By Hezron Ochiel
Imagine a public health organisation publishes a short Instagram video explaining the early signs of diabetes.
During the first week, the communication team tracks the usual results: views, likes, comments, shares and new followers. The video performs well, and the figures appear in the monthly social media report.
Three months later, people searching Google for “early signs of diabetes” begin finding the same video. Some watch it, visit the organisation’s profile or look for more information.
The video is still reaching people, yet this activity may not appear in the organisation’s usual Instagram report. Part of its performance is happening through Google.
This is the measurement gap Google has begun addressing through platform properties in Google Search Console.
What are platform properties in Google Search Console?
Platform properties allow creators and publishers to connect supported Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube accounts to Google Search Console.
Google’s official documentation says account owners can use the feature to see how people find their social and video content through Google Search. Reports may also include Google News and Discover when the content appears on those services.
The feature is being rolled out gradually, so it may not yet appear in every Search Console account.
Google Search Console is a free tool that helps publishers understand how their content performs on Google. For platform properties, it can show how often content appears, how many clicks it receives and the search terms people use before finding it.
Once an account has been added and ownership verified, Search Console provides several reports.
The Performance report shows clicks, impressions, average click-through rate and average search position. Teams can use filters to examine which posts and videos attract traffic from Google Search, Discover and Google News.
The Insights report provides a simpler overview of recent traffic trends, top-performing content, and how people discover it through Google Search.
Search Console also provides an Achievements report that tracks growth, milestones, and click-based accomplishments.
In the diabetes example, the communication team could see that the video was still being found after the original campaign ended. It could also learn which searches led people to it.
This is the main change for PR teams. They can begin to follow part of a post’s journey from social engagement to Google discovery.
An important limit remains: platform properties measure performance on Google. They do not replace the analytics provided by Instagram, TikTok, X or YouTube.
Why search visibility matters to PR
Audiences often consult several sources when looking for information.
Someone may first encounter an issue on TikTok, search for more details on Google, watch an organisation’s YouTube video and then visit its website.
This matters in Kenya, where social platforms play a major role in how people access news and public information.
The Media Council of Kenya reports that social media was the primary source of news for 39 per cent of Kenyans in its State of the Media 2025 Survey. Television followed at 31 percent.
A social platform may therefore provide the first encounter with an issue. Search data can help an organisation understand whether useful content remains available when people later look for answers.
Someone searching for course entry requirements, disease symptoms or the location of a public service has an immediate information need. That need should shape what an organisation publishes and how it measures the value of the content.
PR measurement must go beyond activity
Many social media reports still concentrate on activities and immediate outputs.
They show how many posts were published, how many followers were gained and which content received the highest engagement.
These figures help teams manage their channels. A useful PR report should also explain what the audience needed, what they learned and what they did next.
A ceremonial post may receive strong engagement because it features a senior leader, a colourful event or familiar faces.
An explainer may attract less attention during its first few days and continue answering an important public question through search for several months.
The monthly report should recognise these different roles.
In my earlier article, What PR Teams Should Measure in 2026, I argued that communication teams should connect visibility with understanding, trust, stakeholder action and organisational outcomes.
Platform properties can provide evidence about visibility, information demand and search response. Organisations still need other evidence to establish what happened after someone found the content.
I call this the Social Search Measurement Chain:
Visibility → Information Demand → Search Response → Outcome
Each stage answers a different measurement question.
1. Visibility: Is the content appearing in search?
The first stage examines whether social and video content appears when people search on Google.
The main indicator is search impressions.
An impression generally means the content appeared in a Google result. It had an opportunity to be seen. The figure does not establish whether the person noticed, understood or trusted the information.
PR teams should examine visibility for priority subjects instead of treating total impressions as the main measure of success.
For example, a college may want to know whether its content appears when prospective students search for courses, entry requirements and application dates.
A health institution may examine whether its explainers appear when people search for services, symptoms or facility locations.
