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Search Console adds report for Google Discover Data

SEO

In April 2020, Google added data from Google Discover to Google Search Console. It supplements the popular Performance report, displaying data specific to Google Discover. As the world of search continues to change, this can help shape strategies for brands and SEOs alike.

What is Google Discover?

Google Discover launched in 2017, although at the time they called it the Google feed. It wasn’t until 2018 that Google gave it a new name. Yes, it’s been around for quite a while now. Users can access it via mobile on the Google app or any browser at the Google.com homepage.
 
The feature includes a feed of content that Google believe would be interesting or of value to the user. It’s like a social media or news feed for searchers and it’s pretty popular. The main figure bandied about is 800 million, although this data is at least a year old. Much like other news feeds, it’s tailored to the way you search. It stands to reason then that Google is trying to predict the information that you desire on a daily basis.

Accessing Discover data in Search Console

The Discover report works in a very similar fashion to the Performance report. You’ll first notice it on your main dashboard and left hand side menu:

Search Console display the traffic percentage from normal search and Discover. This particular website receives 30% of their search traffic from Google Discover. That’s a metric that could be very useful moving forward, especially if that percentage increases. For many websites this will offer a useful snapshot at traffic distribution.

You can then click through to the report itself:

The report functions in much the same way as the Performance Report. It displays clicks, impressions, average CTR along with other metrics. The main difference is the removal of certain tabs. The devices tab is missing because it is a mobile specific metric, which makes sense. In a similar vein, the queries tab has been omitted. After all, Google Discover works without the need for the user to search.

Why can't I see the Discover Report?

The Discover report will only show for certain websites. In Google’s announcement of they explain why it might not show for all websites. The feature “is shown to websites that have accumulated meaningful visibility in Discover”. Note that this data is only backdated to March 2019. In true Google fashion, “meaningful” is pretty vague. One can presume that it’s measured on absolute numbers or a percentage of total traffic.
 
We’ll explore how to make use of this report and indeed of Google Discover in upcoming blog posts.

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