What Google Discover Is and How It Works

2 February 2024 Raffaella Roani

Google Discover, among Google’s many features, stands out particularly in the landscape of applications useful to users.

Designed to enrich their online experience, Discover offers users tailored content based on their personal interests.

Let’s explore in depth how it works, how users can personalize their experience, and how publishers can make sure their content is visible.

Table of Contents

What Is Google Discover?

Google Discover is a Google feature that presents users with content aligned with their interests.

How Does Google Discover Work?

Google’s Discover feature selects content suited to its users based on their activity on the web and in apps.

How Can I Publish My Content on Google Discover?

To appear in Discover, content must be indexed by Google and comply with its specific guidelines.

Let’s take a closer look at the 3 points above.

1 – The first 2 points will let us better explore the details of this feature from Big G, which is growing ever more popular, from the user’s perspective.
2 – The third point will let us see how an author or a developer can have their content published on Google Discover.

Google Discover: What It Is and What It’s For?

Google Discover represents one of the answers Google has offered to new user behaviors on the web, which are increasingly centered on smartphones and tablets.

The future of the Internet is mobile, and Google has understood this. That’s why it designed a dedicated search section for all mobile devices, where personalized information and news appear based on previously collected data. Google Discover is the personalized, data-driven information that Big G offers users, in order to ensure a smooth and pleasant browsing experience.

How Does Discover Work and How Do You Use It?

The online world is saturated with content and information, and it is increasingly difficult to filter out the topics of genuine interest. That’s why Google implemented a search function based on users’ interests and preferences, which users can in turn personalize.

Google Discover, in fact, is nothing other than a content hub that Google offers users based on their everyday searches and online activity, or also on preferences set manually within Google Discover itself.

Let’s see how a user can use Google Discover step by step.

Where Is Google Discover Located?

Since it is a resource integrated into the Google application, the Discover function is found automatically on all Android devices, but it can also be easily activated on iOS.
Discover can be accessed in various ways:

Through the Google app.
On google.com from the browser of Android devices.
By swiping right from the Home screen on some devices.

For now it is not yet available on Desktop, but it may arrive here soon as well.

How Do You Activate Discover?

If you own an Android device, Discover is active automatically. In general, to activate Google Discover, simply open the Google app and then proceed by tapping the “three dots” to open “Settings,” where you can turn on the “Discover” option.

How Google Decides the Content in Discover

Google selects content for Discover based on information gathered from the user’s searches and actions.

These include:

Web and app activity.
Information about the apps on your devices.
Contact information from your devices.
Personal results.
Location history.
Location settings.

So all this data in Google’s possession can be processed by artificial intelligence, which will suggest similar topics without the need to run further specific searches.

The user will receive personalized updates on their specific interests, such as their favorite team or their most-read magazine and news site, directly in the Google app or through their smartphone browser, without the need to carry out active searches.

How Do Google Discover Results Appear?

Google Discover stands out for not ordering news chronologically, but rather for adapting it to the user’s interests, thereby improving the browsing experience and making it more pleasant and targeted.
Based on each user’s data, Google creates a tailored news feed containing news, images, videos, and podcasts: everything is presented as a continuous stream of links and images, always within reach and just a click away, constantly updated and available at any time.

How to Personalize Discover

The news and content presented can also be based on precise instructions given by the user, by selecting categories and topics of interest in the settings.

To personalize the content in Discover, you can work from the Google app or from google.com.

To turn on Web & App Activity, which Web & App Activity saves your searches, browsing history, and other activity in your Google Account:

Open the Google app on Android.
Tap your profile picture, then “Your data in Search.”
Under “Controls for all Google products,” turn on Web & App Activity.

To turn on personal results:

Follow the same path mentioned above, then turn on “Personal results.”

To choose which updates you receive:

Manage the topics to follow or stop following.
Restore topics or sources you previously removed.

To change the frequency of content in Discover:

On a topic’s card, select “Like.”
To see the content you liked, go to “Discover your Likes.”

It should be noted that only the user can see the stories they prefer, but their choices can be shared anonymously with publishers.

To turn off personalization in Discover:

Turn off personal results.

And What About Privacy?

User privacy takes on crucial importance when it comes to services. For the Discover feed, Google uses various user data, including web and app activity, search history, location, and interactions with other Google products.
While this personalization can significantly improve the user experience, it clearly raises questions related to privacy and the handling of personal data. Google states that it takes rigorous measures to protect user privacy, but we have no way of verifying to what extent.

What we can control, as we have seen, is the level of personalization through the account settings: we have the option to completely turn off Web & App Activity or Personal results. We can also manage our data by viewing and deleting our activity history, or decide which information is used to personalize the experience on Discover.

Every user should take these precautions to maintain a balance between the delivery of a useful service and the safeguarding of their own privacy.

Let’s now move on to the perspective of those who want to have their content published on Discover, such as a journalist, a blogger, or a developer.

How to Appear on Google Discover?

