Have you noticed a new “Short Videos” tab appearing in some Google searches? First seen around April 8, 2024, this tab now shows up alongside familiar filters like “Images” and “Videos.” While it may have started as a limited beta, it appears to be widely rolled out. The feature aggregates publicly available short-form videos from platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
“Wait—My Videos Are Public?”
If your short videos profile isn’t set to private, then yes—your videos are (and have always been) public. And now they may also be indexed on Google. If you’re a creator, business, or marketer, it might be time to give those old posts a second look.
The Clock Is TikToking: the Future of Search
So why is this a big deal? It’s not just a UX update—it’s Google responding to a major shift in how people search. Short vertical videos have become a major content format since TikTok has reshaped online search behavior, especially among younger users. Think of it as a digital clock ticking toward the future of search, and Google doesn’t want to be left behind.
“As of 2025, TikTok has 1.59 billion monthly users, making it the fifth most popular social media platform globally.” – Source: DemandSage
TikTok Is Not Just a Social Platform
Let’s stop lumping TikTok in with the rest of social media. It’s become something different—something bigger. I first noticed this shift at my nail salon. I overheard another client ask a question, then quickly followed it with: “I’ll search for it on TikTok.” Lately I started I’ve doing the same—whether it’s looking up tutorials or discovering the perfect way to scramble eggs (thank you, TikTok—I now make an egg-cellent dish).
TikTok is being used as a search engine. That’s why, as someone who's been following SEO trends since the early days of Google, this move to index short videos makes perfect sense. Google isn’t losing search share to Bing or Yahoo—they’re losing it to TikTok and YouTube. While Google owns YouTube, the rise of TikTok, especially between 2020–2021, posed a new kind of threat.
What This Means for Business
If your brand isn’t posting short-form video content—whether it’s TikToks, Reels, or YouTube Shorts—you’re already behind. This trend isn’t new; it's been around for over five years. Early adoption is long over. But now, with this integration into Google Search, good news social teams have a new fresh business case: Video-first content isn’t just for engagement anymore. It’s now part of the search ecosystem and should be prioritized in your content marketing strategy.
