Google now has a profile page for you. Here is how to claim it

Google has opened Search profiles in India. If you have 10,000 followers on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok or X, you can claim one page that shows your accounts, posts and links whenever someone searches your name.

Go on, Google yourself. Do it now, I will wait.

Whatever came up is what a client, a recruiter or a journalist sees before they open your Instagram. Until this month, you had very little say in it.

Who can get one

Google launched Search profiles in the US in June and opened them to India and Canada on 6 October (Search Engine Journal). On Google’s own page, you need a public account with at least 10,000 followers on one of Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or X, and you have to be 18 or older. Individual creators, publishers and organisations that make content can apply (Google for Creators).

One caveat. The announcement did not say whether the follower rule works the same way in India, and early reports pointed that out. If you are close to 10,000 or below it, try anyway and see what Google tells you.

How to claim yours

1. Go to profile.google.com/claim.
2. Sign in with the Google account you want attached to the profile.
3. Link your Instagram, YouTube, TikTok or X account. This is how Google checks it is really you.
4. Add your links and pin your best posts to the top.
5. Search your name and your handle in a fresh browser window and see what shows up.

Google says setup takes a few minutes. You will spend longer deciding what to pin.

What goes on it

Your accounts, videos, links and latest posts, with pinned posts at the top. It can also feed your Knowledge Panel, the box beside the search results, which may show your latest posts and a short summary of your bio.

Pin the post you want a stranger to see first, which is rarely the one you are proudest of. Use one name everywhere: if your Instagram says one thing and your YouTube another, Google has to guess. And add the link you want a client to click, whether that is your website or a booking page.

What it will not do

It does not directly change where you rank in Search. What it does is give people who follow you more of your content in Discover. If other people share your name, Google may not show a panel at all. And if you are a business rather than a person, your Knowledge Panel stays tied to your Google Business Profile, so this is mainly a tool for people and publishers.

So the first step costs nothing. Search your name before your next client meeting. If the results make you wince, you now know what to fix.