What is Google Discover & How Can You Boost Your Exposure?

The recently revamped Google Discover feed is gaining traction fast, with some content publishers experiencing a boost in their visitor traffic in the last few months.

So what is Google Discover and how can our DMOs exploit it?  It’s basically a reincarnation of Google Feed which was originally launched back in 2016 as a social media feed, designed to help its users to keep up to date on topics of interest, eg. music, travel, DIY. It’s different to what we may consider the norm for a social feed as users follow topics rather than other users. 

Google Discover delivers content without its users having to actually enter keywords and search.  Its launch forms part of what Google describes as "the shift from queries to providing a queryless way to get information. We can surface relevant information related to your interests, even when you don’t have a specific query in mind."  As of December 2019, it already had 800 million people using it each month, so it looks like it’s beginning to make an impact.

Google says that the Google Discover icon will soon be appearing in mobile search results pages too so users can follow a topic from there.  Another interesting feature is that because Google has access to your search history, it filters content based on your level of experience with a subject.  So, if you’re learning to play the violin, it will only deliver content that is relevant to beginners. Clever!

What does this mean for our DMOs?  If a Google Discover user is planning a trip, they may be presented with suggested hotels, restaurants and things to do in a destination based on their recent browsing history.  As always though, in order to exploit the potential of Google Discover, you will need to focus on the quality of your content and its ability to achieve maximum engagement with its audience.

So, what can you do to increase your chances of exposure on Google Discover:

• Create great quality, engaging content which meets the needs of your visitors
• Use images and video – the Discover feed likes this type of content
• Publish a range of content, both new and evergreen (content that isn’t new but is new to the user) and keep updating your evergreen content
• The trustworthiness of the content’s source is a key factor – the more trustworthy, the more chance of getting featured so your site’s authority will impact on your success
• Google Discover is available in multiple languages too so our DMOs with dedicated language sites have the potential to boost their performance

Although the same SEO rules still apply, it does represent a shift as keyword optimisation alone will not be sufficient to rank your content and therefore Discover should be considered in addition to your SEO strategy.  To find out more about Google Discover or search in general, contact your Account Manager.

Note:  You can access Google Discover on your mobile from the Google App (there isn’t a separate Google Discover App) and Discover isn’t available on desktop yet.