Short answer: Google Discover is a part of Google Search that shows people content related to their interests, based on their Web and App Activity. A page can appear there when Google has indexed it and it follows Discover’s content policies. No tag or structured data is needed, and nothing guarantees a spot.
What Discover shows
Discover picks content for each person’s interests instead of answering a search. It covers a wide range of topics, and older pages can appear when they are still helpful and relevant.
It uses many of the same signals and systems as Search to judge what is helpful, people-first content. Google says it regularly shows sports, health, entertainment and lifestyle content from across the open web, among other topics.
The Discover report in Search Console includes traffic from Chrome and tracks Discover everywhere people use it.
How a page gets in
A page is eligible automatically when Google has indexed it and it meets Discover’s content policies. Being eligible doesn’t mean it will appear.
If a site breaks those policies, Search Console can show a Discover manual action under Security and Manual actions.
Google asks for titles and headlines that capture the essence of the content. It warns against clickbait: misleading or exaggerated details in the title, snippet or image, or holding back what readers need to know.
It also warns against sensationalism that plays on morbid curiosity, titillation or outrage. Content that is timely, tells a story well or offers unique insights has a better chance, and so does a good page experience.
The images Discover wants
| What Google looks at | Google’s advice | How to check yours |
|---|---|---|
| Width | At least 1,200 px | Open the image and read its size |
| Total pixels | More than 300,000; a 1280x720 image has 921,600 | Multiply the width by the height |
| Shape | 16:9 | Divide the width by the height: about 1.78 |
| Large previews | max-image-preview:large or AMP | Look for it in the robots meta tag |
| Which image | og:image or schema.org markup, relevant to the page | It isn’t your logo or full of text |
From Google Search Central, “Discover and your website”, read November 3, 2026.
Google tries to crop images for Discover on its own. If you crop them yourself, frame them horizontally, don’t apply a ratio automatically, and keep the important details inside the version you set in og:image.
The og:image tag or schema.org markup can influence which image Discover shows as the thumbnail. Our guide to Open Graph tags shows how to set it.
max-image-preview:large is a rule of the robots meta tag that allows a larger image preview, up to the width of the screen. Our guide to noindex shows where that tag sits.
How to give a page a chance in Discover
- Check in the URL Inspection tool that Google has indexed the page.
- Write a title and headline that say what the page is about, without exaggerating.
- Add a large photo that fits the topic: at least 1,200 px wide and over 300,000 pixels.
- Crop it to 16:9 yourself, or check that the important part survives a 16:9 crop.
- Add max-image-preview:large to the robots meta tag, unless your pages use AMP.
- Point og:image at that photo rather than your logo or an image full of text.
- Once Discover shows your pages, follow them in the Discover report in Search Console.
Our guide to the URL Inspection tool covers step 1.
What Discover leaves out and why traffic moves
Discover looks for content that suits interest-based feeds, such as articles and videos. It may not recommend job applications, petitions, forms, code repositories or satire without context, and it filters content that could shock.
Its traffic is less predictable than visits from keyword searches, so Google suggests treating it as a supplement to search traffic. Interests change, the feed’s content types shift, and updates to Search can move it too.
Google adds that sites may see changes unrelated to the quality or the publishing frequency of their content, and that sometimes there is nothing to do after an update.
How our pages fit Google’s image advice
Between 6:40 and 6:44 AM on November 3 we read the 306 pages in our sitemap as a visitor. All 306 send max-image-preview:large and have an og:image.
Every og:image is at least 1,200 px wide and has more than 300,000 pixels: 204 are 1200x630 and 102 are 1800x945. None of them is our logo.
None is 16:9 either. Both sizes are about 1.9 to 1, so a 16:9 crop trims about 3% from each side of the photo.
Search Console shows the Discover report only after a site reaches a minimum number of impressions there, so these image checks are the part we control.
Before you publish a page
- Google has indexed the page.
- The title says what the page is about, without exaggerating.
- The main image is at least 1,200 px wide and over 300,000 pixels.
- Its 16:9 crop keeps what matters.
- The robots meta tag carries max-image-preview:large.
- og:image points at that image, not at the logo.
RememberDiscover picks pages for people’s interests, and no setting guarantees a spot. Keep the page indexed and honest, give it a large image Google can use, and treat Discover visits as a supplement to search.
If you want us to get your pages ready for Google Search and Discover, see our SEO services.
Quick answers about Google Discover
Do I need structured data to appear in Google Discover?
No. Google says content is eligible automatically when it is indexed and meets Discover’s content policies, with no special tags or structured data. Being eligible doesn’t guarantee that a page will appear.
What image size does Google Discover need?
Google recommends images at least 1,200 px wide, with more than 300,000 pixels in total and a 16:9 shape. Large images need the max-image-preview:large setting or AMP, and the og:image tag or schema.org markup can point to them.
Why can’t I see the Discover report in Search Console?
The report is visible only once your property reaches a minimum number of impressions in Discover. Until then it doesn’t appear, and later the table leaves out rows below a threshold while still counting them in the totals.
Why did my Discover traffic drop?
Google gives three usual reasons: people’s interests change, the kinds of content in the feed change, and updates to Search can shift traffic. It adds that a drop can be unrelated to the quality of your content or how often you publish.
What counts as an impression in Discover?
An impression counts when your item scrolls into view in Discover, as a standard item or inside a carousel, once per result per session. A click counts only when someone clicks the item, not when they share it.
Sources
Read on November 3, 2026. Google Search Central: Discover and your website and Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications. Search Console Help: Performance report (Discover). Our own case: the pages in our sitemap, read on November 3, 2026.