Google shares preferred source follower data via email

Google just sent out emails to some site owners informing them how many people are following them using the new preferred source feature. The emails come from the Search Console team and say “Here’s your latest preferred sources data as of 2026-10-05” followed by the number of subscribers.

What the email looks like. Here is a screenshot of the email that is going out:

Google also posted their tips on how to install the new, more seamless preferred source JavaScript button. Plus, Google added a survey asking site owners and webmaster if they want this data more often.

The survey. The survey says and asks these questions:

• Prior to this report, were you aware of “Preferred Sources,” which lets users choose their favorite sources to show up more often on Google?
• How clear was the email in explaining what “Preferred Source user count” means?
• How helpful is it to know how many users have chosen your site as a “Preferred Source”?
• If Preferred Sources reporting were provided, how would you prefer to receive it?
• If Preferred Sources reports were emailed in the future, how frequently would you want to receive email updates on user counts?
• If Preferred Sources reporting were included in Search Console, which metrics would be most valuable for your site? Please rank your choices in order of value (1 = Most valuable to 4 = Least valuable)
• Are there any other metrics related to Preferred Sources that would be valuable to your site?

Preferred Sources. Preferred Sources let searchers star publications in the Top Stories section of Google Search, and Google uses that signal to show more stories from those starred outlets. The feature entered beta in June of 2025, rolled out in the U.S. and India in August, and is now expanding globally. Google rolled out preferred sources globally in December 2025 and then in May, Google enabled it for all languages.

Growing feature. Google also said that so far “people have already selected more than 600,000 unique sources.” So it seems like users are using this feature. In May 2026, Google said that number was 200,000, that is a 200% increase.

Why we care. Traffic from Google Search is hard and if you can get your readers, loyal readers, to make your site a preferred source, that can help. Google said those users are twice as likely to click, which can help drive more traffic. Having more data on the preferred source button is useful and would be great to have.

So add the preferred source icon to your site and encourage users to sign up. You can make Search Engine Land a preferred source by clicking here.