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Loyal Readers Can Now Favorite Your Content on Google

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Published on August 18, 2025

A smartphone displaying Google News peeks out of a denim pocket, showcasing the headlines on its screen.

Google has rolled out Preferred Sources in the US and India, a feature that lets users choose the brands they want to see more Top Stories from. If your business runs an active blog, the update could help you increase the visibility of your latest content – but only if your audience adds you as a Preferred Source first.

With businesses experiencing decreased traffic and clicks, in part due to the aftermath of AI Overviews and AI Mode, website owners need to think a few steps ahead. That’s why it’s worth viewing Preferred Sources as an opportunity to keep your loyal readers engaged. I’ll explain how to encourage your audience to add you as a Preferred Source, so they keep seeing your content under Top Stories.

How To Become a Preferred Source

To encourage your audience to add your website as a Preferred Source, Google’s Publisher Center offers two solutions:

Adding the deep link to your social posts or promotions – For example: “https://google.com/preferences/source?q=<your website URL>”
Downloading Google’s official CTA button – You can add this to your website and/or blog posts, making it simple for visitors to add you as a Preferred Source. You can download the button from the Publisher Center post linked above.

Screenshot of a website section detailing CleanMyMac's new Cloud Cleanup tool and subscription features with a Google ad below. — Tech blog Coywolf added Google’s preferred source button to all its article pages. Source: Website Builder Expert

💡 Top Tip!

Whether you’re adding the deep links or CTA buttons to your website or business blog, consider the user experience first. They should guide users onto the next stage of their journey, without feeling invasive and distracting them from the high-quality content on your website.

How Do Preferred Sources Work?

When selecting your business as a Preferred Source, your audience will likely go through the following steps:

Search for a news-related query (e.g., “AI updates”)
Scroll down to the “Top Stories” search snippet
Click on the “star” icon
Select the websites they want to add as their Preferred Source
Reload the page

A Google search interface displays options to select preferred news sources related to AI updates, with several websites listed. — I could easily use the search bar to find different websites to select as my Preferred Sources. Website Builder Expert

Once the user has chosen your website as a Preferred Source, your blog posts should appear more often in the Top Stories search snippet when a user searches for a relevant query. Additionally, your content may appear in the “From your sources” section that also appears on search results pages.

How To Optimize Your Blog Content for Preferred Sources

Even if a significant portion of your audience adds your website as a Preferred Source, this won’t matter in the long run if you’re not producing timely content that they’re interested in. In fact, they may stop clicking on your blog posts altogether if they’re not relevant to their needs.

Assess your content marketing strategy, target audience, and KPIs regularly to ensure that you’re covering the right stories. Additionally, audit your live content and see what’s performing the best. You can use these insights to shape your future ideas. If you’re creating content that resonates, your audience will naturally want to see more from you and keep clicking on your fresh posts under Top Stories.

💡 Unsure if creating a blog is worthwhile it in 2025? Read our write-up that explains if Google cares about your blog.

Written by:

Holly Choules Writer

Holly Choules is a Writer at Website Builder Expert with a background in researching and crafting engaging content for digital platforms. In previous roles, she has demonstrated her wordsmith skills by writing for public facing brands in a range of industries. After gaining hands-on experience using leading website builders, like Wix and WordPress, she is now keen to share her findings through informative, easy-to-follow articles that help small business owners get online and grow their presence. Since joining the team in 2024 and transitioning into the tech sphere, Holly is passionate about applying her three years of content writing experience and upholding Website Builder Expert’s position as an authoritative source on website builders, ecommerce, and digital marketing.