How to Become a Preferred Source in Google Search: Eligibility First

Google's preferred sources feature lets readers choose which publications they see highlighted in Top Stories, AI Mode and AI Overviews.

When a reader selects your site, your content is more likely to appear in Top Stories with a 'preferred' badge.

That content can carry the same badge in AI Mode and AI Overviews for that reader.

For publishers, that means the work starts before any code: your site has to be eligible in the first place.

This article covers the eligibility requirements and how to check whether your site appears in Google's source preferences tool.

It also walks through the three implementation options for adding a selection button to your pages.

Everything about the feature's behavior here comes from Google's own documentation for site owners.

What preferred sources actually do

Preferred sources are a reader-controlled preference, not a ranking signal you can buy or optimize into directly.

According to Google, when a user selects your site as a preferred source, your content is more likely to appear in 'Top Stories', highlighted with a 'preferred' badge.

In AI Mode and AI Overviews, your content can also be highlighted with a 'preferred' badge for users who have selected your site.

The practical consequence: your visibility improves specifically for readers who already know and want your publication.

That makes the feature most valuable for sites with an existing audience that visits regularly, such as news publishers, industry publications and newsletters with a web presence.

It is less of a lever for a site nobody has heard of yet, because nobody can select what they have never encountered.

Eligibility requirements come first

Google documents two eligibility conditions, and both must hold before anything else matters.

Condition one: inclusion in Search generative AI features

To be eligible as a preferred source in Top Stories, AI Mode and AI Overviews, your site must be included in Search generative AI features in Search Console.

Google states this directly in its documentation.

If you have not yet confirmed your site's status there, that is the first checkpoint.

For background on verifying and monitoring your property, see our guide to when to request indexing in Google Search Console after publishing.

Condition two: domain-level or subdomain-level site

Only domain-level and subdomain-level sites are eligible to appear in the source preferences tool.

Google's examples make the boundary clear: https://www.example.com/ and https://code.example.com/ are eligible, but the subdirectory https://www.example.com/blog is not.

This matters for teams publishing on shared platforms.

If your content lives at a subdirectory of a parent domain, the subdirectory itself cannot be a preferred source.

Examples include a publication hosted under a media group's main site or a blog on a corporate domain.

The parent domain would be the eligible entity, which may not match how your audience thinks about your brand.

Before investing in implementation, confirm which URL level actually represents your publication.

Check the source preferences tool

Once you believe both conditions are met, Google recommends checking whether your site appears in the source preferences tool by entering your site in the tool's search box.

This is the direct check Google recommends for site owners.

If your site appears there, you can proceed to guide readers toward selecting it.

If it does not, the button implementations below will have nothing to point at, so resolve eligibility first.

Preferred sources are available globally for Top Stories in all languages where Google Search is available.

They can also appear in AI Mode and AI Overviews in all languages and locales where those features are available.

Availability of the feature does not guarantee your site appears in the tool, which is why the manual check matters.

Three ways to add the selection button

If your site appears in the source preferences tool, Google documents three methods for guiding readers to select it.

Choose based on your CMS capabilities and design requirements.

Standard JavaScript button (recommended)

The standard implementation embeds an interactive button that lets readers add your site as a preferred source and returns them to your page.

Google recommends this option because it provides the best reader experience.

It requires two additions to your HTML:

• A script tag, preferably in the head element, loading the preferred sources library from Google.
• A div element with the google-add-preferred-source-btn attribute, placed anywhere you want the button to appear.

The button renders automatically, is localized to the reader's language based on browser settings, and is styled by Google.

You can customize two attributes on the div:

• data-theme: set to light or dark to match your page design. Light is the default.
• data-lang: set to a supported language code to override the reader's browser language.

For most sites on standard CMS platforms that allow custom script tags, this is the right choice.

It is the least code, the least maintenance, and the flow Google actively recommends.

Advanced JavaScript with custom design

If you want your own design assets, Google provides an advanced JavaScript implementation.

The end-user flow remains the same as the standard button; only the presentation and triggering change.

The library can be initialized programmatically as an ES module import in modern build setups.

Alternatively, use a standard script with a manual control attribute that prevents automatic button rendering.

You then bind the flow to your own UI elements with a click handler.

This path suits teams with front-end developers and a design system that cannot accommodate Google's stock button.

The tradeoff is maintenance: you own the trigger integration, and framework updates can affect how the SDK initializes.

If the standard button's look is acceptable, take the simpler path.

Deeplink implementation

If you cannot implement the interactive button, for example because your CMS does not support adding the script, Google offers a deeplink option.

You add a text link or clickable image on your web pages that directs people to the flow for adding your site as a preferred source.

Google also notes you can use the deeplink in social posts, email newsletters or promotions.

That last point is easy to overlook and operationally useful.

A newsletter with a loyal readership can include the deeplink directly.

This lets subscribers convert their existing habit into a search preference without visiting a specific article.

The tradeoff is friction: a deeplink sends readers away from your page to complete the action, while the embedded button keeps them in place and returns them automatically.

Choosing between the implementations

The decision is mostly about what your publishing stack allows:

• Can you add a script tag and a div to your templates? Use the standard button.
• Do you need the button to match a strict design system or trigger from custom UI? Use the advanced JavaScript SDK.
• Can you add neither? Use a deeplink on pages, and consider it for newsletters and social promotion as well.

Whichever you choose, placement matters in a plain editorial sense.

A button buried in a footer will be seen by few readers.

One near your byline or subscription prompt reaches people at the moment they are deciding to trust you.

Google does not prescribe placement, so treat it as a normal conversion-design question.

Where this fits in your search workflow

Preferred sources are one layer of search visibility, and they compound with the fundamentals.

Your site still needs to be indexed, eligible for the underlying features, and publishing content readers actually want.

If you already monitor Search Console, checking the source preferences tool is a natural addition to that routine.

Our article on how often to check Google Search Console covers setting that cadence.

Once the technical setup is done, the growth question shifts to finding queries worth publishing against.

Our guide to using Search Console to find organic growth opportunities focuses on that.

For teams coordinating content, publishing and performance data across tools, the sequence matters.

Confirm eligibility, verify tool presence, implement the button, then fold the check into your regular monitoring.

Implementing the button before confirming eligibility means it has nothing to point at, so treat the first two steps as non-negotiable.

Because the feature depends on reader choice, treat promotion of the button as an ongoing part of audience communication rather than a one-time launch task.

Every newsletter issue and article is a recurring opportunity to invite regular visitors to select your site as a preferred source.

Key takeaways

• Preferred sources let readers highlight your content in Top Stories, AI Mode and AI Overviews with a 'preferred' badge.
• Eligibility requires inclusion in Search generative AI features in Search Console and a domain-level or subdomain-level site; subdirectories are not eligible.
• Check the source preferences tool before implementing anything.
• Google recommends the standard JavaScript button; advanced JavaScript and deeplinks cover custom designs and restrictive CMSs.
• Deeplinks also work in newsletters and social posts, extending the feature beyond your website.

Sources: Google Search Central, preferred sources documentation.

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