How to Claim a Google Search Profile Outside the US

Google announced Search Profiles, a new feature that gives publishers and creators more control over how they appear across Google Search. There’s just one problem: according to Google’s announcement, Search Profiles are currently only available in the United States. In practice, that’s not quite the whole story.

At DiscoverSnoop, we’ve successfully tested the claiming process with several European customers. And once the profile has been claimed, we’ve found that it can be managed normally without staying connected through a US VPN. So if you already have a Google Creator Profile but live outside the United States, you may not have to wait for Google to officially roll out Search Profiles in your country. Here’s how the process works.

What is a Google Search Profile?

Google Search Profiles are dedicated profiles for publishers and creators that allow them to showcase their identity and content directly within Google Search. Google officially announced the feature in june 2026 as a new way for publishers and creators to “highlight their work on Search.” But the underlying concept isn’t entirely new.

Google has already been creating Creator Profiles associated with publishers, journalists and creators, particularly within Google Discover. DiscoverSnoop subscribers may already be familiar with them: we’ve been tracking Creator Profiles worldwide for quite some time, and they can be analyzed directly from the DiscoverSnoop dashboard.

Search Profiles take things a step further by giving the person or organization behind the profile the ability to claim it and manage some of the information associated with it. And that’s where things get interesting.

Are Google Search Profiles really only available in the US?

Officially, yes. Google’s launch announcement says Search Profiles are available in the United States. However, our testing shows that the actual claiming process isn’t necessarily restricted to US-based creators. We’ve successfully claimed Search Profiles for several DiscoverSnoop customers located in Europe.

The key is accessing the claiming process with a US IP address. Once the profile has been successfully claimed and linked to your Google account, the US connection is no longer required. In our tests, the profile could then be accessed and edited normally from Europe. That suggests the current geographic restriction primarily applies to accessing the claiming flow, rather than permanently managing the profile. This could obviously change as Google continues rolling out the feature, but the following method is working at the time of publication.

Before you claim your Google Search Profile

There’s one thing you should think about before doing anything else: which Google account you want to use. Based on our testing, a Search Profile can only be managed by one Google account. That makes the account you choose important. If you’re claiming a profile for a publication or company rather than an individual creator, don’t automatically use your personal Google account. Think about who should control the profile long term. Once you’ve decided which account to use, you’re ready to start.

How to claim your Google Search Profile from outside the US

The process itself only takes a few minutes.

1. Open an incognito or private browsing window

Start with a fresh private browsing session. This avoids existing Google sessions, cookies and location information interfering with the process.

2. Connect to a US VPN

Connect to a VPN server located in the United States. Before continuing, make sure your connection is actually using a US IP address. You only need the VPN to access the claiming process. As we’ll explain below, it isn’t required once the profile has been claimed.

3. Sign in to the Google account that will manage the profile

Go to Google and sign in with the Google account you want to associate with your Search Profile. Again, choose carefully. The Google account you’re using here will become the account responsible for managing the profile.

4. Open the Google Search Profile claiming page

While still connected to the US VPN, visit Google’s official claiming interface:

https://profile.google.com/claim/

Select the Google account you just signed in with. Google should then identify the profile that can be associated with your account and take you through the verification process.

How to verify your Search Profile using X

This is probably the most interesting part of the process. Google provides methods for verifying that you actually control the identity represented by the Search Profile. In our tests, X (formerly Twitter) worked as a verification method even for accounts with fewer than 100,000 followers.

The important part appears to be something else: the X account needs to already be associated with your existing Google Creator Profile. If it is, select X as the verification method. Google will ask you to authenticate with your X account. Once you’ve successfully signed in and completed the verification, the Search Profile should be claimed and linked to your Google account. You don’t need 100,000 followers for this method to work if the account is already recognized as part of your Creator Profile — at least based on the profiles we’ve tested so far.

You can also use Instagram, TikkTok or Youtube.

You can disconnect the US VPN after claiming the profile

Once Google confirms that the Search Profile has been claimed, you can disconnect from the VPN. The association is now tied to your Google account. In our tests with European customers, there was no need to continue using a US IP address to manage the profile afterward.

You can access the Search Profile management interface directly at:

https://profile.google.com/account/

From there, you can edit the information Google currently allows profile owners to manage.

What if you can’t claim your Search Profile?

Not every publisher or creator will necessarily see the same options. If Google doesn’t recognize the correct social account, website or identity during verification, the problem may go deeper than the Search Profile itself. It may be related to how Google understands your entity. This is where the Google Knowledge Graph becomes particularly important. Google represents publishers, journalists, creators, organizations and other entities in its Knowledge Graph. Many of these entities have a unique identifier known as a Knowledge Graph ID, or KG ID. That identifier can help you investigate exactly which entity Google is associating with a publication or creator.

It can also reveal something particularly useful for Google Discover: the relationship between your Knowledge Graph entity and your Creator Profile. We’ve written a complete guide explaining how to find it. If you’re having trouble claiming a Search Profile, that’s a good place to start.

Search Profiles, Creator Profiles and Google’s Knowledge Graph are increasingly connected

This is the part publishers should pay attention to. A Search Profile shouldn’t be viewed as an isolated new Google feature. Google already has several systems for understanding and presenting the identity of publishers and creators:

• Knowledge Graph entities;
• Creator Profiles in Google Discover;
• websites and social accounts associated with those entities;
• and now claimable Search Profiles.

These systems increasingly appear to be different surfaces built around the same fundamental question: Who does Google think you are?

For publishers, that question matters. If Google correctly understands the relationship between your publication, journalists, social accounts and content, it has a much clearer entity to work with across Search and Discover. If those connections are incomplete or incorrect, you may see the wrong social accounts, missing information or difficulties when trying to claim your profile. That’s why we’ve been paying close attention to Creator Profiles and Knowledge Graph IDs at DiscoverSnoop. Search Profiles make that work even more relevant.

Should you claim your Google Search Profile now?

If Google has already generated a profile for you and you’re able to verify it, there is little reason to ignore it. Search Profiles are still very new, which also means most publishers and creators haven’t spent much time thinking about them yet. Claiming yours gives you an opportunity to see exactly how Google represents your identity and to take control of the information Google currently makes editable. More importantly, it gives you another window into how Google connects your publication or personal brand with its broader entity ecosystem. The claiming method described above is working for the European profiles we’ve tested at the time of publication. Google may change the process, eligibility requirements or geographic restrictions as Search Profiles roll out more broadly, so we’ll continue monitoring how the feature evolves.

Track Google Creator Profiles with DiscoverSnoop

Search Profiles may be new, but Creator Profiles aren’t new to DiscoverSnoop. DiscoverSnoop already monitors Google Discover Creator Profiles worldwide, allowing publishers to investigate the profiles associated with creators and media outlets directly from their dashboard.

Combined with Knowledge Graph ID research, this gives publishers a much clearer picture of how Google understands their brand, journalists and content across Discover. And now, with Search Profiles becoming claimable, understanding those connections is becoming much more than an interesting SEO exercise. It’s becoming something publishers can actually act on.