Google Discover May Boost Your Traffic By 2X – Know How!
Rahul Vij
Updated: November 1
“Tell me what you search, and I will tell what you like.”
This is the principle of Google Discover, earlier known as Google Feed. This new AI functionality can supremely benefit digital marketers and SEO professionals alike.
It is an outstanding source of web traffic if used correctly. The best part is, it lets users find what they like without performing a search.
Wondering how? Below is the explanation of everything.
What is Google Discover?
It is a personalized content feed that Internet users can access through their mobile or tablet using Google chrome.
Visitors don’t have to search for anything on their own. Instead, they get suggestions on their screen based on search history and user preferences. Users can also customize their preferences to get content in line with their tastes and needs.
You can say it is an artificial intelligence application that works as a facilitator for all searches by Internet users. It provides you with a variety of content, including blog posts, news, events, advertisements, products, videos, and rich results.
The flow offered by Google Discover is similar to that of Pinterest with a tiny variation. It not only provides content according to your interests but also your online preferences.
Google Discover has a memory function that allows you to save and keep your searches while offering topics in line with your previous searches.
For marketers and digital specialists, this new content feed can boost the visibility and quality of traffic on their website, thus promoting their business.
Google Discover is a flow of information accessible to Internet users via their mobile from the Google Chrome browser.
What is Google’s Motive for Google Discover?
Google is always in the quest to best meet the expectations of Internet users. This time, the giant search engine is using the “feeds” following the footsteps of social networks.
Google Discover is a very ingenious idea because Google already has the data – Who is searching what in real-time.
Using this data is enough to set up a personalized feed of content. Plus, it offers a push approach – customization. With it, users can make amendments in the content feed according to their needs.
Google Discover is very successful. In 2018, Google Discover recorded around 800 million monthly active users, compared to 300 million users for Pinterest.
How Does Google Discover Work?
The operating principle of Google Discover is quite simple. Using Google solutions (Youtube, Maps, etc.) and the searches users make, the search engine associates user accounts with “Centers of interest.” Google Discovery uses these centers of interest in offering chrome users related content.
For example: suppose you make a search about several football teams. The search engine will offer you articles related to these teams in your feed. All your searches are thus categorized to present you with content that Google believes you will enjoy.
How Does Google Know About Your Interest?
Google uses a wide variety of information collected from your online interactions. By analyzing your search engine queries, browser history, location, and other information, Google determines what your interests are.
It then uses an algorithm to survey this data to know more about you. Additionally, advertising cookies stored on the users’ browsers help Google understand what the user views.
Michael Baker, Senior Marketing Manager, LogoDesign, says:
Google knows about your interests because it has your search history. Google is also able to track a majority of your online activities. It uses tracking tools such as cookies (optional) that collect information about the sites you visit. It then uses this information to personalize and curate your feed. For instance, if you are constantly searching for political news, you will soon realize that Google is sending over recommendations for political stories that you should read.
How is Google Discover Different from Google Search?
In Google Search, the Internet user enters search terms (or pronounces them via Google Assistant) and gets the relevant results.
Google Discover, on the other hand, displays personalized search results. These results are based on the browsing behavior of users and their interests.
Here, machine learning plays an important role. Google Discover relies on the learning capabilities of its algorithms to offer content tailored to everyone’s desires.
Haroon Sethi, CEO of Proqura Technologies, states:
With Google Search, users enter a specific search term and find helpful information about their query. On the other hand, Google Discover shows users a personalized feed of web content that matches their interests. To find out your interests, Google primarily uses data stored in your Google account. Aside from that, Google keeps tabs on what websites you visit and what you usually search for.
Can Google Discover be an Advanced Version of Google Feed?
Google Discover is actually an updated version of the Google Feed. Google announced Google Feed in mid-2017. Fourteen months later, it was updated with more personalized features and renamed to Google Discover.
Here are the views of industry experts on this:
Stephen Curry, CEO at Cocosign, says:
Google discover is an advanced version of Google feed. This is because it allows users to select the type of updates they want to see. By doing so, it provides information a user is interested in without inputting a query. A control icon allows further customization to indicate want for more or less content on a topic.
Perry Zheng, CEO & Founder of Cash Flow Portal:
Google Discover is actually a rebranded version of Feed. The most significant changes are that content is not only focused on the news but evergreen content. The emphasis is now more on pictures and videos rather than headlines and bulletins.
Tips to Drive Google Discover Traffic To Your Website
Work on E‑A-T
In SEO, EAT stands for Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness. The term EAT came into existence in August 2018, when Google’s algorithm Medical Update took place.
EAT plays a vital role in Google Discover’s content ranking. According to Google WebMaster:
How to Integrate Google EAT in Your SEO?
Integrating the EAT concept into your SEO strategy involves many actions to put in place on a daily basis.
Create Content With High Added Value
The first action is to create high-value added content. To do that, you have to deliver interesting and reliable content. Some tips in this regard:
- Adhere to a well-constructed Hn structure.
- Include interesting and comprehensive information in your content.
- Mention content sources when using third-party content.
- Put important information at the beginning of the page and paragraph.
- Write for humans not for search engines.