Simple: in exactly the same way you appear in Google’s SERP. Google itself specifies this on its support pages, stating that Discover follows the same EEAT principles as websites. This means that inclusion in Discover is not guaranteed. What makes the difference, therefore, is always the website’s search ranking and its SEO optimization. For this new section as well, in fact, Big G rewards the quality and relevance of content, as well as the site’s functionality and navigability.

How Do You Manage to Appear on Google Discover?

To increase your chances of appearing in Discover, there is no need to use special tags or structured data. Instead, you can follow some useful tips:

Use page titles that faithfully summarize the content, avoiding clickbait.
Include high-quality, large images, avoiding using the site logo as the main image.
Avoid misleading the user in the preview details (title, snippet, images) to attract more clicks.
Choose interesting content that offers a unique perspective or useful information.
Avoid content that may manipulate users’ curiosity.

What Can You Publish in Discover?

Discover focuses on content such as articles and videos, excluding job postings, petitions, forms, source code, or satire without context.

The content shown spans various topics, reflecting users’ interests as closely as possible. Even less recent content can be presented if it proves useful and relevant. However, if a site violates Discover’s policies, there may be manual actions reported in the Security and Manual Actions section of Search Console.

So it is advisable to follow Google’s rules not only to create quality content, but also to avoid being removed from the news feed. The AI that reviews the content uses the SafeSearch filter to avoid shocking or inappropriate content.

Thinking About Interesting, SEO-Oriented Content

In other words, to appear and rank on Google Discover, you need to develop a complete SEO strategy that, just like SEO optimization, requires one fundamental element: patience. It is long-term work, capable of improving your online presence and visibility while winning the trust of users and of Google.

To create quality content, the first step is to have a well-defined communication strategy on which to build a well-structured editorial plan with SEO-oriented SEO copywriting. Another useful element, on the SEO side, is internal link building within the site, with cross-references between the various sections, accompanied by external link building toward authoritative sites, which will increase Google’s trust in the site.

The use of high-definition visual content such as images and videos, with relevant captions and alt text, will be appreciated by users and, as a result, rewarded by the algorithm. All this work will be essential to climb the search results and therefore also have a better chance of entering Discover.

Is It Google Discover or Discovery?

Among the many terms used in marketing and on the web, it sometimes happens that people get confused, especially when the words are English and particularly similar. In the case of Discover and Discovery, moreover, it becomes even more difficult, because they are both Google products. That’s why, when the companies that reach out to us ask for clarification, we are ready to offer a few simple tips.

What’s the Difference Between Google Discover and Discovery?

Google Discovery is a type of Google Ads campaign. It differs from other types, such as Search or Display, because it comes closer to the concept of social ads.
In fact, it is an interactive visual campaign aimed at reaching the user during the discovery phase.

Google Discover, on the other hand, is a stream of news presented by Google based on the user’s interests.

Is There a Connection Between Discover and Discovery?

Yes. The ads run in Discovery campaigns can appear only on Google Discover, as well as on YouTube and Gmail. Google Discovery campaigns, in fact, place ads on the YouTube Homepage, in the “what to watch next” section, in the “Promotions” and “Social” tabs of Gmail, and, of course, on the Google Discover Page. This means reaching a vast and varied network of users, to be monitored and refined by setting the audience segments you want to reach, integrating natively into their online activities.

Google created this type of advertising campaign of ads that will also appear in the Discover feed precisely to further support this feature, along with other areas of the Google universe whose enormous potential is still not fully exploited.

Including Google Discovery Campaigns in Your Marketing Plan

A Google advertising strategy, therefore, can pair Discovery campaigns with the classic Google Display campaigns , Google Search, or Google Performance Max. In this way, it will be possible to have a cross-cutting and diversified presence across the entire Google universe, intercepting users’ queries, sparking their curiosity with eye-catching images, and inviting them to discover new products and services based on their preferences.

Are Google News and Google Discover the Same Thing?

No. They are two separate products, which differ both in functionality and in purpose, even though both, in the end, provide up-to-date news.

What Are the Differences Between Google News and Google Discover?

The differences between Google News and Google Discover stem from the way content is selected for the user. In fact, even though both services aim to provide updates, Google News is “just” a news aggregator and works like a genuine press review: it offers users a complete overview of global events, showing events and facts that, while not strictly tied to the user’s personal interests, are of significant importance at the national or international level.

In short, Google News addresses a broader audience than Google Discover, which instead offers more personalized news.

News Built Around the User

By offering users highly relevant content without the need for active searches, Google Discover represents a qualitative leap in the personalization of the web experience. It has therefore become an indispensable tool for navigating the vast sea of information available online, intuitively adapting content to individual preferences.

On the other hand, for content creators it is a unique opportunity to increase visibility and engagement organically, a sort of access key to an interested audience even during a non-active search phase.

Google is betting heavily on this tool, and Discover continues to evolve alongside advances in AI (machine learning): anyone working in marketing and communication cannot afford to underestimate it.

Related service: discover Marketing Consulting by ARvis — the agency that scales with you.