If you’ve been hit hard by the Helpful Content Update and you’re looking for new streams of traffic, then don’t sleep on Google Discover. This engaging feed recommends relevant content to users before they even know what they want to start searching for.
We’ve put together this expert guide to give you more info about Google Discover, how it works plus some top tips for optimising your content to improve your chances of featuring on the feed. Read on for everything you need to know about Google Discover.
What is Google Discover?
Google Discover is a mobile-only personalised feed. It displays recommendations for you based on your interests and online behaviour including news stories, articles, videos, and images.
It’s available on the Chrome browser and as a mobile app for Android and iOS.
How does Google Discover work?
Google Discover implements machine learning algorithms which analyse user data in order to serve them the best content. It serves the topics and formats that you’re most likely to engage with.
Google Discover uses several factors to decide which content to show, including:
• Browsing history
• Location
• Previous searches
• App usage
You can customise your feed by selecting the topics you’re most interested in and adjusting your preferences with “show more” and “show less” options. You can also hide content from specific websites.
If you’re really interested in a particular website, you can follow that website and get the latest updates from that site, although this feature is only available on Chrome Android at the moment.
What kind of content is on Google Discover?
Content on Google Discover includes videos from YouTube, blog posts, news articles, images, infographics, and product reviews. Sports, entertainment, and activities are at the forefront.
Businesses can also advertise on there through paid Discovery ads which can be managed through your Google Ads account.
Should we be optimising for Google Discover?
It might feel like you’ve got enough on your plate with optimising your content for Google (we hear you!), so is it really worth trying to optimise for Google Discover too? Well, the short answer is yes!
Google Discover reaches over 800 million users per month (source: Promodo), so there’s plenty of opportunity to get eyes on your content. Featured content can also drive traffic to your site.
And because the content shown is highly relevant, it’s very likely to engage users. This means they’re more likely to interact with your site and potentially turn into loyal visitors who come back again and again.
And don’t forget, if you can’t do it all, The Content Marketing Team is here to help by providing high-quality, fully optimised, and engaging content for your website.
Top tips for optimising content for Google Discover
Luckily, optimising content for Google Discover isn’t all that different to what you’re doing for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in general.
On-page optimisations for Google Discover
Here at The Content Marketing Team, we’re all about the copy, and so here are our top tips for on-page optimisations for Google Discover:
1. Write people-first content
Gone are the days of keyword stuffing (we were never fans!) and writing your content simply to please Google. Now, Google wants your content to be written with your users in mind, creating helpful content with relevant information that will match search intent, answering the queries that they’re searching for.
Use the E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) framework as a guideline when creating trustworthy content.
Demonstrating authority in your sector can help your content to appear on Google Discover. Offer original views and research which make your articles stand out against your competitors. Be sure to avoid creating content solely with AI, as this can’t meet the E-E-A-T framework.
2. Create compelling headlines
Titles have always been important, and this is still the case on Google Discover. H1s should encourage users to click through and read the rest of the article.
Some basics for writing compelling headlines include:
• Include numbers or statistics
• Ask a question
• Include superlatives like bravest, greatest, loveliest, etc
• Use a “how to” format
However, be sure to avoid titles that are overly clickbait-y. For a clear steer, we’ve got a great article on creating banging blog titles which you can use to help you write your headlines.
3. Create up-to-date content
Although evergreen content will always have its place (pop on your to-do list to refresh this!), Google Discover favours up-to-date news stories which follow popular topics and current events, so see what you can tap into that’s timely.
For example, if you’re a fashion brand, you might create content around the best festival outfits a few weeks in the run up to Glastonbury.
4. Include images and videos
Not only do images and videos help to illustrate what your content is about, they’re also highly engaging to readers. Ensure that all visual elements are high quality to increase time on page and the chances of appearing on Google Discover.
Technical optimisations for Google Discover
As well as concentrating on the content, there are some technical things you can do to help your site feature on Google Discover.
1. Optimise for mobile
It’s 2025, and if your website isn’t optimised for mobile (or even designed mobile-first) by now, then you are really missing a trick. Around 96.3% of internet users access the web using a mobile phone of some kind (source: Exploding Topics), so you really don’t want your site to be clunky or difficult to view on mobile.
We can’t emphasise this enough – if your website isn’t great for mobile, then this should be your priority this year.
2. Use schema markup
Schema markup, or structured data, gives additional information about your webpage. It helps Google to understand exactly what your content is about. Google has guidelines for implementing schema markup, so follow these guidelines to ensure it is correctly formatted.
Common examples of schema markup include:
• Book
• Movie
• Recipe
• TVSeries
3. Reduce page load speed
Users are becoming increasingly impatient waiting for web pages to load, and slow page load speed can quickly lead to a high bounce rate. Reduce your page load speed by optimising images (reducing file size but maintaining image quality), removing or updating outdated plugins, and deleting any unnecessary scripts.
Get optimising for Google Discover
Google Discover is another traffic stream with almost unlimited potential, so ignore it at your peril. Now you know the basics of optimising for this cultivated feed, you’ve got everything you need to make a fantastic start!
