Google Discover is one of the most underestimated traffic sources in digital publishing. Unlike traditional search, where users type a query and receive results, Discover proactively surfaces content to users based on their interests, reading history, and engagement patterns — before they even know they want it. For content creators and publishers, that means Discover operates by a different set of rules than search engine optimization.
The February 2026 update introduced changes that further shifted Discover’s ranking logic away from keyword signals and toward what Google describes as reader value and engagement quality. This guide explains what those changes mean in practice and how to adjust your content strategy accordingly.
Understand How Discover Actually Works
Before adjusting anything, it helps to understand what Discover is actually measuring. Unlike search, which matches queries to content, Discover matches content to people. Its algorithm assesses whether a given user is likely to find a specific piece of content genuinely useful and engaging based on their past behavior.
That means Discover rewards content that holds attention after the click — not just content that earns the click in the first place. The February 2026 update is reported to place greater weight on what Google calls Reader Value Metrics, which track behaviors like scroll depth, time on page, return visits, and whether users share or save the content after reading it.
The practical implication: writing something that makes a compelling promise but fails to deliver on it may earn initial clicks but will damage your Discover performance over time.
Prioritize Visual Quality and Image Metadata
Discover is a visual feed. The image accompanying your article is often the first thing a user sees, and it heavily influences whether they tap through. Images should be at least 1,200 pixels wide, high resolution, and closely relevant to the article’s actual content.
Beyond size, image metadata matters. File names, alt text, and caption text all contribute to how Discover understands what an image depicts. An image named “photo1.jpg” with no alt text tells the algorithm nothing. An image named “home-office-setup-2026.jpg” with descriptive alt text gives Discover context it can use to match the content to interested users.
Avoid stock photos that look generic or staged. Images that show real specificity — an actual product, a real setup, a genuine moment — tend to perform better because they are visually distinct in a feed full of generic imagery.
Write Headlines That Match the Content Exactly
The February 2026 update is reported to penalize what Google describes as expectation mismatch — the gap between what a headline promises and what the article delivers. Clickbait has always been a bad practice from an editorial standpoint; now it is also a measurable ranking signal.
Write headlines that accurately describe the content. If your article is a beginner’s guide, say so. If it covers five specific steps, mention that number. If it is focused on a particular platform or use case, include that specificity.
This does not mean headlines need to be dry or boring. Clarity and engagement are not opposites. A headline like “Five Practical Steps to Run AI on Your Own Hardware” is both accurate and more compelling than a vague one like “The Future of AI is Private.”
Optimize for Scroll Depth and On-Page Engagement
If Discover is now tracking how long users stay on your page after clicking through, the structure of your article matters as much as its content. Long blocks of text without visual or structural breaks cause readers to disengage and scroll away quickly.
Use subheadings every two to three hundred words to give readers a sense of progress and make the article scannable. Break up dense information with short explanatory paragraphs rather than packing everything into a single wall of text. Where it adds genuine value, embed a short video — under sixty seconds — that summarizes the key point of the article. Multi-modal content, combining text and video, is increasingly favored by Discover’s ranking signals.
These are not tricks to game the algorithm. They are genuine improvements to readability that also happen to align with what the algorithm rewards.
Monitor Your Discover Performance in Search Console
Google Search Console has a dedicated Discover tab that shows impressions, clicks, and click-through rates for content surfaced through Discover. This is your primary data source for understanding what is working.
After the February 2026 update, pay particular attention to regional performance data. The update is reported to favor content with local relevance — articles that speak to specific geographic contexts or audience segments rather than generic global topics. If you see spikes in impressions from particular regions, that is a signal to create more content relevant to those audiences.
Check your Discover data weekly rather than monthly. Discover performance can shift quickly, and early signals about what is and is not resonating allow you to adjust your editorial direction before a poor-performing pattern becomes established.
Build E-E-A-T Into Your Content Process
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — the framework Google uses to evaluate content quality — applies to Discover as much as it does to traditional search. Content that demonstrates real firsthand knowledge, cites credible sources, and is published on a site with a clear editorial identity consistently outperforms thin content written purely for traffic.
For individual creators, this means being specific about your actual experience and perspective rather than writing in a generic voice. For publishers, it means investing in author profiles, editorial standards documentation, and clear ownership of the claims you make. These signals compound over time. A Discover presence built on genuine quality is more durable than one built on optimization tricks.
