Hi hi hi hi Reader,
There's a new setting on Google that helps your audience find you, your website, and your content way easier. Annnnnnd in this age of AI slop, this is VERY much appreciated.
But the best part? It's easy as pie to set up ๐ค
Here's the full tea...
The new feature is called Preferred Sources and it let's the Google user CHOOSE the websites they want to see more often in search results.
- As a searcher, this is perfect for making sure your favorite news sources, bloggers, creatives, and fellow business owners pop-up first in your results.
- And as a business owner, if your audience sets your website as one of their preferred sources, it helps tell Google "this is a site I know, I trust, and I want to see more of."
"What are the details of this, because it sounds too good to be true?"
That was my thought when I first heard of this new feature/setting. SO, I did some digging on got the full picture.
Once someone marks your site as preferred, they'll usually see some kind of icon or notification next to your website when you show up in search results, letting them know "hey ya, you LIKE this site!" and draw some extra attention to it.
But it ALSO can have your website/content show up HIGHER in search results, including AI Overviews & AI Mode answers too, FOR THAT SPECIFIC USER.
Couple of important notes before you get too excited:
- This is NOT a ranking factor, and it doesn't influence your organic SEO at all. It's not gonna magically get you found by total strangers who've never heard of you. And it's not going to improve any of your current or future rankings (that we know of right now).
- This is specifically for the people who already know you. It just makes it way easier for them to keep seeing your stuff, instead of losing you in the algorithm shuffle.
- This works best if you're publishing "fresh content" bc that's what Google likes to keep showing. Fresh doesn't mean daily, or even monthly, but if someone marks you as preferred and your last blog post is from 2017, Google's probably still gonna serve them something more current instead.
- We have NO control over which keywords or queries you'll get shown as a "preferred source" for. You can't "make it happen" or "hack your way" into XYZ results.
- Not every website is available as a "preferred source" option yet. I tested this with a couple friends' sites and they didn't show up. Right now there is NO trick to force your way in, I think it's just a sign to pay a lil' more attention to your SEO. (Need help with your SEO? I'm launching a free 14-day SEO challenge in September. Sign up for the waitlist here!)โ
Wanna see how this works & add my website as a preferred source?!
It's SUPER easy, and really straightforward. Takes less than one minute.
And I will love you forever and ever...
- โClick this quick & easy link right here โ
- Check the box that populates with my website
- Good to go, it's set up!
Annnnnnd if you want the full walkthrough (including how to build this exact kinda link for YOUR OWN website, so you can invite your people to do the same for you), I made a video breaking the whole thing down.
โ>> WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL HEREโ
NEWSLETTER SPONSOR -- This newsletter is sponsored by Carolyn Leasure โ Website Redesign Expert, founder of Maypop Creative Studio.
It's the LAST WEEK to sign up for the 5-day free Get Your Site Together challenge!!!
Mon Aug 3rd โ Fri Aug 7th -- Each day you'll do one focused task to gather the content your site actually needs โ before a single template gets opened or a designer gets hired.
One strategic task per day. Without overwhelm.
By the end youโll have:
- All your essentials gathered in one organized place
- A clear picture of what's ready to go and what still needs work
- Actual momentum instead of paralysis
- A strategic foundation that makes your site build smoother, faster, and way less stressful
This is the prep work that separates something pretty from a site that actually works.โ
โ
|
โ
Action steps for this week:
- Take 1 minute & add mariahmagazine.com as one of your preferred sources using this quick & easy link right here! โ
- Watch the new YouTube video to see the full walkthrough, including exactly how to build this same kind of link for YOUR website.
Once you've got your own link, share it with your people via your newsletter list, your Instagram, wherever they'll actually see it, and invite them to add you too.
See, I told yaaaa.
This was EASY AS PIE BABYYYYYYY ๐
โ