The central question is: Is our content appearing when people search for the subjects we want to be known for?
Teams should also study changes over time.
An older explainer may begin attracting impressions when an issue returns to public discussion. The organisation can review the information, update it and produce follow-up content where necessary.
This can help teams understand the lifespan of useful content. Some posts serve an immediate purpose. Others remain relevant for months or years.
2. Information demand: What are people looking for?
Search queries may be the most valuable part of the reports.
They show the words and questions people use before finding an organisation’s content.
In the Social Search Measurement Chain, information demand refers to the questions, needs and search terms that lead people to a post or video.
Consider a college announcing the launch of a new course.
The original social media post may focus on the ceremony, speeches and invited guests. Search data may show that prospective students are looking for entry requirements, fees, application deadlines and career opportunities.
That finding shows what the audience needs next.
The communication team can produce an explainer, improve the frequently asked questions page or add useful links to the original content.
Queries can also expose differences between institutional language and the words used by the public.
Organisations often use technical terms and official programme titles. Audiences may describe the same subject using simpler and more familiar language.
The goal is to understand how people describe their needs and make public information easier to find and understand.
As I argued in Stop Building Communication Strategies Around Platforms. Build Them Around Audience Behaviour, communication planning should begin with how audiences seek, verify and use information.
Search queries provide direct evidence of that behaviour.
3. Search response: Do people select the content?
The next stage examines whether people click after seeing the content on Google.
The main indicators are clicks and click-through rate.
A post may receive many impressions and few clicks. Several explanations are possible:
- The title may be unclear.
- The result may not closely answer the search.
- Another source may appear more useful.
- The information shown in the result may already answer the immediate question.
Click-through rate therefore requires context.
It becomes more useful when teams compare related content and observe changes over time.
A communication team could compare two videos addressing a similar question, examine performance after revising a title or study how one subject performs across several platforms.
There is no single click-through-rate benchmark that suits every organisation, subject and search position.
The practical question is: When our content appears, does it give people a clear reason to explore it?
The answer can guide decisions about titles, descriptions, formats and message clarity.
4. Outcome: What happens after discovery?
A search click marks the start of another stage in the audience journey.
PR teams need to establish whether the person understood the message, trusted the organisation or completed a useful action.
Depending on the communication objective, evidence may include website visits, enquiries, downloads, sign-ups, service uptake, or other relevant actions.
A public-information campaign may also need to measure understanding, recall or behaviour through surveys, interviews, feedback and service data.
The AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework encourages communicators to connect outputs with audience out-takes, outcomes and organisational impact.
Google can show that content appeared and received a click. The organisation must establish whether that discovery contributed to a meaningful result.
The Social Search Measurement Chain
PR teams need a small set of metrics tied to communication decisions.
| Stage | What to measure | What it can reveal |
| Visibility | Impressions and search presence | Whether the content is appearing |
| Information demand | Queries and audience questions | What people want to know |
| Search response | Clicks and click-through rate | Whether the result attracts interest |
| Outcome | Visits, enquiries, applications or other actions | Whether discovery contributes to a communication goal |
Teams can compare performance by platform, content format, subject and period.
They may find that YouTube produces stronger Google visibility for detailed explainers. TikTok may perform well for short, practical questions. The evidence should guide the role assigned to each channel.
Turn the data into decisions
A strong report should explain what the numbers mean and what the team will do next.
Instead of reporting: Our YouTube content received 30,000 Google search impressions.
A more useful report would say: Search impressions for our YouTube explainers increased by 30 percent. Most of the growth came from questions about application requirements and deadlines. We will produce two follow-up videos and improve the application guide on our website.
The second version connects performance with an audience need and a planned communication response.
Search findings can also shape the editorial calendar. A recurring question may lead to a website article, an explanatory video, a downloadable guide, or a frequently asked questions page.
Why this matters for African organisations
Many African institutions hold valuable research, expertise and practical knowledge that remains difficult to find and use.
