What is Google Discover?
Google Discover, launched in 2018, is Google’s way of surfacing relevant content to their users. This content may appear in your Google App (Android or Apple) on your Google Homepage on mobile devices or in Google News (under the “For You”) section on desktop. The content tends to be a mix of news, blog posts, articles, graphics, and videos. This content is recommended to you based on your previous Web & App Activity (browser and search history, app activity, proximity/geographic location) on Google properties.
Why Do I Need to Be Concerned with Google Discover?
In short, Google Discover drives traffic. Super relevant traffic, traffic that converts. The Discover feed is not your typical news feed, it is highly tailored towards users’ interests. In my case, my feed is full of search engine marketing content, content related to fantasy sports (something I am constantly researching), grilling (something I have taken a recent interest in) and local news articles based on my location.
For several of our clients, Discover traffic is now accounting for anywhere between 5-11% of their total organic traffic.
How Do I Get My Content to Appear on Google Discover?
While there is no magic button you can push to ensure your content surfaces on Google Discover, Google has fortunately released guidance on things you can do and NOT do to ensure your content has a greater chance of surfacing on Google Discover. Below, we outline Google’s guidance, along with our own insight:
- “Having page titles that capture the essence of the content, but in a non-click-bait fashion.”
- We are all familiar with click bait. A title that reads along the lines of “We Wrote Content With The Hopes Of Appearing On Google Discover…What Happened Next Will Shock You” is not what Google has in mind. Think along the lines of, “We Wrote Compelling Content, It Now Drives Traffic Via Google Discover”.
- “Avoiding tactics to artificially inflate engagement by using misleading or exaggerated details in preview content (title, snippets, images) to increase appeal, or by withholding crucial information required to understand what the content is about.”
- This one comes down to being truthful.
- “Avoiding tactics that manipulate appeal by catering to morbid curiosity, titillation, or outrage.”
- Circle back to the first bullet point. This one simply reinforces the “Click-bait is bad” mantra Google is emphasizing.
- “Having content that’s timely for current interests, tells a story well, or provides unique insights.”
- This one is very much self-explanatory and is all around good advice for writing content, regardless of the goal. Think new, think evergreen and you’ll be on the right track.
- “Providing clear dates, bylines, information about authors, the publication, the publisher, company or network behind it, and contact information to better build trust and transparency with visitors.”
- Google is very high on author authority and trust when it comes to content.
- “Including compelling, high-quality images in your content, especially large images that are more likely to generate visits from Discover. Large images need to be at least 1200 px wide and enabled by the max-image-preview:large setting, or by using AMP. Avoid using a site logo as your image.”
- Take a look at your Google Discover feed, 100% of the content listed includes an image.