Find out how to Optimise for Google Discover in 2025 – Guide for Publishers

Google Discover is quietly transforming the organic traffic landscape.

Its recent arrival on the desktop version (in Google search results), confirmed by sources such as Search Engine Land and Chrome Unboxed, further increases its potential impact for publishers.

But what changes in content strategy?

How can you guarantee prominence in the Discover feed?

This article provides a detailed answer, based on Google’s official guidelines and the world’s leading SEO experts.

What is Google Discover?

Google Discover is a personalised feed of content displayed on the Google homepage, in the Google app and now also on the desktop (in a progressive rollout).
Unlike traditional search, Discover presents relevant content before the user even searches, based on history, preferences and behavioural signals.
According to Google, ‘Discover offers a highly personalised content discovery experience, based on each user’s interests, without the need for active search.’

Why is Google Discover so important for Publishers?

• Traffic volume and quality: For many international publishers, Discover already rivals Google Search as a source of organic traffic, bringing in sessions with a high propensity for engagement (Search Engine Journal).
• Fast-cycle content: Discover favours current content, trends, news and topics that reflect users’ current interests.
• Challenge and opportunity: There is no traditional results page, no keywords to target, and the algorithm is more opaque. This requires a strategic approach, orientated towards relevance, user experience and visual quality.

How does Google Discover work? (According to Google)

Discover is 100% driven by machine learning and interest signals.
Instead of rankings based on ‘searches’, the feed recommends content based on history, previous interactions, location, current events and information consumption profiles.

Sources:

• Google Discover documentation
• Search Engine Journal

The main factors, according to Google itself:

• Relevance of the topic to the user at the time
• Timeliness and freshness of the content
• Visual quality (high-resolution images min. 1200px wide)
• Authority and E-A-T (expertise, authority, trustworthiness)
• Attractive and truthful titles
• User engagement

Differences between SEO for Google Discover and Traditional Search

(Source Search Engine Land, SEJ)

Technical Optimisation for Google Discover

1. High Resolution Images

• Always use images that are at least 1200px wide (Google).
• Allow Google to show large images by adding the html tag:

<meta name=”robots” content=”max-image-preview:large”>

• Use authentic images that are relevant to the content, avoiding generic image banks.

2. Structure and Mobile Experience

• Discover was born mobile-first, and the experience must be 100% responsive.
• Loading speed, good visual hierarchy and clean UX are critical points.
• AMP is not mandatory, but AMP content continues to perform well on Discover in some markets.

3. E-A-T and Authority Signals

• Strengthen trust signals: author biographies, institutional information, presence of contacts and clear policies.
• Cite sources and work on editorial branding (Google values recognisable brands in the feed).

4. Structured Data and TitleTags

• Ensure clear, concise titles that accurately reflect the content.
• Clickbait is penalised – the title must deliver what it promises.
• The use of structured data (schema.org) helps to identify entities, authors and themes, although it is not a direct requirement of Discover.

Content Strategies to Stand Out on Discover

1. Focus on Topics of Current Interest

• Content about trends, events, industry news, quick analyses and news are much more likely to be highlighted.

2. Invest in Evergreen Content with Current Hooks

• Don’t just publish ‘hard news’; evergreen guides, analyses and articles can appear on Discover if they are updated with current context or a new perspective.

3. Visually Appealing Content

• Invest in illustrations, graphics, exclusive images and videos (where possible).
• Striking cover images increase CTR and the likelihood of being featured.

4. Engagement and Reputation

• Content that is shared and commented on in social networks tends to gain more visibility.
• Monitor performance metrics in Google Search Console (Discover report).

Discover report in Google Search Console

Search Console  offers a dedicated report for Discover, although for the time being it doesn’t distinguish which digital real estate it appears in.

Here you can analyse:

• Impressions
• Clicks
• CTR
• Which content appears in the feed

If it doesn’t yet, it may be a question of site scale – Discover only activates the report for sites with significant traffic coming from this channel.

(Google Documentation)

Common mistakes and myths about Google Discover

• Optimising only with keywords: irrelevant for Discover.
• Publishing only news: up-to-date evergreen content can also be featured.
• Neglecting images: small or irrelevant images practically eliminate the chance of appearing.
• Use ‘clickbait’ headlines: misleading or sensationalist headlines are filtered out.
• Ignoring E-A-T: content without trust signals is unlikely to rank.

(Google)

Case Studies and Expert Insights

• Editor of Search Engine Roundtable Barry Schwartz points out that content that combines topicality, in-depth analysis and consistent visual quality tends to dominate the Discover feed.
• Lily Ray (SEJ): ‘Publications that build reputation, invest in brand identity and have a consistent editorial approach increase reach and frequency in Discover.’

Practical Optimisation Checklist for Google Discover

1. Cover images +1200px, authentic and eye-catching
2. Tag <meta name=”robots” content=”max-image-preview:large”>
3. Clear, objective titles, no clickbait!!!
4. Content relevant to the current moment, but without forgetting evergreen content
5. Mobile-first structure and impeccable UX
6. Strengthening E-A-T (authority, transparency, sources)
7. Continuous analysis of the Discover report in Search Console
8. Encourage sharing and engagement on social networks

To summarise:

Google Discover is already one of the biggest sources of ‘non-search’ traffic today, with a growing impact for publishers around the world (Portugal included).

For some publishers, it already accounts for +50% of all traffic.

But its arrival on the desktop makes Google Discover’s potential even greater!

The difference between capturing or losing this traffic lies in the quality, relevance and authority of the content – rather than in the old ‘recipe’ of keywords.

One thing is certain:

Publishers who invest in authentic, visually strong and relevant content for the right moment will reinforce Google Discover in the coming years.