We Analyzed 240 Million Clicks
Over the past few months, I’ve been running a deep analysis, just for myself, across 60 domains, representing a total of 240 million clicks and over 700,000 URLs.
Not every company gets to see this kind of scale.
The patterns that emerge from this data tell a powerful story, especially when it comes to Google Discover.
Why Is Google Discover Important?
We’ve known for a while that Google Discover isn’t just an extension of SEO. It’s a whole different game.
Back in 2020 or 2021, I started building a separate audit process focused purely on Discover. What began as internal research has evolved into full-scale audits we now offer clients… ranging from 80 to 120 pages, tailored to what works in Discover.
What I Have Found
What I’ve found is that content performance in Discover is often completely different from Search.
You might crush it with one topic in SEO, and that same topic gets zero traction in Discover.
Why? 🤔
Because the rules are different. The signals Google looks for:
- Engagement
- Timeliness
- Virality
They all carry more weight in Discover.
For example, I published a piece on my blog last week about what I learned at the Google event in New York. I shared it on social media, it gained some traction, and sure enough, it ended up in Discover.
This is about the early engagement signals: Shares, clicks, and time-on-site.
All of these tell Google, “Hey, people like this.” And Discover responds.
What Doesn’t Show up in Discover?
But even highly engaging content won’t show up in Discover if it violates Google’s content policies. 🚩
That means adult topics, anything borderline controversial, or certain medical topics are likely to get filtered out. No matter how well they rank in Search.
I’ve seen this firsthand. Sites doing extremely well in SEO have zero visibility in Discover, simply because their content falls into a “gray area.”
What Is the Solution?
That’s why we’ve been so focused on aligning SEO strategy with Discover-specific tactics. We don’t just look at what keywords are working:
- We analyze what topics get picked up
- Which content formats resonate
- How authority in a niche impacts visibility in both channels.
Looking ahead, I’m diving deep into LLMs and AI-based search visibility. With tools like Google’s AI Mode rolling out, this feels like a new frontier.
It reminds me of when I was just starting out: Full of curiosity and ready to learn everything from scratch again.
For now, though, Discover is still a goldmine. Underutilized, under-discussed, and full of opportunity.
Stay tuned. There’s a lot more to come.
