Google’s Martin Splitt answered a question in the July 2023 office hours session about what to do after Google Discover traffic dries up. Martin provides a quick overview of what Google Discover is all about.
Google Discover
Discover is a feed of articles that users may find of interest.
Google uses signals of what a user’s interests are to display content related to those interests. it is not known what these signals of interest are.
There is no documentation that goes into specific details about what signals Google uses to determine a user’s interest.
But it’s clear to anyone paying attention to Discover that one of the signs might be what a user is looking for.
How to get and keep Google Discover traffic?
This is the question being asked:
“No longer on Google Discover… What do I need to do to get back?”
Google’s Martin Splitt replied:
“Discover is an organic feature that goes with user demand and habits.
So there’s no easy answer on how to get Discover traffic back.
In general, content that is indexed and meets our content guidelines can be included in Discover.
But… Discover traffic is hard to predict and will ebb and flow.”
Google focuses on user demand and habits
This description of how Google Discover works is useful because it highlights how the selection process is tied to what users want to see.
Google’s page on how to access Google Discover offers these tips:
Fresh and perennial themes
While Google displays perennially relevant content, the system also looks for fresh content on specific topics that often need freshness.
For example, topics such as sports, technology, entertainment and certain products are in a constant state of change, with new developments with topical topics appearing every day throughout the day.
Other topics like recipes don’t change much unless a chef designs a new twist on an old recipe.
Google advises:
“Content on Discover is automatically updated as new content is published, but Discover is designed to show all types of useful content from around the web, not just recently published content.”
Write about topics, not keywords
A common mistake I see in the SEO industry is focusing too much on keywords or word semantics and not enough on topics.
In my experience, focusing on the semantics of words is a waste of time. Focus on topics of interest.
Topics are about what’s happening in the industry and understanding what people are interested in right now.
In my opinion, focusing on topics brings the writer closer to delivering what people need and that’s what Google Discover is looking for.
The Google Discover webpage offers this:
“As part of Google Search, Discover uses many of the same signals and systems used by Search to determine what content is useful and people-centric.”
Signals used by Google Discover
Once the topic is understood it is a matter of writing the article in such a way that it is clear what the topic of the article is about.
This is where keyword-focused writers and semantic-concerned SEOs lose their way.
In my actual experience, an article that ranks well is one that focuses on the topic and communicates that topic well.
When you look at the heading outline, an outline of the heading elements used in an article, a topic-focused article will reveal headings that make it easier to understand the topic, without having to read the sentences.
Looking at the outline of the heading is the view of the forest, where you don’t see the individual trees (sentences) but the overall view.
Plan your content so that it is organized and fits each topic, like a story with chapters.
Google lists the following best practices:
“Use page titles that capture the essence of the content… Include engaging, high-quality images in your content… Provide content that is relevant to current interests, tells a story well, or provides unique insights” .
Google also discourages misleading titles, exaggeration, appeals to outrage, and morbid or shocking subject matter.
conclusion
Google Discover can be a great source of traffic, but it’s not consistent.
In my experience, staying on topic, writing well, using an appropriately focused and relevant image, and staying current are all great strategies for increasing your likelihood of scoring traffic from Discover.
Learn more about accessing Google Discover:
Watch the office hours at 7:32 minutes:
Featured image by Shutterstock/Prostock-studio
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