Google Discover Guide: How to Get Your Articles in the Discovery Feed
Complete guide to getting articles in Google Discover. Covers image requirements, E-E-A-T, content freshness, Core Web Vitals, and strategies to increase Discover traffic.
Google Discover is one of the most powerful, yet least understood, content surfaces for publishers. Unlike search, you don't chase specific keywords — Google brings relevant content to users based on their interests. This guide explains how to optimize for Discover and increase your chances of appearing in the feed.
What Is Google Discover?
Google Discover is a content feed that appears on the Google app's homepage (replacing the old Google Now), on the Chrome New Tab page, and on google.com on mobile devices. The feed is personalized for each user based on their Google account history, search behavior, and explicitly stated interests.
For publishers, Discover can be a massive traffic source. A single article featured prominently in Discover can receive 50,000-500,000+ pageviews. Unlike search traffic which requires users to have intent and search for something, Discover traffic comes from users who didn't even know they wanted your content — it finds them.
How Google Discover Works
Google Discover uses machine learning to determine which content to surface to which users. Key factors include:
- Content relevance to user interests
- Content quality and E-E-A-T signals
- Content freshness
- Publisher authority
- Image quality
- Engagement predictions (CTR, time on page)
- Core Web Vitals scores
Image Optimization for Google Discover
Images are the most visible element of a Discover card. Getting your images right is critical.
Size Requirements
For large card display in Discover (the more prominent format), images must be at least 1200 pixels wide. Small images result in small, thumbnail-style cards that perform significantly worse.
Opt-in to Large Images
Add this to your pages' robots meta tags to explicitly enable large image preview in Discover:
<meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:large">Image Quality Best Practices
- Use original photography when possible — Google can detect stock photo usage
- High contrast, visually striking images perform better
- People in images (authentic, real-person photography) tend to drive higher CTR
- Match the image to the article topic — misleading thumbnails can harm your Discover standing
Content Quality and E-E-A-T
Google's quality raters evaluate content against E-E-A-T criteria. For Discover, these signals matter:
Experience
Does the content demonstrate first-hand experience? Original interviews, on-the-ground reporting, personal expertise, and real-world observations signal experience. Content that clearly synthesizes other sources without adding original insight scores lower.
Expertise
Are your authors recognized experts? Include detailed author bios, credentials, years of experience, and links to their other work. Google's quality guidelines specifically mention "author expertise" as a Discover factor.
Authoritativeness
Is your publication recognized in its niche? Build authority through: consistent quality publishing, getting cited by other reputable sources, building a social media following, and being mentioned by established publications.
Trustworthiness
Transparency signals trust. Ensure you have: a clear About page, editorial policies, a corrections policy, transparent advertising disclosure, and accurate author attributions.
Content Freshness Strategy
Fresh content performs better in Discover, but "fresh" doesn't just mean new. Here's how to maximize freshness signals:
- Publish timely takes on trending topics quickly
- Update evergreen articles when new information becomes available, and update the dateModified in your schema
- Avoid using past dates for new articles — always use the actual publication date
- Breaking news and developing stories often get featured multiple times as they evolve
Core Web Vitals and Discover Performance
Google has confirmed that Core Web Vitals scores affect Discover eligibility. Poor Core Web Vitals can result in reduced Discover exposure. Target these benchmarks:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Under 2.5 seconds
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Under 0.1
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint): Under 200ms
Common Discover performance killers include: slow-loading large images, ads that shift content (CLS), and JavaScript-heavy pages (slow INP). Optimize your article templates for all three metrics.
Monitoring Discover Performance
Track your Discover performance in Google Search Console:
- Go to Performance > Discover
- Filter by URL to see which specific articles are performing
- Monitor impressions, clicks, and CTR over time
- Compare article performance to identify content patterns that Discover rewards
Note that Discover traffic can be highly variable. A single viral article can spike your numbers, making trend analysis more useful than single-month comparisons.