Indian Creators and Publishers Can Now Claim a Google Search Profile: What It Means for Discover

If you publish or create content from India, you can now claim a Google Search profile: a verified page on Google that pulls your articles, videos and social accounts together and lets readers follow you into Discover. Until this week, only US accounts could get one. Canada gets access at the same time, and Google says Brazil is on the way.

Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, announced it on X on October 6, 2026:

For Indian publishers and creators in particular, this is worth acting on quickly. A Search profile is one of the few places where Google lets you shape how your brand appears on Search and Discover, and it comes with a follow button that feeds Discover directly.

What is a Google Search profile?

A Search profile is a page on Google that you claim and customise. In Google's words, it gives publishers and creators "a customizable, verified home base to consolidate your social accounts, latest articles, and links in one shareable space."

A profile can include:

• A large cover image, your name and a bio.
• Links to your social and video accounts (YouTube, Instagram, X, TikTok and others).
• Your latest content from linked platforms, pulled in automatically.
• Up to 8 pinned posts or videos from the past year, and up to 8 web links.
• A Follow button.

People reach your profile in three ways: from your knowledge panel in Search, by tapping your name in the header of a Discover card on mobile, or through a direct link you share.

Why the follow button matters

This is the part I'd pay most attention to. Google says that when someone follows you from your Search profile, that follow "increases the likelihood" your content appears in their Discover feed.

Discover is a major traffic source for news and content sites, and it's notoriously hard to influence. A follow is a clear, user-given signal that you can actually ask for. Treat the profile link like any other "follow us" link: put it in your newsletter, author bios and social bios.

Google hasn't said that a Search profile affects rankings in regular search results, so I wouldn't expect one. The benefit is visibility in Discover, plus more control over how your brand is presented.

How fast Search profiles have grown

Search profiles launched in the US in June and have opened up quickly since. The follower bar has dropped by 90% in about three months:

The August change was also announced by Robby Stein, and it's where Google first promised the country expansion that arrived this week:

The September update, announced on Google's blog, also let publishers manage profiles for all their sub-brands from a single login, and improved how articles appear on profiles with better image thumbnails and longer headlines.

Who can get a Search profile?

Based on Google's help page, you need to:

• Be at least 18 years old. You can manage a profile for someone younger from an adult account.
• Have at least 10,000 followers or subscribers on one of YouTube, Instagram, X or TikTok. One platform is enough.
• Follow Google's community guidelines for user-generated content on Search.
• Be in an eligible country: now the US, India and Canada, with Brazil next.

At the time of writing, the help page still says Search profiles are available only in the United States. That's the documentation lagging behind the announcement. If the claim page doesn't work for you yet, give it a few days, because rollouts like this often reach accounts gradually.

Before you start, check whether you already have one. Google auto-generates profiles for many creators from the accounts it links to them, often without them knowing. My free Google Search Profile Finder shows whether a profile exists for your name or knowledge panel link, whether it’s already claimed, which accounts Google has linked, and whether you meet the follower and country rules to claim it.

How to set up your Search profile

1. Go to profile.google.com/claim and sign in with your Google account.
2. Sign in to at least one content platform account that meets the follower minimum.
3. Link any other platforms you use, so their content appears on your profile too.
4. Click Create profile.
5. Add a cover image and bio, then pin your best posts and links.

Your profile handle is set to match the handle of your most-followed linked account. Google says content from linked platforms usually appears within about 24 hours. Changes to your name and social links need Google's approval.

How to get the most out of it

• Link every platform you're active on. The profile is only as useful as the content it pulls in.
• Pin your best work. Use the 8 pinned slots for evergreen pieces and recent hits, not just your newest posts.
• Keep names and handles consistent across platforms, so your profile, knowledge panel and social accounts clearly refer to the same entity.
• Ask for follows. Add the profile link to author pages, newsletters and social bios. Every follow can help your Discover visibility.
• Publishers with several titles: set up a profile for each sub-brand from one login, rather than one profile for the whole group.
• Add your profile to your schema. List your profile link in the sameAs of your Person or Organization markup, next to your social accounts. The Search Profile Finder generates the snippet with every linked account included.

This fits a wider pattern. Google is giving publishers more places to build visibility that aren't their own website, something I covered in Google's new platform properties. Your SEO strategy now has to include how you appear on Google itself, not just on your domain.

What we don't know yet

• When Brazil goes live. Google has only said "soon".
• Which countries come next. Google hasn't named them.
• Whether follower counts are global. Google hasn't said whether followers from any country count, but nothing so far suggests they have to be local.
• How much a follow helps. Google says it increases the likelihood of appearing in Discover, but hasn't shared numbers.

FAQ

Are Google Search profiles available in India?

Yes. Google opened Search profiles to creators and publishers in India and Canada on October 6, 2026. Brazil is next.

How many followers do you need for a Google Search profile?

At least 10,000 followers or subscribers on one of YouTube, Instagram, X or TikTok. It was 100,000 when the feature launched in June 2026.

Where do Search profiles appear?

In your knowledge panel on Google Search, when someone taps your name on a Discover card on mobile, and through a direct link.

Does a Search profile help SEO?

Google hasn't said it affects rankings in regular search. Its main benefit is Discover: people who follow you from your profile are more likely to see your content in their Discover feed.

Sources: Robby Stein on X (Oct 6, 2026); Google: a new profile for publishers and creators (Jun 4, 2026); Google: Search profile updates for publishers (Sep 16, 2026); Google Search Help; Search Engine Roundtable.