way too much time creating the content, editing it and then finding the right trending audio, only to chuck a caption on it that says something like:
“Loving this new arrival! #geelong”.
We see this day in, day out. For years, businesses have treated social media as the fun, punchy “engagement” tool, while saving the actual hard yakka for their website’s SEO.
But Google just completely blew up that divide.
Introducing Google Search Console Platform Properties
In July 2026 Google Search Console (GSC) quietly rolled out a massive new feature called Platform Properties. You can now hook your TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and X accounts directly into GSC.
Google is finally openly admitting that they are crawling your social content, serving it up in standard search results, and they want to give you the data on how it performs.
Finally everyone can now stop treating SEO and social media like they live on two different planets!
When someone Googles a problem, Google doesn’t just want to serve them a 2,000-word blog post anymore. Often, they want to show a quick, authentic video of a tradie actually fixing the thing, or a local shop owner demonstrating a product.
But here is the absolute kicker: Google’s bots still can’t “watch” your video or really “see” your images.
They rely on your text to figure out what the hell you’re on about. If your caption is just a couple of emojis, Google has absolutely zero clue that your Reel is actually demonstrating an “emergency roof leak repair.”
You don’t need to overcomplicate this, but you do need to start applying some basic SEO to your social grid:
- Hook up your accounts today – Jump into Search Console and add your platforms as new properties. It only takes a couple of minutes, but it takes a few weeks to start showing data and it only starts tracking from when you set it up, so get it running now.
- Ditch the mystery captions – Start writing for Google and humans. Put your actual keywords in the text (and right at the start!). Describe what is happening in the video, where you are located, and what specific problem you are solving or how to buy from or enquire with you.
- Let the data tell you what to film – Once your GSC starts pulling in the numbers, check it. I guarantee you’ll eventually see a random throwaway Reel you made a year ago pulling steady Google traffic for a specific search term. When that happens, stop guessing what to post next – just make more of what Google is already rewarding!
But wait – don’t chuck your website in the bin just yet!
Before you fire your web developer to become a full-time TikToker, let’s get real. It is awesome that we can finally track social SEO, but social media is still rented land. Zuck or the TikTok algorithm could change the rules tomorrow and tank your reach or worse yet remove your entire profile.
Your website is the only piece of digital real estate you actually own.
The smartest play right now is to use keyword-optimised social posts to cast a wider net in Google search, and then use that visibility to drag people back to your website where you control the checkout, the booking form, and the mailing list.
If you’re looking at your current setup and realising your website and your socials are barely speaking to each other, give us a shout and we can help you with a holistic approach to your digital presence!
