Google update 2026

Google Preferred Sources: How to Add Your Site (2026)

Google now lets readers pick the sites they want to see more of. Here is what Preferred Sources is, the exact link format, and how to get added, with an honest take on the AI-search hype.

What Google Preferred Sources is

Preferred Sources is a Google feature that lets a reader mark the publishers they want to see more of. Once a reader adds your site, Google favours your content for that reader in Top Stories, and increasingly across Search and Discover, and shows a small "preferred" badge. It launched in 2025 and expanded through 2026. It is a reader-chosen preference signal, which is exactly why it is powerful: it is people telling Google they trust you.

Does it affect AI Overviews and AI Mode?

Google documents Preferred Sources for Top Stories, Search and Discover. It has not officially confirmed it as a direct ranking input for AI Overviews or AI Mode, so treat "rank number one in AI" claims with care. That said, it is a free, legitimate trust and preference signal with no downside, and the same content and entity strength that earns preferred-source adds is what gets a brand cited by AI engines.

The link format (this is the shortcut)

The deep link that takes a reader straight to the add screen, with your site pre-filled, is:

https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=yourdomain.com

Replace the domain with yours. Only domain and subdomain level sites are eligible (for example example.com or news.example.com), not a subfolder like example.com/blog. Here is ours, as a working example: add Digiton as a preferred source.

How to actually get readers to add you

• Put the link everywhere: a button in your site footer and at the top or bottom of every article, next to your share links.
• Email your list once: your subscribers are your most loyal readers and the most likely to add you. Send a short note explaining what it is and why to pick you.
• Pin it on social: add the link to a pinned post and your bio. Every loyal follower who clicks is a compounding preference signal.
• Make the ask specific: "If our content helps you, add us as a preferred source on Google" converts better than a bare link.

Who should prioritise this

If you publish helpful content regularly, this is close to free distribution: you are converting an audience you already have into a durable Google preference. Pair it with strong, citable content and consistent entity signals (a complete Google Business Profile, consistent name and links across the web) so the preference compounds. That combination, citable content plus preference plus entity clarity, is the same engine that wins AI citations.

This is one slice of AI search optimization. If you want your brand to be the cited answer in Google and AI engines, see how we do AI search optimization in Portugal or book a discovery audit.

Frequently asked questions

Related