Local Memo: Google Expands Search Insights, AI Enters the Buying Journey, and Instagram Redefines Discovery

Google Adds Social Channel Insights to Search Console

The News

Google has announced a significant update to Search Console: an experimental feature that brings social channel performance data directly into the platform. This enhancement expands the existing Search Console Insights report to include not just website metrics, but also Search performance data for select social media channels automatically associated with a site. For the first time, site owners can see Google Search performance data for their social channels alongside their website metrics. The new integrated view offers:

• Total Reach Across Web + Social
• Social Content Performance
• Search Queries for Social Profiles
• Audience Location Insights
• Expanded Additional Traffic Sources

Google is rolling out this feature as an early experiment and only for a limited set of websites. If your site qualifies, Search Console will automatically detect associated social channels and prompt you to add them.

What This Means

Brands no longer operate solely on websites as social channels are often equally important touchpoints. By bringing web and social insights together, Google helps marketers understand holistically how audiences discover their brand. Insights into Search-driven traffic to social profiles can help with better SEO and social team alignment, as well as a more integrated view of digital performance.

Google’s AI Now Shops for Customers

The News

Google has quietly introduced a large change to local search, Dave H shares new result options like “Online estimates” and “Have AI check prices”.

Behind the scenes, Google’s AI is now contacting service businesses directly to gather pricing, availability, and service details for users. It then returns a ranked comparison without the customer ever visiting a website or making a call. In other words, Google’s AI is becoming the shopper.

What This Means

Home-service companies are being compared head-to-head whether they participate or not. And the businesses that will come out ahead are the ones with clear, easy-to-find pricing. If Google can’t locate your pricing information, it will simply use someone else’s. Businesses should add real pricing to their website, even publishing a FAQ section and making sure pricing is consistent across the web. 

Instagram Rolls Out New Updates That Change How Content Is Seen and Shared

The News

Instagram has been rolling out several recent updates affecting hashtags, story sharing, and how new posts appear on profiles. 

Instagram is Testing a 3 Hashtag Limitation: Instagram is starting to cap the number of hashtags you can use in regular posts and Reels to three maximum. 

Instagram Is Adding a New Option That Lets Others Share Your Stories: Instagram is testing a feature that allows anyone (depending on your settings) to reshare your story to their story, not just through DMs. 

Instagram Adds a “New” Label to Freshly Published Grid Posts: Lindsey Gamble shares that Instagram is starting to show a small white “New” badge on recently uploaded posts in a user’s profile grid. It appears in the bottom-left corner, making it easier for viewers to identify the latest content. This comes as Instagram continues giving users more control over their grids, including pinning posts and the potential ability to reorder them in the future.

What This Means

Together, these updates signal that Instagram is pushing toward higher-quality discovery signals and more community-driven amplification. With hashtags being limited, a new “New” label spotlighting fresh posts, and story resharing becoming easier, Instagram is shifting how content gets surfaced and spread across the platform. Businesses should focus on relevance over volume. With only three hashtags allowed, content quality, keywords in captions, and topic consistency matter more than hashtag lists. 

The good news is that these updates also bring new organic reach opportunities. Allowing others to share your stories creates new pathways for exposure, turning your audience into redistributors of your content. There is also a stronger emphasis on freshness. The “New” badge pushes attention toward recently published posts, making timing and posting cadence more important for visibility.

Overall, these changes reward brands that keep their content clear, consistent, and shareable by presenting a greater need for consistency.