Some of this knowledge stays inside technical reports. Institutional publishing may also give routine event coverage more attention than the questions people regularly ask.
Social media serves as a major public-facing channel for many organisations. This makes content choices especially important.
Platform-property data can help teams identify the posts and videos people find while seeking information. The same data may reveal recurring public questions that the organisation has not answered clearly.
A university may discover strong demand for information about admissions and courses.
A health institution may find that audiences are searching for services, costs and locations.
A public agency may identify repeated questions about procedures and deadlines.
These search terms represent demand for public information.
The opportunity is to use those signals to make institutional knowledge easier to find, understand and use.
Google’s reports cannot repair weak publishing systems or poor coordination between communication and technical teams. They can reveal information gaps and show what audiences are actively seeking.
How this relates to AI visibility
Search visibility forms part of a wider digital authority system.
In The Ultimate Guide to AI Search, Brand Reputation, and Public Relations in Africa, I explain how websites, research, media coverage, expert commentary, and public content shape the way organisations are represented online.
Social and video content contribute to that environment by appearing in search results, attracting links and directing audiences to detailed resources.
Search Console does not show whether an AI system cited, summarised or used the content.
Its data should therefore be treated as a single signal within a broader measurement system. Other signals include website performance, media references, backlinks, branded searches, expert recognition and direct AI testing.
What platform properties cannot measure
Platform properties show how supported content performs across eligible Google services.
Native social media analytics remain necessary for understanding views, engagement, and audience activity on Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube.
The Google reports do not directly measure trust, sentiment, message understanding, misinformation, reputation change, or audience behaviour after the first click.
LinkedIn is also absent from the current list of supported platform properties. This limits the feature for organisations and professionals that rely on LinkedIn for thought leadership, recruitment and professional visibility.
Measuring LinkedIn’s wider search contribution still requires native analytics, website referral data, branded search monitoring, backlink analysis, and direct search checks.
What PR teams should do now
PR teams can begin with five practical steps.
1. Check whether the feature is available
Open Google Search Console and look for the option to add a platform property. The gradual rollout means some accounts may not have access yet.
2. Add eligible official accounts
Connect and verify supported Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube accounts.
3. Establish a baseline
Record impressions, queries, clicks, click-through rate and top-performing content over an initial reporting period.
4. Connect the data to organisational priorities
Identify which subjects attract search visibility and compare them with the information the organisation wants audiences to find.
5. Turn findings into publishing decisions
Use recurring questions and content gaps to guide follow-up posts, videos, website articles and frequently asked questions.
There is no need to optimise every post for Google. Each piece of content should be measured according to its purpose.
Some posts support relationships, recognition or immediate updates. Others answer questions that people may continue asking long after publication.
Frequently asked questions
What are platform properties in Google Search Console?
Platform properties are connected social or video accounts that verified owners can add to Search Console. They show how supported content performs when people find it through Google.
Which platforms are supported?
Google currently lists Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube as supported platforms.
Does Search Console replace social media analytics?
No. Search Console measures how supported content performs on Google. Native platform analytics are still needed to understand what happens inside each social network.
Can Search Console measure LinkedIn content?
LinkedIn is not currently listed among the supported platform properties.
Does a search impression prove communication success?
An impression shows that content appeared. A click shows that someone selected it. Evidence of understanding, trust and action must come from additional data.
Final thought
Google has given PR teams a clearer view of how selected social and video content performs when people find it through search.
The stronger measurement question is: Who found our content while searching, what did they need, and what happened next?
That question moves reporting from counting activity to understanding how communication helps people find information and take meaningful action.
Hezron Ochiel is an award-winning strategic communications and public relations professional with over 15 years of experience in media, digital communication, and reputation strategy. He serves as the Deputy Corporate Communications Manager at the government-owned Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) and is the founder of Hezron Insights, where he writes about AI visibility, Digital PR, SEO, GEO, and digital authority. His work has appeared on platforms including Reuters, The New Humanitarian, and The Standard.