Google opened Search profiles to creators and publishers in India and Canada today, ending a US-only availability that had held since the feature launched in June. Brazil is "rolling out soon," according to the executive who announced the expansion.

Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, announced the move on X: "One of our most requested updates for Search profiles is live today: expanding to new countries!" He wrote that creators and publishers in India and Canada can now "set up their own dedicated home base on Google."

What are Search profiles?

Search profiles are claimable pages that pull a source's articles and social posts together in one place. Setup starts at profile.google.com/claim: a publisher or creator signs in with the desired Google Account and links at least one platform account.

The requirements Google's help page listed at midday Oct. 6 — hours after Stein's post went up — included:

• Availability "currently only in the United States," wording the page had not yet updated for the expansion
• At least 10,000 followers on one linked platform: YouTube, Instagram, X, or TikTok
• A profile creator aged 18 or older

Stein's post does not clarify whether the 10,000-follower minimum applies in India and Canada. The lag between his announcement and the help page update means publishers in the new markets should check the claim page directly for current eligibility terms.

Does a Search profile affect rankings?

No — at least not directly, according to Google's own documentation. The help page states that creating a profile "doesn't directly impact a source's ranking in Google Search." The measurable effect sits in Discover: followers of a profile may see more of that source's content there.

For publishers, that makes the feature a Discover-distribution play rather than a rankings lever. Verticals that live on Discover traffic — news, entertainment, lifestyle — have the most obvious reason to claim early.

How we got here

The country expansion follows two rounds of threshold cuts. In an Aug. 12 X post about lowering follower requirements, Stein wrote, "We'll also expand them to more countries soon." When Google cut the threshold again on Sept. 16, the announcement named only US publishers and creators. Today's move delivers on that signal, roughly three weeks later and roughly four months after the June US launch.

What to watch next

Brazil is the confirmed next market, though Stein gave no date. Publishers in India and Canada can attempt setup now at profile.google.com/claim. Watch for the help page to catch up with the announcement — and for word on whether the follower floor travels with the feature.