Google is reportedly n talks with ByteDance and Facebook to bring Instagram and TikTok videos to Google Search. The company is also looking to strike a deal with social media platforms to index their short format videos on its search engine. If the deal does go through, you will be able to look up Instagram and TikTok videos on Search using popular keywords.
You Could Soon Search for TikTok or Instagram Videos on Google
At the moment, if you go ahead and try searching for Instagram or TikTok videos on Google, you will see several reuploads of the videos that are posted on either YouTube or some other platform. Still, the search giant wants to change that. According to a report from The Information, executives from Google are currently in negotiation with ByteDance and Facebook to get their hands on the data they need to index and rank videos from TikTok and Instagram on Search.
Regarding the statement, a Google spokesperson told The Information that the company is always looking for new ways to organize the information. This is what the spokesperson said.
We help sites make their content discoverable and benefit from being found on Google, and they can choose how or whether their content appears in Search.
It is essential to know that the search giant may have played with a similar feature in the past. Last December, Google tested out a new feature that showed TikTok and Instagram videos in a course on Google Search on mobile. The feature initially only focused on showing YouTube videos, but shortly, it extended to Instagram and TikTok videos. The company is still testing the feature in multiple regions and might go for a broad rollout of Google's deal with ByteDance and Facebook go successfully. Google could also offer a similar feature in Search on the desktop if everything goes accordingly.
While we are not sure about the conditions of the deal are going to be, it could be similar to a similar agreement Google and Twitter share. Currently, Google pays Twitter a licensing fee that allows the search giant to access and incorporate tweets in search results. However, we are not sure if the deal will be similar when you are looking to pay the other two companies. We will keep you posted as this deal turns into a formal agreement.
