Google’s Preferred Source button gets a smoother experience
▼ Summary
– Google introduced a Preferred Source button that adds a site as a preferred source on Google and returns users directly to the publisher’s page.
– The feature lets users star publications in Top Stories, showing more stories from those outlets, and expanded globally in December 2025 before enabling all languages in May 2026.
– Users have selected over 600,000 unique sources, up from 200,000 in May 2026, marking a 200% increase.
– Google reports that users who select preferred sources are twice as likely to click on content from those outlets.
– Publishers can obtain the embed code from Google’s help documentation to add the button and encourage reader sign-ups.
Google has rolled out a redesigned Preferred Source button experience for publishers, one that streamlines the subscription flow and eliminates the need to send users away from your site. The updated interface keeps the entire process contained, which should translate into better conversion rates for newsrooms and content creators alike.
When a visitor clicks the new Preferred Source button, the site is instantly registered as a Preferred Source on Google, and the user is snapped right back to the exact spot they were reading on the publisher’s page. No redirects, no dead ends, just a clean, frictionless interaction.
How the new flow works. The left side of the screen shows the standard “Add to Preferred Sources” Google button embedded directly on the publisher’s web page. Clicking it opens a lightweight confirmation page where the user simply hits “Add” to finalize the action. Once confirmed, the reader is returned immediately to the article they were viewing, with no interruption to their browsing session. The embed code is now available through Google’s official help documentation.
A quick refresher on Preferred Sources. This feature allows searchers to “star” specific publications within the Top Stories carousel in Google Search. Google then uses those signals to prioritize content from those chosen outlets in future search results. The program started as a beta in June 2025, launched in the U. S. and India that August, and has since expanded worldwide. By December 2025, the feature was available globally, and in May of this year, Google enabled it across all languages.
Adoption is climbing fast. Google reports that users have already selected more than 600,000 unique sources through the program. That represents a 200% jump from the 200,000 sources recorded in May 2026, a clear sign that readers are embracing the tool.
Why this matters for publishers. Organic traffic from Google Search remains fiercely competitive, and giving loyal readers an easy way to designate your site as a Preferred Source can create a meaningful advantage. Google notes that users who star a publication are twice as likely to click on its stories, a metric that can directly boost your site’s visibility and session volume.
The takeaway is simple. Add the Preferred Source icon to your pages, make the signup process visible, and encourage your audience to opt in. If you want to see it in action, you can make Search Engine Land a Preferred Source right now by clicking the link on our site.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
