How to Optimize for Google Discover?

Why Should You Optimize for Google Discover?

There are several benefits to optimizing for Google Discover:

‍

• Increased Traffic: Google Discover has the potential to send large amounts of traffic to your site. If your content aligns with a user’s interests, it can be shown to millions of users who might not have otherwise found your site.

‍

• Improved Brand Visibility: Appearing on Google Discover helps your brand become more recognizable, especially when users frequently engage with your content. It builds long-term awareness and authority.

‍

• Boost Mobile Engagement: With more users accessing the web via mobile devices, Google Discover is an excellent way to tap into mobile traffic and reach users on their phones.

‍

Now that you understand the potential of Google Discover, let’s look at how you can optimize your content to increase your chances of being featured.

1. Focus on High-Quality, Engaging Content

The most important factor in being featured on Google Discover is the quality of your content. Google Discover prioritizes content that is informative, engaging, and relevant to the user’s interests. Here are a few ways to ensure your content meets these standards:

‍

a) Write with Authority and Depth

Google values expertise and thoroughness. Whether you’re writing about a trending topic or evergreen content, make sure your piece is well-researched and offers comprehensive insights. Content that provides real value to readers is more likely to perform well.

‍

b) Keep Content Fresh and Relevant

Google Discover favors recent content, so publishing timely articles and updates can increase your chances of being featured. However, evergreen content can also make an appearance as long as it remains relevant to the user’s interests. If you have older content that is still valuable, consider updating it to keep it fresh.

‍

c) Craft Compelling Headlines and Descriptions

Your headline and meta description play a crucial role in grabbing a user's attention in Google Discover. Use clear, concise, and engaging headlines that immediately convey what the content is about. Avoid clickbait-style headlines, as Google tends to prioritize authentic and informative content.

‍

d) Use Visual Content

Google Discover relies heavily on visuals to attract user attention. Use high-quality, relevant images in your articles. Featured images should be at least 1200 pixels wide, as Google has stated that larger images lead to better performance on Discover. You can also consider using infographics, charts, and videos to make your content more visually appealing.

‍

2. Optimize for Mobile Devices

Google Discover is a mobile-first platform, so your content must be optimized for mobile devices. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, users are likely to bounce, which can harm your ranking and decrease your chances of being featured on Discover.

‍

a) Use a Responsive Design

A responsive design ensures your website looks good and functions properly on all devices, including mobile phones and tablets. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites, so having a responsive site is critical for appearing in Google Discover.

‍

b) Improve Page Load Speed

Fast-loading pages are crucial for mobile users. A slow site can negatively impact user experience and cause high bounce rates. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to assess your page speed and identify areas for improvement. Minify CSS, compress images, and reduce server response time to ensure fast load times.

‍

c) Focus on User Experience

Ensure that your content is easy to read and navigate on mobile devices. Use shorter paragraphs, bullet points, and clear headings to make your content scannable. Avoid intrusive pop-ups and ensure that buttons and links are easy to click on mobile screens.

‍

3. Follow E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) Principles

Google has emphasized the importance of E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in ranking content across its platforms, including Discover. Here’s how to build E-A-T into your content:

• Showcase expertise: Ensure that your content is written by subject-matter experts or includes expert contributions. Include author bios to showcase the credibility and background of your writers.
• Build authoritativeness: Gain backlinks from reputable sites in your industry, publish guest posts, and create content that other websites want to link to. Authority comes from having other trusted sources validate your content.
• Ensure trustworthiness: Keep your site secure (use HTTPS), provide accurate information, avoid misleading content, and display clear contact information. The more transparent and trustworthy your site is, the more likely it is to rank well.

4. Leverage Visual and Video Content

Google Discover prominently features rich visuals and video content. Incorporating different content formats can significantly boost your visibility on the platform. Here’s how to optimize multimedia content:

‍

a) Use High-Quality Images

Ensure that your images are relevant to the content and visually appealing. Avoid generic stock images that add little value. As mentioned earlier, using images that are 1200 pixels or wider will allow your content to be featured more prominently.

‍

b) Publish Video Content

Videos are popular on Google Discover. Consider creating videos to accompany your articles or as stand-alone content. Google Discover prioritizes video content from trusted platforms like YouTube, so uploading high-quality videos to YouTube and embedding them in your content can increase your chances of being featured.

‍

c) Utilize Web Stories

Web Stories are mobile-friendly, visually-rich content pieces designed for quick consumption. Google Discover frequently features these stories, making it an excellent way to capture mobile users’ attention. Use Google’s Web Stories editor to create engaging, bite-sized content for Discover.

5. Target Trending and Evergreen Topics

Google Discover is not just for trending news; it also features evergreen content. Ideally, your content strategy should balance both.

‍

a) Monitor Trending Topics

Staying on top of trending topics can help you create content that captures the interest of users in real time. Tools like Google Trends and BuzzSumo can help you identify trending topics related to your niche. When covering these topics, ensure that your content adds a fresh perspective or new insights.

‍

b) Create Evergreen Content

Evergreen content can perform well on Google Discover if it aligns with users’ ongoing interests. Regularly update your evergreen content to keep it relevant and useful. This way, even older content has the potential to be featured on Discover if it matches user preferences.

‍

6. Monitor and Analyze Your Discover Traffic

Google Search Console provides insights into how your content is performing on Google Discover. By monitoring this data, you can learn what types of content are being featured, what topics resonate with users, and where improvements are needed. Key metrics to track include:

‍

• Impressions: The number of times your content appeared in Discover feeds.
• Clicks: The number of users who clicked on your content from Discover.
• CTR (Click-Through Rate): This shows how effective your headlines and descriptions are in attracting users to click.

Analyzing this data allows you to fine-tune your strategy and create more content that aligns with what works on Discover.