How to optimize Google Discover (in 2025)

Those who score in Google Discover do so without a search query. You don’t appear in it by using keywords, but by relevance, timeliness and user interest. By 2025, Discover has further evolved into a powerful traffic channel serving millions of daily users through the Google app and Chrome on mobile.

What exactly is Google Discover?

Google Discover is a personalized content feed that shows users articles and videos based on their search history, location, interests and behavior. Performing a search is not necessary; Google itself predicts what is of interest.

The algorithm looks at user behavior as well as content characteristics. You don’t influence Discover directly with keywords, but you can give Discover a reason to show you….

The basics: content that matches interest profiles

Content ends up in Discover only if it meets Google’s quality standards and matches certain interest profiles. I create content that is current, thought-provoking and visually appealing and choose themes that fit within existing search intentions and user interests. Publish regularly and build topical authority. (1)

Focus on topics on which your domain already has authority. A generic or unfocused domain does not score as well as a personalized system.

Titles and images: crucial triggers

Because Google Discover users don’t search, you need to grab their attention with a combination of title and thumbnail. In Discover, the first impression is everything. Therefore, actively pay attention to it:

• Titles that arouse curiosity without being clickbait
• High-resolution images, good branding and visual appeal
• Formulations that are relevant within a particular moment or context (such as seasons, trends or news)

Make sure the thumbnail is unique and not simply a stock photo. In many cases, an eye-catching thumbnail determines whether someone stops scrolling.

Customize content type and design on Discover

A growing success factor within Google Discover is the visual aspect of your content. In 2025, it’s not just about content, but also about how attractive that content looks on mobile devices. Think clear thumbnail images in a 16:9 ratio, catchy titles of up to 40 characters and short, powerful intros. These elements directly influence the click-through rate.

Are you publishing on AMP or another fast mobile framework? Then you increase the chances of your article appearing prominently in Discover.

Engineering and discoverability

Although Discover is not a search engine, many of the same technical content requirements apply here.

Content should load quickly and be mobile optimized, have a structured HTML structure, with no JavaScript obstacles. It is also important that your content provides what Google needs to understand the topic, such as clear headings, alt text and structured data.

Structured data helps Google better understand what your content is about – even if it doesn’t directly affect Discover. Think Article, NewsArticle and ImageObject markups.

Authority and reliability

Google in 2025 emphasizes even more strongly the importance of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) in Discover content. (2)

You increase your chances of visibility when you:

• Include a clear author credit and bio
• Add supporting resources to informational content
• Publishes from a domain that consistently delivers quality content within a clear theme

Content coming from domains without a great reputation or from anonymous authors is less likely to appear in the feed.

Regularity and momentum

Google Discover rewards publications that publish content regularly, topically and within a consistent theme. Posting a strong article once is often not enough. Therefore, aim for a consistent publication frequency (for example, several times a week). Ensure reactivity to trends within your niche and catch user signals over time. These are signals such as engagement, clicks and click-through rate.

Develop a content calendar that allows for current hooks and recurring formats. This way, you not only build content, but also trust in your entity within Discover.

Monitoring and optimization

Discover traffic is unpredictable and sometimes spiky. That requires patience as well as a keen eye for data. In Google Search Console, analyze Discover traffic by URL. Pay attention to titles and images of pages that do and don’t score. Publication dates and lifetime Discover traffic are also important. Further, ensure consistency between topic, engagement and timing.

Use these insights to optimize new content and hone your formats.

Summary

Google Discover requires a different mindset than classic SEO. You don’t optimize for search queries, but for interests, context and appeal. Becoming successful in Discover means creating content that is relevant at the right time, stands out visually and comes from a trusted source.

Those who take a strategic and consistent approach to using Google Discover can count on big spikes in reach and traffic by 2025. You won’t be dependent on keywords.