Implementing these tips boost the SEO of your site. These bring satisfaction to both – search engine algorithms and internet users.
Have Your Articles Written By Experts In The Field
Entrust the writing of your articles to people who are experts in the subject you are dealing with. Having your articles written by an expert adds extra weight to them. Add author bio in each blog at the bottom of the page.
Eliminate Dead Links and Links To Low EAT Score Pages
Check your Google search console on a regular basis to ensure that there are no dead links or other issues on the website. Do not link to pages that have a low EAT score.
Secure Your Site
To meet the criteria of Google EAT it is also necessary to secure your site. The easiest way to do this is to have an HTTPS protocol. You will need to buy an SSL certificate for it. Also, place contact and customer service information prominently, to make it easily accessible to web users.
Have A Good Brand Image
Google and its algorithms take into account all of the content that is published about you and your brand identity. For example, if your site is perfectly optimized but your reputation on the internet is bad, Google will find out. And your SEO strategy may suffer. It is therefore essential to focus on your brand identity.
Tips To Consider:
- Have complete profiles on social networks.
- Interact with people of influence in your sector of activity.
- Communicate with your community quickly and efficiently.
- Stay active on social media.
- Create Google My Business Page
Optimize The “Feed” Element Of Your Web Pages For Follow Feature
You need to specify “feed” for each page in the <head> section of your hub and leaf pages, referencing your RSS or Atom feed:
Google Guidelines For Feed:
Follow these guidelines to ensure that Google properly understand your page feed (RSS or Atom):
Note: You can also specify multiple feeds. Read all of its requirements here – Google Search Central blog.
Optimize Your Articles/Blogs Semantically
To optimize your chances of appearing on Google Discover, you must offer semantically optimized articles that perfectly match the profiles of your targets. So, before beginning writing work, learn about your prospects by focusing on their areas of interest.
To do this, you can use tools such as Google Analytics, or Facebook Audience Insights. Once you have collected all the data, determine the subjects that might interest them for writing your content.
Optimizing your Content Marketing Strategy for Google Discover
Focus on creating quality content on your website that provides the users with quicker solutions. Keep the content concise and full of only relevant information. This can help in ranking higher on the google discover result pages.
In addition to quality, you’ll need to focus on engaging your content. Google Discover shares popular articles online. So share your content on social networks to generate engagement and outrun the competition. Consider integrating a call-to-action in your social media posts. Also, consider sending your most relevant articles by email as well.
Other crucial things to focus on:
- Make Your Content Visual Appealing
- Embed YouTube videos in articles
- Refresh your content from Time to Time
Use Excellent Quality Images Or Videos
Aside from the quality and relevance of the content, Google recommends the use of excellent quality images and videos to boost the chances of placing articles on Discover.
To optimize your article and gain a place in the feeds of your potential customers, we recommend that you choose a featured image that is at least 1200px wide. It can increase the click rate of the link of your article by 5%.
Note: Compress the image before use to speed up the loading of your page.
Align your Metadata
Just like the featured image, the meta title and meta description of your content should be of excellent quality to improve its chances of appearing on Google Discover. The metadata should engage users. To make your title and description impactful, highlight the essence of your article and be free from commercial wording that directly entices clicks.
Have A Mobile-Friendly Website
Since Google Discover is a mobile-only feed tool, making your website mobile-friendly is an absolute necessity to drive more traffic to your website. It allows fast loading and a full-screen experience for smartphone users, resulting in an optimized user experience.
Here are the steps to check if your website is mobile-friendly or not:
- Type “ MOBILE FRIENDLY” on Google.
- Enter your website’s URL in the first link.
- Click on “RUN TEST”
Publish Content on Evergreen & Trending Topics
Post content that is popular in real-time. Bind your content with the timelines (year, month) or events. For example, “Digital Marketing Trends in 2022”, “New Year Gifts guide”, “Places to visit in (current month/season),” etc. It will help Google Discover to understand your content is up to date.
Favor Transparency
Include the date of publication, name of author, publisher, company behind the publication, and contacts on your articles. This information is important as it builds content authority. They allow your website to become more reliable in the eyes of Google and, at the same time, to increase its EAT score.
Finally, Retain Your Readers
Consider your rate of return. If users often visit your blog or news site, Google Discovery will automatically appear in their feed. So, think first of retaining your readership rather than wanting to acquire new visitors at all costs.
Retaining readers requires regular publication of relevant content. Plus, you can send newsletters including your latest articles. Additionally, be consistent in the category of content you provide and focus a lot on more popular topics. View your Google Discover data and promote posts that are doing well.
Where do you see the Google Discover Data?
If you are an SEO professional, you might have noticed the appearance of a “Discover” tab on Google Search Console. That is where you can check the Google Discover data and performance of your website.
Note: You will only see the performance report for Discover if your website crosses the minimum required impressions in Discover. If there is no report for Discover under the “Performance” section, work on high-quality content creation on your website.
In the Discover Performance report, you’ll see Total Impressions, Total Clicks, Average CTR, and a list of the pages that appeared in Discover.
Implementing the above tips you can count on Google Discover to bring you, new visitors, frequently. An opportunity that will allow you to regularly generate new leads.
Need help optimizing your website for Google Discover?