Google just gave publishers a button that makes readers pick you

Google released a small button on August 20 that could become a useful little weapon for publishers fighting for attention in search.

Publishers can place a Preferred Sources button directly on their pages. A reader clicks it, confirms the choice, and lands back on the article.

From that point forward, Google can show that publisher’s content more often to that reader in Top Stories, AI Overviews, and AI Mode.

Google says readers are about twice as likely to click through to a source they personally selected.

That is a very Google way to solve a very Google problem: give users another preference setting, then ask publishers to promote it for free.

I love this kind of basement nerd feature. It is small, specific, easy to miss, and potentially useful for the right audience.

What the Preferred Sources button actually does

The button lets a reader tell Google, “I want more from this source.”

That preference belongs to the individual reader. It follows their Google account and affects their search experience.

The reader still needs to click the button and confirm the selection. Google does not add your site to somebody’s preferred sources list because you installed the code.

Once the reader chooses your site, Google may give your relevant content more visibility in:

• Top Stories
• AI Overviews
• AI Mode
• Google News
• Discover

Google can also show a preferred-source badge beside your links in some search experiences.

The important word is relevant.

The button does not force your article into every answer. It does not replace strong content, technical SEO, news eligibility, or a page that answers the query. Core search systems still decide if your page deserves to appear.

Think of the preference as a user-level visibility layer. A reader who already picked your site has given Google a very clear hint about which sources they want to see.

Google’s Search Central documentation explains the feature and publisher implementation. Google also discussed source preferences across Search, Discover, and News in its official product announcement.

Why this matters for small publishers

Small publishers rarely have the authority, publishing volume, or brand recognition of major media companies.

A local publication, niche industry blog, or independent expert can publish something genuinely useful and still get buried under national publishers with enormous domain strength.

A source preference gives that reader a way to keep finding you.

That matters for publishers covering specific topics, such as:

• Local business news
• Regional housing and development
• Industry regulations
• Niche hobbies
• Cannabis policy and education
• Local events
• Trade advice
• Product research

I see this as a trust feature more than a traditional SEO feature.

A reader has already decided your work is worth following. Google gets a direct signal from that person. Your future articles have another chance to appear when they fit that reader’s interests.

The “twice as likely to click” number comes from Google’s own reporting. It describes Google’s testing and aggregate findings. It does not promise that every publisher will double organic traffic.

Traffic depends on the size of your audience, how often you publish, the topics you cover, and how many readers actually choose your source.

Still, a reader who intentionally selects your site is a much warmer search audience than a random impression.

What this means for local contractors

A plumbing, HVAC, roofing, or contracting company probably will not live inside Top Stories every day.

That does not make the button useless.

A contractor can publish useful local content around questions customers ask before they call:

• How often should a furnace be serviced?
• What causes low water pressure?
• How much does a roof inspection involve?
• What should I do after a pipe freezes?
• How long does a water heater replacement take?

A reader who finds your article, gets a useful answer, and selects your business as a preferred source may see more of your future educational content in Google’s search and AI experiences.

That creates repeated exposure before the person needs a quote.

Local businesses also have an advantage here because their content can stay tightly focused. A Grand Rapids HVAC company can write for Grand Rapids homeowners. A West Michigan roofer can publish storm damage guidance specific to the area.

That kind of useful, location-specific content gives readers a reason to choose the source in the first place.

The button supports the relationship. It cannot create one from thin air.

What this means for dispensaries

Dispensaries have an even more interesting use case.

Cannabis businesses face advertising restrictions, platform policy changes, and a crowded local search landscape. Paid visibility can disappear fast. Organic search often carries the educational work that advertising cannot handle.

A dispensary can publish content about:

• Cannabis product formats
• Terpenes
• Dosing basics presented carefully and responsibly
• How concentrates differ
• What customers should know before visiting
• State rules and purchase requirements
• Product storage
• Questions about carts, edibles, flower, and concentrates

A reader who chooses the dispensary as a preferred source may see more relevant articles from that business in AI Overviews and AI Mode.

That can help the dispensary become familiar before the customer searches for a menu or location.

I have worked on cannabis content where the educational page became the first touchpoint for thousands of searches. A product guide can introduce a brand long before somebody visits the menu.

Source preference adds another way for a satisfied reader to say, “Show me more from this site.”

The content still needs to be accurate, useful, and careful with claims. No button fixes sloppy cannabis copy or a page that reads like it was assembled by a keyword blender.

How to add the Preferred Sources button

Google’s official implementation uses one script and one div.

Place this script in the <head> of your site:

<script async src="https://news.google.com/swg/js/v1/publisher.js"></script>

Then place this div in the body of the page where you want the button to appear:

<div google-add-preferred-source-btn></div>

That is the basic installation.

The script loads Google’s publisher library. The div tells the library where to render the source preference button.

You can add the button:

• Below the headline
• Near the author box
• At the end of an article
• In a sidebar
• Inside a sitewide article template

I would place it near the top and again near the end only if the design stays clean. Readers should understand what the button does before they click it.

Use clear supporting copy, such as:

Like this source? Add Randi Bagley to your preferred sources in Google to see more of my articles in search and AI results.

Then link the copy or a separate button to:

Make Randi One of your Preferred Sources

That plain URL is the fallback for sites that cannot use JavaScript.

For WordPress, the easiest test is usually a Custom HTML block in the article. The script may get stripped from a normal visual editor, so check the published page source after saving.

If your theme controls the <head>, add the script through your theme settings, a header-and-footer plugin, or your developer’s preferred code injection method.

The source preference link can live in a regular paragraph, button, navigation area, or callout box.

Test the full flow in an incognito window and a normal logged-in Google account. Click the link, confirm the source, and make sure Google returns you to the page as expected.

How to measure it

Google does not currently give publishers a dedicated Search Console report for preferred-source selections.

That means you need to track the part you control.

I would create a separate tracked link for the plain URL, such as a campaign-tagged version used in your article template. Keep the actual Google destination intact while adding analytics parameters if your implementation allows them.

Track:

• Button or link clicks
• Click-through rate from the article
• Returning users
• Direct traffic after installation
• Organic traffic to newly published articles
• Engagement from readers who visited the preference prompt

Avoid claiming that every lift came from the button. Search traffic changes for many reasons, including seasonality, new content, competitors, algorithm updates, and changes in AI search behavior.

Use the feature as one part of your visibility program. My usual SEO checklist still applies: clear site architecture, strong internal links, useful content, accurate business information, and pages built around real search intent.

You can see how I approach that broader work on my SEO services page, and I write more about search tools and AI visibility in my SEO category.

My take

This is a low-effort feature worth testing.

It gives readers a direct way to choose your site, and it gives Google a direct signal about that choice. That is more meaningful than asking people to “follow us for more” and hoping an algorithm remembers.

Publishers should install the button, explain it in plain English, and monitor clicks and returning users.

Local contractors can use it alongside educational service content. Dispensaries can use it alongside careful product and compliance-focused explainers. Small publishers can use it to turn occasional readers into a more intentional audience.

Google still controls the search page.

This button gives your readers one small piece of control back.

Add Randi Bagley as a preferred source in Google